I always read how some people carry a handgun a 44 for a backup or to hunt with a 44 hunting for Grizzly bear .Has anyone killed a grizzly with a 44 on this board ?That seems like a mighty task .
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with a handgun ?
rocco
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Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
I've read several articles (back in the old days!) when Larry Kelly of Mag-na-port used to hunt Griz with a SBH stalker. Actually, he hunted all kinds of game all over the world to promote handgun hunting and Mag-na-port. This was back when, if you memtioned that you hunted with a handgun, people would look at you crazy. There was a book out called Hunting with Handguns, by Larry Kelly and J.D. Jones with some great stories in it. It's no longer in print, but great reading if you can get a copy. You will especially like the story when a grizzly decides to enter the cabin where Larrry and his Guide are staying. As I remember it took 17 shots (rifle and pistol, don't remember what rifle, but .44 mag pistol) to get the bear back out of the cabin. Then he walked about 50 yards and died. I believe I would rather have a .454 or .475. 44 Man
I've read several articles (back in the old days!) when Larry Kelly of Mag-na-port used to hunt Griz with a SBH stalker. Actually, he hunted all kinds of game all over the world to promote handgun hunting and Mag-na-port. This was back when, if you memtioned that you hunted with a handgun, people would look at you crazy. There was a book out called Hunting with Handguns, by Larry Kelly and J.D. Jones with some great stories in it. It's no longer in print, but great reading if you can get a copy. You will especially like the story when a grizzly decides to enter the cabin where Larrry and his Guide are staying. As I remember it took 17 shots (rifle and pistol, don't remember what rifle, but .44 mag pistol) to get the bear back out of the cabin. Then he walked about 50 yards and died. I believe I would rather have a .454 or .475. 44 Man
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
I read Larry's account of the bear and the cabin. As I recall he had very good results on other bears using hard cast bullets out of his 44 Mag. The cabin bear was shot with jacketed hollow points. Larry had high praise for the 44 Mag, but not when loaded with JHP's.44 Man said:
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I took one several years ago on the Alaskan Peninsula...
I used a .375/284 XP-100 pistol...I ran out of rounds and finished him with my .454 Casull.
I used a .375/284 XP-100 pistol...I ran out of rounds and finished him with my .454 Casull.
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Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
Speaking of pi$$ed off bears...
Dear Dillon Precision,
My name is Rod Black. Last month I was fishing with my brother at Seneca Lake Arizona, on the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Just after midnight on the 16th of July, 2002, a bear wandered into my camp and attacked me while I slept. He clawed my head open, severing a small artery, and bit me on the back before throwing me off my cot onto the ground.
I found myself on the dirt, in the dark, with blood gushing and literally squirting from my wounds. I was in a state of absolute panic and horror. I had a Ruger Vaquero by my cot, but in the chaos and confusion I could locate neither the revolver nor my glasses, and could see or hear nothing. I was paralyzed by fear and terrified that the bear would come back from out of the darkness and resume his attack on me at any moment.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was perhaps less than a minute, my brother could see the dark form of the bear moving and began to scream. I realized that we were going to die if I didn't come to my senses, and I fell to the ground and located my shooter in the dirt. I asked my brother to try to make it to the pickup and turn on the lights. (He could not find the flashlight, as the bear had knocked it on the ground before the attack.) Without my glasses and in such darkness, I was nearly blind.
After repeatedly asking my brother to go, he somehow made it to the truck and turned on the lights. (Later, I realized that by asking my brother to go into the dark to turn on the lights, I might have sent him to his death - that will haunt me forever.)
The lights came on and revealed my worst nightmare: Not three to four feet away and looking straight at me was the bear. The bogeyman. The thing that goes bump in the dark. This thing had come to kill me and eat my flesh that night... and I knew it.
When he turned for an instant to look at the light, I wiped the blood from my eyes and fired my first shot from the caliber .44-40 Vaquero. I was painfully aware that if my first round was not a good one, I may not have a chance for another. In all my life, I will never forget the sound of the blast or the acrid smell of the gunpowder. The bear was knocked from his feet and hit the ground hard. He thrashed about while I fired again and again - and cursed him while I did - until I was hammering on empty cartridges.
