Is this a good hunting bullet / ammo in .44 mag

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FirstFreedom

Moderator
This may sound odd, but el cheapo Winchester white box .44 mag ammo, has a semi-jacketed soft point bullet in a moderately full powered round. Looks to me like it would expand well - so would this be a good bullet to hunt say, whitetails with? Or is there something deficient in the bullet construction, relative to a premium loading in this caliber? Thanks.
 
FirstFreedom
As in any hunting ,bullet placement is key,that said I like to use 180 gr. HPS from Federal, they expand very well.
 
I've always felt that the 180s were too light/short for good penetration. 210/240 has always been a favorite to me, with the premo being 300g or better. :)

I'm a handloader and carry 300g lead hardcast flatpoint bullets over a lot of 2400, H110, or Unique. But if I were buying "off the shelf" ammo for a .44 Magnum, I'd probably try Hornady Custom's 200, 240, or 300grain loadings with their EXCELLENT XTP bullet. The nifty thing about the XTP is that it reliably expands over a wide range of velocities, without over or under expanding. Accurate, too.

I hear and read great things about the Winchester 250g loading of the Partition Gold.

Mind you-- these are not cheap loads, at $15 to $20 a box of 20. But they're premo, if you don't reload and want to make the most of your handgun hunt. (And I imagine they'd be some mighty fine self defense loads, off-season.)
 
http://www.winchester.com/products/...ymbol=Q4240&cart=NDQgUmVtaW5ndG9uIE1hZ251bQ==

Hope that link works. Thats the whitebox round, they recommend it for deer and boar hunting. It packs as much energy as their super X round. 741 FPE at muzzle, still over 600 at 50 yards. I would be very surprised if it didn't perform well on deer. At half the price of the other rounds, you'd be able to practice with it quite a bit too.
I guess its not a wonderbullet but muzzle loaders shoot pure lead quite a bit harder than that and they work great, I'd guess with the little bit of a jacket it would hold together and make a nice hole. I don't think you need to worry about the bullet holding together until you get to much higher velocities.
 
Despite the word "magnum", the .44 Mag is NOT a giant killer. It has serious range limitations, and tends to shed velocity quickly. Most .44 mag bullets have a ballistic cofficient of .2 or less.
Kept within its limititations though, it works well. I have taken 7 nice Whitetail bucks with a Marlin 1894 in .44 Mag.
The bullet I prefer over all others for deer and hog, is the Speer 270 grain JSP. Using my handloads, I get better than 1800 fps from my Marlin. This combo delivers great killing power.
I keep my shots under 75 yards, and as always, bullet placement is the most important thing. The 270 Grain Speer gives deep penetration, and reliable expansion.
 
Have taken many whitetails over the years with an 8" scoped Colt Anaconda, and don't believe any 180 or 240 grain bullets are the best choice for whitetail hunting. The most accurate load in my gun is the 300gr Hornady XTP, which has been used with good results out to 125yds. Federal Cast Core 300gr has excellent penetration, and for elk or bear the 310gr hard cast Garrett Hammerheads can't be beat!
 
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