165 Grain enough for whitetails

[kingudaroad]

In Gunblast's review of the super blackhawk hunter, he recomends this bullet for hunting whitetail. I have this gun and these bullets shoot like a dream.I'd love to hunt with them but I havent seen anybody else recomend such a light bullet for deer.Keep in mind I'm in Texas hill country not Alberta....Quote.."Cor-Bon's 165 grain .44 special load was among the author's favorite loads for the Super Blackhawk Hunter. Clocking at 1255 FPS, this should prove an exceptional factory load for whitetail deer." Here is the link to the entire article...... http://www.gunblast.com/SBHunter.htm Is this enough bullet for whitetail?

[locked'n'cocked]

i dont know about in a hand gun but in a rifle 165 is pleanty of bullet for a whitetail. some people shoot deer with a .223 legally and they don't come in anything close to 165gr.

[Lycanthrope]

Certainly no worse off than the 158gr .357 mag offering and that has done the job for many.

[kingudaroad]

Well a 125 grain bullet out of my 270 reaches almost 3000 fps,so you really cant compare with a long rifle, but just searching the previous posts of .44 mag hangun hunters, most want to use 240 to 300 grain magnum loads, so I thought that a 165 grain special sounded a little weak out of a handgun.

[mete]

I'd rather have a heavier bullet for penetration so I get an exit hole If I have to track it . Entrance holes don't bleed much.Also heavier is better for quartering away shots . That Corbon load I thought was designed for defense.

[deerhunter17]

I also agree with the others that it is to light of a load. Espically in the .44 special. Shoot the .44 mag shells and hit them hard with a 240 gr bullet.

[Long Path]

Haw. From the title, I was thinking of the common hunting bullet weight in .30 cal rifle bullets. A 165g .308 or '06 is premo hunting medicine, up through big elk and even moose.

But in .44, I have some concerns with it. While the paper ballistics look great --the velocity and energy of a real-world .357 magnum in a larger caliber (.429 as opposed to .357)-- the sectional density would be decreased. This reduces the penetration quite a bit. The bullet is necessarily shorter than the common 240g .44 bullet. Think of a salt shaker vs just its screwtop lid-- which one will punch further?

While I'm sure that it could work in the right circumstances, I'm of the opinion that we should prepare for the worst, and guarentee penetration.

[Twycross]

165 grains at 1255 fps? I could probably load my .40 S&W to do that. Would you hunt with a .40? If I were you, I would stick with the .44 mag in 240-300 grain range.

[GON2FAR]

One more vote for too light. No reason to go with the maginal, defensive grade load when SO many others more suited to the job are avaiable. If meat damage is your issue, get a good cast bullet load with a nice, wide meplat. Buffalo Bore and Garrett can hook you up. They cut a nice, deep hole without too much extraneous damage, but plenty of blood trail to follow. You won't stop one of those bullets in a whitetail, Ive tried. :D

[Long Path]

Meat damage is a non-issue with handguns at handgun velocities (under 2k fps), with a non-fragmenting bullet.

Now, understand-- I really like the .44 Special for whitetail hunting. I'm not saying that .44 Mangle'm is the only way to go, but seeing as how you're NOT going with the hot load, why not go with the traditional, tried and true slow and heavy route? Somebody out there is BOUND to load the traditional 240g Keith style lead SWC at around 800 fps .44 Spl load. Perhaps the energy isn't any higher than the 165 Corbon, but it for darn sure will penetrate better.

If you handloaded, of course, the answer is 8 to 10g of Unique under the afforementioned bullet in a Special case, for use only in Magnum handguns. (Pressures will get above published loads for Special!)

[Diggers]

Check these guys out http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/StoreFront.bok
.44 special 250 grain hawk FP at 850 , also got a wide FP 260 grain at 950. Probably go right through.

[Diggers]

Check these guys out http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/StoreFront.bok
They have a .44 special 250 grain hawk FP at 850 , also got a wide FP 260 grain at 950. Probably go right through.

[kingudaroad]

Wow those grizzly bullets are pricey :eek:

[Long Path]

Yeah, but if you don't handload, they'll sure fit the bill for the man with a .44 Spl New Service that wants to hunt whitetail or a guy who wants a sane medium light hunting load for his .44 Magnum.

I like the looks of this load: (http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/Detail.bok?no=7)

http://www.grizzlycartridge.com/stores/grizzly/catalog/DSC000104_bg.jpg

Of course, since I handload, I probably won't be buying any, anytime soon. :)

[Diggers]

The 260 grain is the one I use for trail/camping use in NON Grizzly country (ironically). ;)
Yeah its $$ but its not plinking ammo, if used for hunting I would think a box would last you a while.

[20cows]

Think of a salt shaker vs just its screwtop lid-- which one will punch further?

ROTFLMAO!

[kingudaroad]

Just ordered 2 boxes of the 260 gr. The guy at Grizzly claims they will go through a pig also. Even in the special load. This should be a fun hunting load .Thanks for the ideas.

[Flaman]

This subject can be debated forever..... but the most important issue here is what the advertised retained energy is (mass x velocity) of a particular round, at the given distance that you're shooting.

[Edward429451]

Gotta love that meplat on those Grizzly rounds.

[impact]

King

You said a key phrase! "Shoots like a dream" If you can shoot the load well you should have no problems with these Texas whitetails. Just don't shoot beyond your abilities.

I was thinking about carring my 45 ACP with 165hps as a close range deer gun. Making a double lung shot or neck shot would bring down a deer easy. I played around with the 165s and they have plenty enough power to shoot clean through a Texas Whitetail! Well! not from chest to butt.

In a 44 mag you should not have any problems at all. Just make sure you do your part and make a good shot. I would go as far to say that if you can't make the shot a 500 S&W won't do you any good. Good luck.

[22-rimfire]

I suspect you want to use the 165 gr load because the recoil is more tolerable. Let's not forget that handgun loads on deer are for the most part pretty light when compared to traditional rifle calibers and loads (velocity, energy etc). Hence, I would go with the heavier bullet weight in a 44 magnum for both penetration and energy. Why shoot a 357 mag type load in a 44 when you have a 44 magnum? 357 magnums are generally considered marginal for whitetail deer. But, many use them for that purpose successfully. I'm a 41 mag man, but also have a 480 Ruger SRH.

[Mike40-11]

I guess I'm wondering what the benefit of the lighter load would be?

I have a SBH and shoot 240 gr JSPs. Just got it last year and only took one deer with it, but worked great. In one side and out the other, both lungs. Don't know what it would do if it hit a shoulder, but it went through ribs on both sides. Interestingly, the exit wound was not dramatically larger than the entrance. Didn't bleed much, but she only went about 50 yards.

Recoil is very manageable. My SBH has the Bisley grips which I prefer for that reason.

I believe these are a good middle of the road cartridge. Some guys will only shoot 300 gr, but when I get up there, recoil does become a consideration. Not unmanageable, I just don't see the need for it in my case.

[itsmike762]

I hate to assume things but I am guessing you dont hand-load. If thats the case then I would say go with the standard white box Winchester in JSP or JHP in 240gr. Its a lot cheaper than Cor-bon, and it will work just as well. As long as you do your part.