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View Poll Results: Which hunting bullet for 44 mag lever action
240gr Nosler JSP 12 48.00%
240gr Swift A-Frame 3 12.00%
265gr Hornady Interlock 10 40.00%
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll

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Old February 21, 2021, 06:28 AM   #1
Scrumbag
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44 mag lever action hunting bullet

Hi folks,

Am looking for a new hunting bullet for my .44 mag, 20" bbl 1:20" twist lever action.

I think it will be one of the following:

240gr Nosler JSP (Jacketed soft point)
240gr Swift A - Frame
265gr Hornady Interlock (I have been offered some to try and nearly 400 more if I want them)


My powder will probably be Hodgdon H110 or Vihtavouri N110 with a decent crimp and a magnum pistol primer.

Any advice appreciated.

Scrummy
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Old February 21, 2021, 08:55 AM   #2
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Squirrels or Moose?
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Old February 21, 2021, 09:04 AM   #3
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I used to load the 265 in my 444 with excellent results. Great bullet.
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Old February 21, 2021, 09:19 AM   #4
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Sorry, should have said deer and boar
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Old February 21, 2021, 09:21 AM   #5
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I hear the 265 is a good bullet but I also hear it might be discontinued.

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Old February 21, 2021, 09:43 AM   #6
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Those are all good bullets, and I would ad the Hornady XTP 240 grain. I also hope they don't discontinue the 265 because it is a great 444 bullet.
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Old February 21, 2021, 10:01 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by 44caliberkid View Post
Those are all good bullets, and I would ad the Hornady XTP 240 grain. I also hope they don't discontinue the 265 because it is a great 444 bullet.
Hi @44caliberkid

That might not be a bad idea though because of hunting regs where I am I need to have a muzzle energy of 1,700 ftlbs and therefore a minimum of MV of 1,786fps with a 240gr bullet. I worry a bit that the XTP and the Sierra JHC being hollow point / cavity might struggle a bit with the impact velocities that leads to.

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Old February 21, 2021, 10:34 AM   #8
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I also hope they don't discontinue the 265 because it is a great 444 bullet
You mean the 265 interlock? I'm desperate for their return too.
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Old February 21, 2021, 11:01 AM   #9
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This is the exact 265gr bullet Remington loaded in their factory rounds years ago.
I pulled a bulletined sectioned it, it was indeed an Interlock.
They sure did not advertise it as such though.
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Old February 21, 2021, 11:23 AM   #10
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Three or Four years ago my first born bought a new Ruger short rifle in 44 Mag .
He gave it to me to sight in for deer hunting . i mounted a scope and started with 240gr. XTP and Win 296 . ( a full load) The Rifle shot very well at 50 yards at 100 yards it shot 2.5 inches lower . Then i loaded 300gr. XTP and a full load of Win 296 it shot just 2 inches lower at 50 yards but it shot 7 inches low at 100 yards . This was going to be a walking gun in heave brush maybe out to 150 yards . The 240gr. loads just work better for a walking gun .
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Old February 21, 2021, 11:41 AM   #11
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You mean the 265 interlock? I'm desperate for their return too.
I'm afraid so, yes.
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Old February 21, 2021, 01:15 PM   #12
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If you are looking at a do it all bullet (deer AND boar) I would 100% go with the A-frame. the HP will open and work well on deer. On the Boar the back portion will retain its weight and drive through to the vitals.
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Old February 21, 2021, 01:17 PM   #13
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What about 240 grain or a little heavier cast bullets? Either RNFP or a wide flat-nosed meplat.
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Old February 21, 2021, 01:37 PM   #14
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1700 fr pounds??? Where in the heck is that and what is that req for??