After it was over I was transported part-way down the mountain by off-duty police officer Goode, of the San Carlos Police Department, who had been camping near by and heard the screaming and shooting. I was flown the rest of the way by helicopter to a hospital in Globe.
I have written a letter to Ruger to thank them for making such a quality firearm. One that saved my life. But I realize that it would have been no good at all if the ammunition had not done its job. That is why I am writing this letter. Those .44-40 rounds had been loaded on a Dillon XL 650 that I had purchased a few months ago. I can tell you now that there is NO SUBSTITUTE for QUALITY.
So, if on some dark and bloody night you ever smell the breath of the bear, you will know that you cannot go back and undo what is done. If your life ever hangs by a thread...nothing is better than the best, I can assure you!
From the bottom of my heart I truly thank you folks at Dillon - all of you - for making nothing but the BEST.
Rod Black - Marana, AZ
Article from The Blue Press November 2002 Issue #125.
Speaking of pi$$ed off bears...
Dear Dillon Precision,
My name is Rod Black. Last month I was fishing with my brother at Seneca Lake Arizona, on the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Just after midnight on the 16th of July, 2002, a bear wandered into my camp and attacked me while I slept. He clawed my head open, severing a small artery, and bit me on the back before throwing me off my cot onto the ground.
I found myself on the dirt, in the dark, with blood gushing and literally squirting from my wounds. I was in a state of absolute panic and horror. I had a Ruger Vaquero by my cot, but in the chaos and confusion I could locate neither the revolver nor my glasses, and could see or hear nothing. I was paralyzed by fear and terrified that the bear would come back from out of the darkness and resume his attack on me at any moment.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was perhaps less than a minute, my brother could see the dark form of the bear moving and began to scream. I realized that we were going to die if I didn't come to my senses, and I fell to the ground and located my shooter in the dirt. I asked my brother to try to make it to the pickup and turn on the lights. (He could not find the flashlight, as the bear had knocked it on the ground before the attack.) Without my glasses and in such darkness, I was nearly blind.
After repeatedly asking my brother to go, he somehow made it to the truck and turned on the lights. (Later, I realized that by asking my brother to go into the dark to turn on the lights, I might have sent him to his death - that will haunt me forever.)
The lights came on and revealed my worst nightmare: Not three to four feet away and looking straight at me was the bear. The bogeyman. The thing that goes bump in the dark. This thing had come to kill me and eat my flesh that night... and I knew it.
When he turned for an instant to look at the light, I wiped the blood from my eyes and fired my first shot from the caliber .44-40 Vaquero. I was painfully aware that if my first round was not a good one, I may not have a chance for another. In all my life, I will never forget the sound of the blast or the acrid smell of the gunpowder. The bear was knocked from his feet and hit the ground hard. He thrashed about while I fired again and again - and cursed him while I did - until I was hammering on empty cartridges.
After it was over I was transported part-way down the mountain by off-duty police officer Goode, of the San Carlos Police Department, who had been camping near by and heard the screaming and shooting. I was flown the rest of the way by helicopter to a hospital in Globe.
I have written a letter to Ruger to thank them for making such a quality firearm. One that saved my life. But I realize that it would have been no good at all if the ammunition had not done its job. That is why I am writing this letter. Those .44-40 rounds had been loaded on a Dillon XL 650 that I had purchased a few months ago. I can tell you now that there is NO SUBSTITUTE for QUALITY.
So, if on some dark and bloody night you ever smell the breath of the bear, you will know that you cannot go back and undo what is done. If your life ever hangs by a thread...nothing is better than the best, I can assure you!
From the bottom of my heart I truly thank you folks at Dillon - all of you - for making nothing but the BEST.
Rod Black - Marana, AZ
Article from The Blue Press November 2002 Issue #125.
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Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
Hey VSSF,
Would you consider that a HOT load?
