44 mag or 20 ga

[cridertj]

looking for a new deer gun with a little less punch then my 12 ga. i was thinking a bout a 44 mag but some one told me a 20 ga would be better. i live in indiana so there are not many chosses. i use to hunt with a 44 mag pistol and had no problems out to 50 yards or so but not sure what the range or the rifle would be i was thinking 100 yards or so am i close? would the 44 mag be about like shooting my muzzle loader with 44 cal sabots and 100 gr 777 if so i have gotten many deer with the muzzle loader and see no reason why the 44 would not do the job for me.

[kynardsj]

A 44 mag single shot rifle such as a NEF would be great for hunting deer at 100 yards or a bit farther. A scope in the 3x9x40 range would help on the longer shots. There are a lot of folks on this website that use the NEF's and can tell you more about them in that caliber. Even though I love a 20 guage shotgun, for deer, I'd take a 44 mag over a 20 guage any day.

[vabowhntr]

I would think you would get at least 100, probably close to 150 out of it.  Have you looked at the .357 maximum?  I would go with that if it was me.  I think it can be as fast as a 180 gr pointed bullet at 2200 fps or so.  Sounds better than most 30-30 loads.

[petemi]

I've got Handis in both .357 Maximum and .445 Supermag; both with red-dots on them.  They shoot .38s, .357 mag. .357 Max. and .44 Spec., .44 Russian, .44 Mag and .445 Supers respectively.  Both are very "Handi", versatile, and accurate.  We're in the middle of our Michigan rifle season, and I'm hunting with both of them.  I love my singleshot Pardner 20 ga., but I hunt deer with my rifles

Pete

[mannyrock]

  No question that the .44 mag would be better.  You can easily take deer out to 125 yards.  You can buy factory ammo in a wide varity of loads.  Your instincts are correct, in that it is roughly equivalent to your muzzle loader shooting a .44 mag sabot with a 100 grain charge.

  The 20 gauge sheds velocity much quicker, and in general terms, a shotgun slug, even out of a rifled shotgun barrel, is almost never as accurate as a good rifle. The shotgun shells with slugs are way more expensive than the .44 mag rounds.

  The slug just doesn't "give you anything" in comparison to the rifle round, except for more recoil, less accuracy, higher price, and lower velocity out at 100 yards or more.

[cridertj]

thanks for the replys i do think i will be getting the 44 mag for next year. i have looked at and like the 357 max but dont want the hassel of relading them

[billy_56081]

I would say the number one thing the 44 has going for it is ammo cost. The bad part of the 20 gauge is, to get it to perform you need to use hight dollar sabot ammo. Using Sabot ammo in the 20 you have a realistic 150 yard gun, the 44 mag will do it with standard factory loads or reloads for much much cheeper. I would love to be able to use pistol caliber rifles here in southern MN, not that there would any difference what so ever in performance or range, but I am a cheep SOB.

[petemi]

thanks for the replys i do think i will be getting the 44 mag for next year. i have looked at and like the 357 max but dont want the hassel of relading them

.357 Max ammo is available on line from many sources.  ammobank.com, Reeds Ammunition, Custom Cartridge to name a few.  They're a little pricey, but you can hunt bunnies or punch paper with .38s and move up to black bear if you want to.  The max is about my most "Handi" rifle.

Pete

[kevinsmith5]

I have the 44 mag Handi rifle and the 20 gauge USH.  The ONLY reason I have the 20 gauge is that there is 600 acres of Shotgun/ML only wildlife land across the street from my house.  The 44 has better range and accuracy (even though the 20 has greater accuracy than I ever expected out of a slug gun). Load the 44 up hgot and it can be a good 125 yard thumper that shoots 1 1/2 inch or better at that range.

[Drugstore Cowboy]

Southern Michigan is shotguns or muzzle loaders only; I cann't use the straight walled pistol cartridges.
I've used both shotguns, slugs, or muzzle loaders.  Don't really care for buckshot but have used well it several times. Given the choise between shotguns or muzzle loaders I'll use a 20 ga slug gun.

[petemi]

I believe there's a bill pending now to allow you to use pistol calibers next year.  Check "Michigan Region Hunting"  here on the GBO forum.

Pete

[Old Fart]

Southern Michigan is shotguns or muzzle loaders only; I cann't use the straight walled pistol cartridges.
I've used both shotguns, slugs, or muzzle loaders.  Don't really care for buckshot but have used well it several times. Given the choise between shotguns or muzzle loaders I'll use a 20 ga slug gun.

Man that kind of stinks. Move down south where you can still hunt with real guns. 

[petemi]

Hey Old Fart.  That's his problem.......he's too far south now.   Rifles are legal in the northern 2/3 of Michigan.

Pete