10mm or 44 mag for Georgia Deer

[JKump]

With hunting season around the corner and my son taking my hunting rifle, I thought about getting another Hunting handgun. Have been using a .357 mag for years (with succes for Georgia deer) but wanting to step up to something different /bigger. I have heard forever that the 44 mag is the way to go.
But as a Police officer I shoot autos very well (currently carry a Glock daily) and thought about a Glock 20 (perhaps Gen 4 or SF).
I know everyone asks for "background" so, currently using a Taurus Tracker 357 mag in bow ranges. Shooting 158 grain Federal Fusions.
For a 10 mm I would get a Glock 20 and thought about getting a Lonewolf extended slide set up.
As for a 44 mag, I thought on a Taurus Raging Bull or possible a Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisely Hunter. (or if I could find one at a reasonable price a S&W stealth Hunter).
Thoughts on it. 10 or 44? And why?

[Quickdraw Limpsalot]

Pick one. Pick both! I personally tend to shoot Ruger revolvers a touch more accurately than most autos, probably mostly due to the longer sight radius.

If you can keep your hits where you want them with your Glock at hunting ranges and you're used to taking deer with a .357, I don't really see how you can go wrong with the 10mm.

If you're just looking for "bigger," you'll love the .44. It's a fantastic short range deer round.

[1tfl]

If you are going to reload the 10mm then it will do what you want. IF you are going to shoot just factory ammo get the 44 mag. Around here 10mm ammo is hard to find and most of it is down loaded to 40 S&W power range.

[JKump]

Good point, I forgot to tell ya'll I will be using factory loads. I have not gone out looking for either of these, but I would guess 44 mag is more common.

[jmr40]

Around here 10mm ammo is hard to find and most of it is down loaded to 40 S&W power range.

www.georgia-arms.com carries 10mm ammo and sells it cheaper than 45, 357 or 44 mag. It is available at every gunshow in GA. or can be ordered online. It is not loaded as hot as www.doubletapammo.com, but it is plenty powerful enough for GA deer. If you really want power order some of the 200 gr DoubleTap ammo @ 1300 fps.

If you already own a 44 or 357 mag revolver I do think they are a better choice. The 10mm ammo has power to spare and the best loads are actually more powerful than the best 357 loads unless they are fired in barrel longer than 6". Most long barreled revolvers are going to be more accurate at longer distances though which makes them a better hunting choice.

But if you have a 10mm, and can shoot it well enough it will get the job done at closer ranges. It would be at least the equal to your 4" 357. And a lot closer to 44 mag loads when 44's are shot from short 4" barrels than many realize. Magnum revolver ballistics you see published are from 8" barrels. Shoot them from 4" barrels and the numbers are disappointing.

I don't handgun hunt, but regularly carry my G-20 in the N GA mts. because of bears. I get 16 shots of 357 mag equivalent loads in a gun that is 1" shorter and 3/4 lb lighter than my 3" revolvers.

[Quickdraw Limpsalot]

Forgot to mention...
THIS is the place to get full power 10mm goodness at a reasonable price. Folks in the various 10mm online communities convinced me and I wasn't let down. (I shoot the 155gr bonded and 180 gr. XTPs in my S&W 1006.)

[NoSecondBest]

JKump,
I've been hunting deer with a handgun for around 40 years now and I've enjoyed great success in doing so. In addition to that, I'm a pretty good handgun shooter with both autos and revolvers. I like Glock handguns but I've got to say, a DAO handgun would be my last choice for deer hunting. Can you kill a deer with one? Yes you can, but it's a very rare shooter who can shoot double action accurately with no adrenalin running, and rarer yet to see one who can with a little bit of adrenalin rush. This is not to imply that you're not a good shot with your Glock, but I'd guess that at beyond 15 yds or so you shoot a single action revolver a lot better. That could be a Ruger single action or a Smith & Wesson being shot single action. I'd strongly suggest you forgo the Glock and pick one of your other choices. FYI, no BS, I've shot over 50 deer with the 357 and another dozen or so with 44mags, 7TCU, and a couple of other long ago traded calibers.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Out to 75 Meters. Its hard to beat a 44s energy dump.
[Speeds quoted are the highest attainable for either calibers {bullet} weigh as read from my Hornady 3rd edition.]