Heck, you wouldn't have needed the headlights that the other poor guy waited for. If the bear was close enough you could have just set him on fire! :-D :-D
VH
Hey VSSF,
Would you consider that a HOT load?
Heck, you wouldn't have needed the headlights that the other poor guy waited for. If the bear was close enough you could have just set him on fire! :-D
:-D VH
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
The video is
"Jack Brittingham's Ultimate Hunting for Alaskan Big Game vol. II
it shows a guy stalk a brownie with a bow. When it notices his movement, it comes toward him. he put it down with a shot to the head with a 45 win mag in an LAR i think. A quick follow-up shot insures his saftey. Supposed to be one of the largest brown bears taken with a handgun. This was his backup gun, too.
The video is
"Jack Brittingham's Ultimate Hunting for Alaskan Big Game vol. II
it shows a guy stalk a brownie with a bow. When it notices his movement, it comes toward him. he put it down with a shot to the head with a 45 win mag in an LAR i think. A quick follow-up shot insures his saftey. Supposed to be one of the largest brown bears taken with a handgun. This was his backup gun, too.
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327 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
No, I have not killed a grizzly with a handgun. I think that the only thing a handgun would be good for is if a grizzly attacked you it would come in handy to shoot yourself with to put yourelf out of the misery of being the bears dinner.
No, I have not killed a grizzly with a handgun. I think that the only thing a handgun would be good for is if a grizzly attacked you it would come in handy to shoot yourself with to put yourelf out of the misery of being the bears dinner.
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
I recall an event on TV where a ranger was releasing a trapped full grown grizzly in Alaska for relocation. The ranger was on top of the trailered trap lifting the gate when the bear exited and turned up to "say goodbye".
The person filming the event had the courage to continue shooting film.
The ranger was knocked down onto the ground with the bear ontop of him, he managed to pull his .357 Magnum and dispatched the attacking bear with two shots.
I bet he filled his pants with lots of warm brown substance. :grin:
Oh yea, he survived the attack with a few punctures in his left arm and some gashes about his head, and that was about it.
I recall an event on TV where a ranger was releasing a trapped full grown grizzly in Alaska for relocation. The ranger was on top of the trailered trap lifting the gate when the bear exited and turned up to "say goodbye".
The person filming the event had the courage to continue shooting film.
The ranger was knocked down onto the ground with the bear ontop of him, he managed to pull his .357 Magnum and dispatched the attacking bear with two shots.
I bet he filled his pants with lots of warm brown substance. :grin:
Oh yea, he survived the attack with a few punctures in his left arm and some gashes about his head, and that was about it.
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
TAFFIN TESTS: THE .44 MAGNUM
JOHN TAFFIN
Recently traveling through Colorado accompanied by two of my best friends and a Bronco loaded to the max with sixguns and ammunition, I was overcome by the beautiful scenery at 11,500 feet at the same time that Willie Nelson's rendition of "Precious Memories" was coming from the tape deck. I had to say to my friends that it just did not get any better than this. As we came down the other side of the mountain, Willie was giving us "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away?"
Time really does get away from us and it is hard to believe that the series of TAFFIN TESTS started with the September/October 1987 issue of AMERICAN HANDGUNNER. It has certainly been an enjoyable experience for me and from the letters received and the contacts made I can assume many of you also.
There is no great lack of cartridges to cover but we get new readers all the time and new bullets and new handguns come along so we will cover old favorites from time to time. The first cartridge we covered was the .44 Magnum and it is time to look at it again. Since that first TAFFIN TESTS was written Colt has finally gave us a .44 Magnum, Ruger introduced the Hunter Model Super Blackhawk, Smith has made major changes to the lockwork of the Model 29 and also given us the Classic DX line, Freedom Arms has made a real mark in hunting and silhouetting with its .44 Magnum, and Texas Longhorn Arms is produced a mirror image .44 Magnum with the ejector rod and loading gate on the left side, and Taurus also introduced a .44 Magnum.