My 77/44 w/ Nosler 240s and 296/110 work great out to about 150 yrds. Kinda hard to see any farther than that most places around here.
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Old February 21, 2021, 01:42 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by zxcvbob View Post
What about 240 grain or a little heavier cast bullets? Either RNFP or a wide flat-nosed meplat.
That might not be a bad idea but being in the UK I have rather less choice in cast bullets than you guys in the US. I like the theory, I just think I will have a hard time sourcing such a bullet
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Old February 21, 2021, 01:54 PM   #16
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World of difference between the 444 marlin and 44 mag IMO. My 44 mag lever guns always seemed to do best with 240 gr xtp's and Nosler's sporting bullets, I consider the 44 mag for medium/large game strictly a 100 yd on in proposition.
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Last edited by stagpanther; February 21, 2021 at 02:30 PM.
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Old February 21, 2021, 02:12 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadow9mm View Post
If you are looking at a do it all bullet (deer AND boar) I would 100% go with the A-frame. the HP will open and work well on deer. On the Boar the back portion will retain its weight and drive through to the vitals.
That's an interesting take. I will see how obtainable the Swifts are.

Currently Brownells.co.uk have them listed at £80.75 = $113.11 for 50. Swift's website is charging $61.00 / 50.

I know the UK is a smaller market than the US and there are costs associated with import but frankly that is just not a funny joke. I wonder if there is a "grey" import route...

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Old February 21, 2021, 02:20 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by langenc View Post
1700 fr pounds??? Where in the heck is that and what is that req for??

My 77/44 w/ Nosler 240s and 296/110 work great out to about 150 yrds. Kinda hard to see any farther than that most places around here.
The UK has some interesting firearms laws my friend.

The powder I am thinking of is H110 (~W296?) and Viht N110.

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Old February 21, 2021, 02:29 PM   #19
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H110/W296 are great choices for the 240 gr 44 mag bullets in my experience, especially H110 for pyrotechnics for night shooting.
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Old February 21, 2021, 02:46 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by stagpanther View Post
H110/W296 are great choices for the 240 gr 44 mag bullets in my experience, especially H110 for pyrotechnics for night shooting.
Well, let's hope with a 20" barrel I can get most of the powder burned. (Especially with a magnum primer and a fairly heavy crimp).

I might end of transferring to N110 as it is about 1/2 the price of H110 currently. And still kinda available.

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Old February 21, 2021, 03:45 PM   #21
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Well, let's hope with a 20" barrel I can get most of the powder burned. (Especially with a magnum primer and a fairly heavy crimp).

I might end of transferring to N110 as it is about 1/2 the price of H110 currently. And still kinda available.

I never used N110 but some other powders from this maker . Get the data from the maker if you can . I have a manual for it some of the powders need extra care to use . (very unforgiven )
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Old February 21, 2021, 04:00 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by KEYBEAR View Post
Well, let's hope with a 20" barrel I can get most of the powder burned. (Especially with a magnum primer and a fairly heavy crimp).

I might end of transferring to N110 as it is about 1/2 the price of H110 currently. And still kinda available.

I never used N110 but some other powders from this maker . Get the data from the maker if you can . I have a manual for it some of the powders need extra care to use . (very unforgiven )
Yes I am trying to find a trusted data source.

Viht publish data for the 240 gr Hornady JTC-Sil. That bullet is very similar in profile to the Nosler 240gr JSP.

Also I think N110 is a bit more forgiving than H110 as more scope for working up (tends to have a larger min-max range).

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Old February 21, 2021, 04:15 PM   #23
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GRS. VEL.(FT/S) PRESS.
23.0 1,750 25,200 CUP
MAXIMUM LOADS
GRS. VEL.(FT/S) .
24.0 1817 PRESS 36,200 C

This is the Data from Hornady and N110 with a 240 XTP . I have used Win 296 for years VihtaVuori N110 powder gives a small window less then 2.gr .
Please look it up for yourself .
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Old February 21, 2021, 05:23 PM   #24
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Hard to beat a plain old 240 grn LSWC for hunting.
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Old February 21, 2021, 08:31 PM   #25
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For deer and boar, it simply doesn't matter. A plain jane Remington 240 grain JSP will sail right through a deer and wreck innards in the process.
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