357 158 gr. 75-meters Speed->1095__Energy-> 421 F.P.

44 200 gr. 75-meters Speed->1173__Energy-> 611 F.P.

44 240 gr. 75-meters Speed->1140__Energy-> 692 F.P.

As you can see OP. Speeds are near the same concerning both calibers. But the energy quotation shows the 44 Mag has much greater vantage over the 357. That 2-300 pound offset may mean the difference between walking a couple hundred yards to find your animal. Verses. "Brown is down right at the spot it was shot."_ But it is your call. Just some common book knowledge is all that I've posted for your entertainment.

BTW. I currently shoot a Ruger Red Hawk 44. Had an early S&W L-frame stainless 357 6" that was/had Wolf springs, honed, polished, and shimmed, and I sold it. Have never thought about buying another or wishing I had the one I sold back. Since having the Red Hawk. Major differences between the two calibers is all I can say regarding both cartridges from my personal experience.

S/S

[reynolds357]

If you are going to reload for the 10mm, then I would say its the way to go. If you are shooting factory stuff in it, its downloaded to .40S&W. (with rare and expensive exceptions)

[Bullcamp82834]

I'm a huge fan of the 10mm Glock and think it would be a great deer killer.

But given the choice I would, and have, go with the 44 mag. ( 240 gr Remington JHP factory load)

[bamaranger]

I';m with jmr40 on this one for the most part, and secondbest too.

The G20 is a great knockabout, full power utility pistol that offers easy carry and a lot of beans in hand. I'm not so much worried about bears, but if I want a compact reasonably powerful woods gun, my G20/10mm goes along. As far as shootability, DA/SA, mines got a 3.5 trigger well polished, and is not all that hard to shoot well to 20-25 yds, max for me on deer, and about bow range for me too. I intend to kill a deer with mine, but cannot get a deer to cooperate when I take one up a tree. But I do not consider it an ideal hunting handgun, more of a utility power pistol (?).

For an exclusive hunting handgun for deer and up, I'd likely pick a Ruger SuperB in 7.25" bbl and get a good trigger put on it. I feel certain I would shoot it better than the Glock, no matter how much I like the G20/10mm.
For sure , the .44 mag in all but its modest loads will run circles around the best 10mm. And when you take a .44 into the super heavy weight slug categories, , there is no comparison.

The 10mm is about at its limit with deer and hogs, but the .44 will tackle larger game as well, if loaded properly and shot well.

[mwmjones]

Either will work but the 44 Mag should offer a longer barrel option for accuracy

[ceh47]

Having owned several Glocks over the years, including the G20, and a 44 mag S&W, I would lean toward the 44. As others have stated, the difference in the trigger would be enough to go with a single action (or single/double) revolver. Just my two bits.

[nickE10mm]

Honestly, I've killed three deer with handguns in my life.... and all of them have been with a 10mm in one form or another... (two with my Dan Wesson Razorback and one with my Fusion custom longslide. The first two with the RZ were both with Doubletap 200gr XTP's (~1150fps literal vel.) and the third with the Fusion was with a much hotter handloaded 200gr XTP (1325fps literal vel.). The first deer was a 10-15 yard shot that led to a very quick death (deer ran for about 5-10 yards after the bullet punched through the shoulder on one side and out the other side after breaking the opposite front leg), the second deer was a 25y shot from my climber stand and was a single shot to the boiler room, bang-flop. The third deer was a 5-10y shot and the deer went about 5y. In the future, I'll be using a heavy WFN hardcast at high speed for my 10mm hunting endeavers as I feel that, while the heavy 180-200gr XTP's are good, even THEY won't guarantee a full pass-thru on a deer depending on what's hit.