Very few .44 Magnum shooters knew anything about heavyweight bullets then, now we have an excellent factory cast bullet load from Garrett with a 310 grain SWC at 1300 plus feet per second and a jacketed 300 grain bullet load from Black Hills. Freedom Arms, Hornady, Sierra, and Speer all offer 300 grain jacketed bullets designed for hunting.
The .44 Magnum has been outgunned so to speak by the .454 Casull, the .475 Linebaugh, the .500 Linebaugh, the .445 SuperMag, the .475 Maximum, and the .500 Maximum but if anything at all I have gained more respect for it over the years both as to its capabilities and especially its accuracy. Some of my most Precious Memories are associated with the .44 Magnum. Colt, Freedom Arms, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Texas Longhorn Arms, and Dan Wesson are all producing some superbly accurate .44 Magnum sixguns.
The beginning of the .44 Magnum goes all the way back to 1869 when Smith & Wesson introduced the .44 American Single Action. Grand Duke Alexis used the Smith & Wesson to hunt buffalo from horseback with Bill Cody and put his head together with Mssrs. Smith & Wesson and the result was the New Model Number 3 in .44 Russian. In 1907, the case of the .44 Russian which held 23 grains of black powder was lengthened to allow the use of 26 grains of powder and the .44 Special was born.
By the 1920's experimenters had discovered the .44 Special and until the the 1950's touted a 250 grain hard cast bullet at 1200 feet per second as the ideal handgun load. All of this resulted in the .44 Magnum in 1956 with a 240 grain bullet at 1400 feet per second as Smith & Wesson made the sixgun and Remington the ammunition.
The .44 Magnum has done it all. It has been used to take every type of big game on the planet including Alaskan Brown Bear, Polar Bear, African Elephants, and Cape Buffalo. More often than not this has been done with one carefully placed shot. It can be loaded to 1300-1400 feet per second with a hard cast bullet and penetrate five feet from stem to stern in a Cape Buffalo. Loaded down to 850 to 950 feet per second with a 240 grain cast bullet it becomes a superb target cartridge. In between, a 240 to 265 grain bullet at 1300 feet per second makes an excellent silhouette load. With some of the new bullet designs we even finally have defensive loads for the .44 Magnum that will do the job without overzealous penetration.
For years the standard heavy load with the .44 Magnum has been a 250 grain hard cast Keith bullet over 22.0 grains of #2400. Elmer Keith designed this bullet back in the 1920's for use in his .44 Special at 1200 feet per second and it made the transition to the .44 Magnum admirably well. Keith always decried the use of gas checks on sixguns but I have found that gas-checked .44 bullets normally shoot better than plain-based bullets. No better gas-checked bullet has been found that that designed by Ray Thompson for Lyman nearly forty years ago. Lyman catalogs it as #431244GC and it is a 255 grain semi-wadcutter bullet with two shallow grease grooves as well as a gas check.
This bullet shoots superbly with the `standard' #2400 load of 22.0 grains for 1480 feet per second; 25.0 grains of WW296 or H110 or 24.0 grains of H4227 for 1400 feet per second; or 21.5 grains of AA#9 for a slightly milder shooting 1365 feet per second. All of these loads will do less than one-inch at 25 yards with a good sixgun in good hands backed up by good eyes.
It is the 300 grain bullets that really have turned the .44 Magnum into a superb hunting pistol as well as an extremely accurate long-range sixgun. One of my favorite heavyweight bullets is NEI's #295.429GC. As the number indicates, this bullet weighs in just under 300 grains and wears a gas check and I have yet to find a .44 Magnum sixgun that won't sing with this load. My favortie loads for this bullet are 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 for 1300 to 1400 feet per second and superb accuracy and maximum penetration, or 10.0 grains of Unique for a more sedate and easier to shoot 1150 feet per second. The latter makes an excellent load for deer-sized game without giving excessive felt recoil. Bull-X has a new 300 grain bullet and the same charge of 10.0 grains of Unique also gives 1150 feet per second and a good shootin' load.
