44 mag general purpose round?

[Jack O'Conner]

Speer builds a 270 grain bullet that produces a good sized wound channel within deer sized animals with deep 100% penetration every time. I've never recovered an expanded bullet.

Jack

[stagpanther]

I've never recovered an expanded bullet.

Does this mean it was a complete pass-through or it fragmented?

[black mamba]

They are complete pass-throughs. The Speer 270 gr Deep Curl is a very tough bullet.

[stagpanther]

I do load the 240 DC--I would think the 270's would lose gas fast at distance--about how far out and through what kind of weapon you getting complete pass-through on medium game with? Just curious.

[Dragline45]

While black bears scare easily, I find that many dont fully respect how dangerous black bears can be just because they pale in comparison to Grizzlys in size. There is no guarantee that a black bear will be scared off, and even if that black bear isnt 300lbs+, a 250lb black bear is a whole lot different than a 250lb man.

[stagpanther]

We have some VERY big black bears in Maine--I've got lots of respect for them in the spring.

[JERRYS.]

everyone agrees that a 200 gr. hp 44 mag at 1,050 fps is far from optimal for defense against black bear, I mean two shots of that will probably just make it mad. however, I haven't seen very large black bear in the south Appalachians or near by areas...while im sure there is a 450 pounder out there, the 300 pounds I mentioned is very generous. again, this isn't for hunting black bear, its a round question about using the same round that is very much top notch for defense against criminal attack, yet still being good enough to deal with the average southern black bear. again, not for hunting.

thanks to all that chimed in. as usual its been fun.

[Bob Wright]

For whatever its worth: My general purpose load for the .44 Magnum is with a 240 gr. coated semi-wadcutter bullet with 10.0 grs. Hodgdon's HS-6 powder. Estimated velocity is 1,000 f.p.s. and vwery accurate with mild recoil.

Bob Wright

[black mamba]

Originally Posted by stagpanther

I do load the 240 DC--I would think the 270's would lose gas fast at distance--about how far out and through what kind of weapon you getting complete pass-through on medium game with? Just curious.

Not much of a sample, but I shot a large Midwestern whitetail buck quartering toward me at about 20 yds. with a 6½" S&W 629. It entered the left shoulder and exited behind the right shoulder through the ribs and gone. Impact velocity should have been around 1200 ft. per second. He ran about 30 yards and dropped.

[stagpanther]

Thanks--that's impressive.