As for the .44 mag.... I've been on a .44 mag kick for the last several months and will probably be using my Ruger Super Blackhawk Bisley Hunter in .44 most of this coming season. I have a Fastfire 3 mounted to it which is AWESOME, making those intermediate-range shots (20-60y) MUCH easier to make, although I took the FF3 off a week or two ago to play with open sights for a while. (It takes about 3 minutes to put the FF3 back onto the Ruger and minimal shots to ensure the sight is still sighted in, so I just keep the FF3 and its wrench in my .44 case so I have options). I'll be using a warm handloaded 250-255gr WFN or Keith hardcast at 1250-1300fps which, after my recent firelapping project, allow me to get sub-1" 25y groups with OPEN SIGHTS.... Can't wait to get a deer with ol' Blackie!

The bottom line is that either caliber will do the job as long as you put the shot where it counts. If you don't do your part, you could lose a deer, yes. This is the case with ANY handgun, and even any rifle. Place your shot correctly or don't take it Make sure that if you use the 10mm, choose a platform that you can shoot accurately and practice practice practice! The 10mm, if loaded properly, can take deer at ranges much farther than most can shoot accurately at... and we all know that the .44 is effective to at least 100y on deer.

Pick your poison, or do like I do: pick both and switch it up daily during season! (Just remember, practice with both!)

Good luck,
Nick


(pics below)



G20SF w/Barsto and Heinies
http://imageshack.us/a/img43/723/img4503w.jpg

Fusion Longslide
http://imageshack.us/a/img852/399/ni...adionxl8xx.jpg

Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter






DW Razorback
http://imageshack.us/a/img514/6765/img0808s.jpg

[BIG P]

The 44mag gets my vote.I use a 454 myself but the 44 is a might easer to control.

[Ramon_]

I'll take the 44 every time

[The Big Game Hunter]

Either will work fine. If it were me, I'd go with a Ruger pistol in .44 Magnum.

[shortwave]

44mag gets my vote as well.

[alex0535]

.44 mag with a red dot would be what I would want to hunt deer in Georgia with.

With the 10mm you get the familiarity with your Glock. With .44 you get more power, a longer barrel, heavier bullets. It just seems like an overall better round for the purpose of hunting Georgia deer. Either of them will do the job if you do your job well, but they probably won't run quite as far when you shoot them with the .44 magnum.

I love the Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter NickE posted. I own a Fastfire III, and if I were to put it on a .44, I believe I could take a deer in the Georgia woods with this setup. It takes it from lining up the target, front, and rear sights and makes it placing a dot on the target. My FFIII is going to be going on my deer rifle soon. Hunting here is close quarters, perfect country for a red dot on any deer hunting firearm.

[graniteob]

If you're looking for something different thats a step up from the 357. You should consider the .41 Rem magnum. I would look for good deal on a Ruger Redhawk or Blackhawk.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=362130027

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=362428560

[TimSr]

I took many, many deer with my 7 1/2" Ruger Redhawk. Upgraded to a .454 20+ years ago, but still used the .44 for Ohio deer until .454 became legal some years later.

10MM will certainly do the job, but finding factory loads with a more appropriate hunting bullet would be a lot more difficult for 10MM, while quality premium hunting ammo for .44 is readily available on the shelf.

[Claims Rep.]

Personally, I'd pick the 44mag all day over a 10mm. I hunt with a S&W 629 Classic with 8 3/8" barrel, carrying in a shoulder holster. I carry this revolver, and also carry my rifle for longer shots considering I have not scoped the 44mag.


I will add that the Ruger Blackhawk hunter mentioned earlier is also a great 44mag that will function very well in the field. I hope to add one to my collection before too long.

Whichever revolver you choose, if you plan to keep it I would recommend you get a trigger job done on it because that will obviously help you to make better shots.

God bless.

CR

[Bowhunter57]

Yet another vote for the 44 Mag. revolver, for hunting.

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk with a 9 1/2" barrel and a Sight Mark red dot that has impressed me with its' accuracy. Shooting a 240gr. SWC with 19.0gr. of 2400 will give me one hole groups at 25 yards.

I hit this 2 liter bottle of water at 57 yards, first shot. Yep...it's a deer killin' machine and not bad on coyotes either.



Bowhunter57

[sc928porsche]

If you are fond of semi-auto, why not a Desert Eagle in .44 mag.?

[bcarver]

you can't go wrong. atleast you are not trying to use a .380 or .22 lorcin