Revolver Bullets for Deer

[mohavesam]

I've had best results using Hornady XTP bullets in heavy-for-caliber loads. In .429, .451, and .475 they have punch and exit. Nosler plated FPs are a close second if I have them built up. Speer for an all-around great target and accuracy bullet. Their FP slugs have been great for me.

I hate lead at anything over 950-1000fps. More trouble than they're worth as I don't care for spending my winter evenings scrubbing lead residue out of expensive handguns.
Head shots all, unless I really want the rack. That makes for a fist-sized target inside 50 yards.

 

[tek4260]

Here are a few thoughts from someone who isn't going to shoot a store bought jacketed bullet when I can cast my own and add to the satisfaction of hunting.

The conventional wisdom is that it is bad for a HP to shed its petals, but I wonder why. Notice the 325gr cast SWC next to a 300gr Mihec HP. These were shot into soft dirt so it isn't scientific, but it looks to me like the HP would still penetrate completely. Also, it would have a pretty jagged nose after shearing the petals, causing even more damage than a WFN.

And here is the HP loaded.

So am I wrong in thinking that full caliber, jagged edge is better than a WFN or a Jacketed HP?

 

[WESHOOT2]

Yes.

 

[wildcatter]

The facts are that Cast bullets, in any big bore revolver are SUPERIOR to jackets. They are less wear and tear, they give better velocity with the same powder charge but lower pressure. They require less cleaning when the proper loading techniques are used, (1200 fps with no leading with plain base bullets, and over 1600 fps with gas check bullets, and proper loads with ZERO LEADING!) and once you get it right I very seldom ever clean the bore as the more you shoot it the better seasoned it becomes. When it comes to accuracy it is obviously more accurate than jackets, and is why almost all target shooters use cast bullets, from Bullseye shooters to silhouette shooters, and then when the proper alloy is used nothing will out perform on game, especially big game, which is why high power rifle shooters shoot jackets, they need there bullets to expand to 40 to 50 caliber to get the job done, and have to rely on speed to drive them, the big bore pistol will do it with the bullet just as it is loaded, it only has to penetrate as it starts out a larger diameter than most rifle bullets open up to, and doesn't need to open up once shot, plus since a freight train such as the 340 grain bullet I shoot in my .45's will do this without the need for super sonic speed, a leisurely subsonic 1200 fps is all you need to penetrate anything on this continent. It is well worth learning how to load cast bullets properly, and when you do, you will have the best loads possible for any big game animal!

 

[David Bradshaw]

Out of curiosity to see just how anemic a couple of factory .44 magnum loads were, I took two Federal loads, (44A) 240 JHP, and (44B) 180 JHP. The idea was to shoot down into an open 55 gallon drum filled with water, see what happens. Fire the 180 JHP first, as it was sure to disintegrate. If one of the bullets had a chance of punching through the bottom of the drum, it would be the 240 JHP.

Revolver: Redhawk .44 mag 5-1/2".

I climbed a stepladder, mainly to get away from the splash, and fired a 180 JHP @ 1610 fps, from about 5 feet above the drum. BOOM! I got soaked. Fragments of jacket and core lay on the bottom of the drum. Amazingly, the bullet, or what was left of it, put a 1/8" dent in the floor of the drum.

Add a few gallons to top off the drum. Next, fire 240 JHP @ 1350 fps. Get soaked again. The 240 JHP mushroomed huge. The bullet made a 3/8" dent in the bottom, stretching the sheet steel to the threshold of breaking.

This was no comprehensive "test," just an experiment with two loads with which I'd taken deer, one shot each. The Federal 180 JHP involved lung shots only, with kills from the 5-1/2" Redhawk, a S&W M-29 4", and an M-29 8-3/8".

The Federal 240 JHP, fired from the 5-1/2" Redhawk, dropped two deer, a shoulder shot and a lung shot.

A note on bullet placement: I was for years a lung shooter, never had a problem. Elgin Gates, whose exploits as a world-wide trophy hunter will never be duplicated, was very big on breaking the shoulders. Gates said that high lung hits, particularly on large members of the African plains grazers, could lead to miles and miles of tracking. More than anything----dangerous game aside----it was high mountain goat hunting that caused Gates to concentrate on dropping an animal in its tracks. A goat could easily tumble off a ledge and fall thousands of feet, to be destroyed or unrecoverable.

Hunting in the South sold me on the shoulder shot. There are places, not necessarily swamp and river bottom, where thorn vine and kudzu are so thick you got to be a snake or coyote----or deer----to get through. Doesn't matter whether it's a rifle or a shotgun or a handgun, you don't want that deer leaving the scene.
David Bradshaw

 

[Major T]

My answer is short. Hard cast between 240 and 300 grains (whatever your revolver/pistol likes best) at a good velocity w/or w/o gas check. No need to go redline as it will penetrate deer. Adjust the weights up or down if your caliber is more or less than .44. Practice and go slay Bambi's dad. jack

 

[paleocaver]

Good write-up. Thanks for posting. I have been tinkering with the idea of handgun hunting this year and have been practicing with a .44 Mag load of 18.5 gr of Win296 under a Oregon Trail TrueShot 310g WNFP GC out of a 50th Anniversary Blackhawk. I'll keep #1 in mind, that's good advice.

SS