A new powder line has arrived on the scene and I have been experimenting with VihtaVuori's N110 powder in the .44 Magnum. With a charge of 19.3 grains of N110 under the 295 grain Keith bullet from NEI, muzzle velocity from a seven and one-half inch barreled Freedom Arms .44 Magnum is 1430 feet per second with an extreme spread of only seven feet per second! The same powder with a charge of 21.0 grains under the Hornady 240 XTP gives 1525 feet per second muzzle velocity and an extreme spread of only thirty feet per second.
A relatively new heavyweight bullet design is that from RCBS cataloged as #44-300FN. This is a 310 grain bullet with a flat nose and a gas check and it also has been found to be a superb performer. Loaded over 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 it is a 1400 feet per second load from long-barreled sixguns and has not only delivered sub one-inch groups at 25 yards but groups very close to one-inch at 50 yards. Someone did it right when they designed this one.
When we started the TAFFIN TESTS series, very few bullet manufacturers had yet caught on as to what was needed in a .44 Magnum hunting bullet. All that has changed in the 1990's. All major manufacturers now offer heavyweight .44 bullets with the hunter in mind and they are diverse enough to allow perfect matching of bullet to game. Hornady's 300 grain XTP, Sierra's 300 grain Jacketed Flat Point, and Speer's 300 grain Plated Soft Point offer varying degrees of penetration and expansion. Normally the Hornady XTP is picked for maximum expansion and the Speer PSP for maximum penetration with the Sierra riding right in between the two of them on both counts.
My normal load for the heavyweight bullets is 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 but all of these bullets do not afford the same case capacity. Hornady's XTP's seat the deepest and their manual recommends maximum charges of less than 20.0 grains of WW296 or H110. Sierra's listed maximum load is 21.8 grains of H110, while Hodgdon lists 20.0 grains of H110 as maximum for 300 grain jacketed bullets. In my experiments, 20.3 grains of H110 gives 1200 feet per second with the 300 grain XTP, 21.5 grains of WW296 gives 1135 with the Sierra 300 grain bullet, and 21.7 grains of WW296 drives the Speer 300 grainer at 1200 feet per second. None of these loads should be taken lightly and should be approached with caution. Do not, repeat, DO NOT try to duplicate heavyweight cast bullet muzzle velocities with jacketed bullets. Jacketed bullets not only have more bearing surface they also create much more friction. If 1300 to 1400 feet per second velocities are the goal, cast bullets are the vehicle.
Forty-four Magnum sixguns do not have to be run at full bore to afford great pleasure. Some of my favorite loads are in the moderate to mild category. The above mentioned 295 grain bullet at 1150 feet per second is a sweet shootin' load to say the least. The same powder charge, 10.0 grains of Unique under a 250 grain cast bullet gives around 1170 feet per second and like its bigger brother is certainly adequate for most sixgun use including deer-sized game.
Using the Bull-X 240 grain bullet I have been experimenting with mild loads, workin' loads I call them for pure pleasure use. Some examples are 12.0 grains of Blue Dot for 970 feet per second, 8.5 grains of Unique for 1065 feet per second, and 19.5 grains of H4227 for 1100 feet per second. All of these loads are well above any factory .45 Colt loads which shows their potential as workin' loads and they can be shot all day without pain or strain which shows their pleasure. With all loading for the .44 Magnum two things are essential. A tight full length sizing die that allows maximum bullet pull and a crimping die that gives a heavy crimp. Both are necessary for proper ignition and powder burning with heavy loads. I use Magnum primers with all moderate to heavy loads, either CCI's #350 or Federal's #155.
As we rapidly approach the twenty-first century, I see increased popularity for the .44 Magnum. It made handgun hunting a viable part of handgunning, has few equals as a long-range sixgun cartridge and can be loaded down to midrange levels that still deliver superb accuracy. It would be hard to not consider it the all around sixgun cartridge.
LOADS FOR THE .44 MAGNUM
BULLET LOAD MV
Jacketed Bullet Loads:
Hornady 240 XTP 25.0 gr. WW296 1515
Sierra 240 JHP 25.0 gr. WW296 1465
Sierra 240 JHP 22.0 gr. AA#9 1408
Speer 240 JHP 22.0 gr. AA#9 1347
Speer 240 FMJ 24.6 gr. WW296 1306
Sierra 250 FMJ 23.0 gr. WW296 1383
Ballard Built 250 JHP 25.0 gr. WW296 1403
Hornady 265 JFP 23.0 gr. WW296 1283
Hornady 300 XTP 20.3 gr. H110 1208
Hornady 300 XTP 21.6 gr. WW296 1250
Sierra 300 JFP 21.5 gr. WW296 1134
Speer 300 PSP 21.7 gr. H110 1198
Cast Bullet Loads:
Lyman #431244GC 10.0 gr. Herco 1105
Lyman #431244GC 25.0 gr. WW296 1395
Lyman #431244GC 22.0 gr. #2400 1484
Lyman #431244GC 21.5 gr. AA#9 1365
Lyman #431244GC 24.0 gr. H4227 1395
NEI #295.429GC 10.0 gr. Unique 1157
NEI #295.429GC Keith 21.5 gr. WW296 1395
RCBS #44-300FN 21.5 gr. WW296 1402
SSK 310.429FN 21.5 gr. WW296 1312
Special Pleasure Loads for the .44 Magnum:
Bull-X 240 SWC
6.5 gr. HP38 851
6.0 gr. WW452AA 860
7.5 gr. WW231 914
7.0 gr. BullsEye 971
12.0 gr. Blue Dot 992
12.0 gr. HS-6 1041
8.5 gr. Unique 1065
19.5 gr. H4227 1109
10.5 gr. Herco 1132
TAFFIN TESTS: THE .44 MAGNUM
JOHN TAFFIN
Recently traveling through Colorado accompanied by two of my best friends and a Bronco loaded to the max with sixguns and ammunition, I was overcome by the beautiful scenery at 11,500 feet at the same time that Willie Nelson's rendition of "Precious Memories" was coming from the tape deck. I had to say to my friends that it just did not get any better than this. As we came down the other side of the mountain, Willie was giving us "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away?"
Time really does get away from us and it is hard to believe that the series of TAFFIN TESTS started with the September/October 1987 issue of AMERICAN HANDGUNNER. It has certainly been an enjoyable experience for me and from the letters received and the contacts made I can assume many of you also.
There is no great lack of cartridges to cover but we get new readers all the time and new bullets and new handguns come along so we will cover old favorites from time to time. The first cartridge we covered was the .44 Magnum and it is time to look at it again. Since that first TAFFIN TESTS was written Colt has finally gave us a .44 Magnum, Ruger introduced the Hunter Model Super Blackhawk, Smith has made major changes to the lockwork of the Model 29 and also given us the Classic DX line, Freedom Arms has made a real mark in hunting and silhouetting with its .44 Magnum, and Texas Longhorn Arms is produced a mirror image .44 Magnum with the ejector rod and loading gate on the left side, and Taurus also introduced a .44 Magnum.
Very few .44 Magnum shooters knew anything about heavyweight bullets then, now we have an excellent factory cast bullet load from Garrett with a 310 grain SWC at 1300 plus feet per second and a jacketed 300 grain bullet load from Black Hills. Freedom Arms, Hornady, Sierra, and Speer all offer 300 grain jacketed bullets designed for hunting.
The .44 Magnum has been outgunned so to speak by the .454 Casull, the .475 Linebaugh, the .500 Linebaugh, the .445 SuperMag, the .475 Maximum, and the .500 Maximum but if anything at all I have gained more respect for it over the years both as to its capabilities and especially its accuracy. Some of my most Precious Memories are associated with the .44 Magnum. Colt, Freedom Arms, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Texas Longhorn Arms, and Dan Wesson are all producing some superbly accurate .44 Magnum sixguns.
The beginning of the .44 Magnum goes all the way back to 1869 when Smith & Wesson introduced the .44 American Single Action. Grand Duke Alexis used the Smith & Wesson to hunt buffalo from horseback with Bill Cody and put his head together with Mssrs. Smith & Wesson and the result was the New Model Number 3 in .44 Russian. In 1907, the case of the .44 Russian which held 23 grains of black powder was lengthened to allow the use of 26 grains of powder and the .44 Special was born.
By the 1920's experimenters had discovered the .44 Special and until the the 1950's touted a 250 grain hard cast bullet at 1200 feet per second as the ideal handgun load. All of this resulted in the .44 Magnum in 1956 with a 240 grain bullet at 1400 feet per second as Smith & Wesson made the sixgun and Remington the ammunition.
The .44 Magnum has done it all. It has been used to take every type of big game on the planet including Alaskan Brown Bear, Polar Bear, African Elephants, and Cape Buffalo. More often than not this has been done with one carefully placed shot. It can be loaded to 1300-1400 feet per second with a hard cast bullet and penetrate five feet from stem to stern in a Cape Buffalo. Loaded down to 850 to 950 feet per second with a 240 grain cast bullet it becomes a superb target cartridge. In between, a 240 to 265 grain bullet at 1300 feet per second makes an excellent silhouette load. With some of the new bullet designs we even finally have defensive loads for the .44 Magnum that will do the job without overzealous penetration.
For years the standard heavy load with the .44 Magnum has been a 250 grain hard cast Keith bullet over 22.0 grains of #2400. Elmer Keith designed this bullet back in the 1920's for use in his .44 Special at 1200 feet per second and it made the transition to the .44 Magnum admirably well. Keith always decried the use of gas checks on sixguns but I have found that gas-checked .44 bullets normally shoot better than plain-based bullets. No better gas-checked bullet has been found that that designed by Ray Thompson for Lyman nearly forty years ago. Lyman catalogs it as #431244GC and it is a 255 grain semi-wadcutter bullet with two shallow grease grooves as well as a gas check.
This bullet shoots superbly with the `standard' #2400 load of 22.0 grains for 1480 feet per second; 25.0 grains of WW296 or H110 or 24.0 grains of H4227 for 1400 feet per second; or 21.5 grains of AA#9 for a slightly milder shooting 1365 feet per second. All of these loads will do less than one-inch at 25 yards with a good sixgun in good hands backed up by good eyes.
It is the 300 grain bullets that really have turned the .44 Magnum into a superb hunting pistol as well as an extremely accurate long-range sixgun. One of my favorite heavyweight bullets is NEI's #295.429GC. As the number indicates, this bullet weighs in just under 300 grains and wears a gas check and I have yet to find a .44 Magnum sixgun that won't sing with this load. My favortie loads for this bullet are 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 for 1300 to 1400 feet per second and superb accuracy and maximum penetration, or 10.0 grains of Unique for a more sedate and easier to shoot 1150 feet per second. The latter makes an excellent load for deer-sized game without giving excessive felt recoil. Bull-X has a new 300 grain bullet and the same charge of 10.0 grains of Unique also gives 1150 feet per second and a good shootin' load.
A new powder line has arrived on the scene and I have been experimenting with VihtaVuori's N110 powder in the .44 Magnum. With a charge of 19.3 grains of N110 under the 295 grain Keith bullet from NEI, muzzle velocity from a seven and one-half inch barreled Freedom Arms .44 Magnum is 1430 feet per second with an extreme spread of only seven feet per second! The same powder with a charge of 21.0 grains under the Hornady 240 XTP gives 1525 feet per second muzzle velocity and an extreme spread of only thirty feet per second.
A relatively new heavyweight bullet design is that from RCBS cataloged as #44-300FN. This is a 310 grain bullet with a flat nose and a gas check and it also has been found to be a superb performer. Loaded over 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 it is a 1400 feet per second load from long-barreled sixguns and has not only delivered sub one-inch groups at 25 yards but groups very close to one-inch at 50 yards. Someone did it right when they designed this one.
When we started the TAFFIN TESTS series, very few bullet manufacturers had yet caught on as to what was needed in a .44 Magnum hunting bullet. All that has changed in the 1990's. All major manufacturers now offer heavyweight .44 bullets with the hunter in mind and they are diverse enough to allow perfect matching of bullet to game. Hornady's 300 grain XTP, Sierra's 300 grain Jacketed Flat Point, and Speer's 300 grain Plated Soft Point offer varying degrees of penetration and expansion. Normally the Hornady XTP is picked for maximum expansion and the Speer PSP for maximum penetration with the Sierra riding right in between the two of them on both counts.
My normal load for the heavyweight bullets is 21.5 grains of WW296 or H110 but all of these bullets do not afford the same case capacity. Hornady's XTP's seat the deepest and their manual recommends maximum charges of less than 20.0 grains of WW296 or H110. Sierra's listed maximum load is 21.8 grains of H110, while Hodgdon lists 20.0 grains of H110 as maximum for 300 grain jacketed bullets. In my experiments, 20.3 grains of H110 gives 1200 feet per second with the 300 grain XTP, 21.5 grains of WW296 gives 1135 with the Sierra 300 grain bullet, and 21.7 grains of WW296 drives the Speer 300 grainer at 1200 feet per second. None of these loads should be taken lightly and should be approached with caution. Do not, repeat, DO NOT try to duplicate heavyweight cast bullet muzzle velocities with jacketed bullets. Jacketed bullets not only have more bearing surface they also create much more friction. If 1300 to 1400 feet per second velocities are the goal, cast bullets are the vehicle.
Forty-four Magnum sixguns do not have to be run at full bore to afford great pleasure. Some of my favorite loads are in the moderate to mild category. The above mentioned 295 grain bullet at 1150 feet per second is a sweet shootin' load to say the least. The same powder charge, 10.0 grains of Unique under a 250 grain cast bullet gives around 1170 feet per second and like its bigger brother is certainly adequate for most sixgun use including deer-sized game.
Using the Bull-X 240 grain bullet I have been experimenting with mild loads, workin' loads I call them for pure pleasure use. Some examples are 12.0 grains of Blue Dot for 970 feet per second, 8.5 grains of Unique for 1065 feet per second, and 19.5 grains of H4227 for 1100 feet per second. All of these loads are well above any factory .45 Colt loads which shows their potential as workin' loads and they can be shot all day without pain or strain which shows their pleasure. With all loading for the .44 Magnum two things are essential. A tight full length sizing die that allows maximum bullet pull and a crimping die that gives a heavy crimp. Both are necessary for proper ignition and powder burning with heavy loads. I use Magnum primers with all moderate to heavy loads, either CCI's #350 or Federal's #155.
As we rapidly approach the twenty-first century, I see increased popularity for the .44 Magnum. It made handgun hunting a viable part of handgunning, has few equals as a long-range sixgun cartridge and can be loaded down to midrange levels that still deliver superb accuracy. It would be hard to not consider it the all around sixgun cartridge.
LOADS FOR THE .44 MAGNUM
BULLET LOAD MV
Jacketed Bullet Loads:
Hornady 240 XTP 25.0 gr. WW296 1515
Sierra 240 JHP 25.0 gr. WW296 1465
Sierra 240 JHP 22.0 gr. AA#9 1408
Speer 240 JHP 22.0 gr. AA#9 1347
Speer 240 FMJ 24.6 gr. WW296 1306
Sierra 250 FMJ 23.0 gr. WW296 1383
Ballard Built 250 JHP 25.0 gr. WW296 1403
Hornady 265 JFP 23.0 gr. WW296 1283
Hornady 300 XTP 20.3 gr. H110 1208
Hornady 300 XTP 21.6 gr. WW296 1250
Sierra 300 JFP 21.5 gr. WW296 1134
Speer 300 PSP 21.7 gr. H110 1198
Cast Bullet Loads:
Lyman #431244GC 10.0 gr. Herco 1105
Lyman #431244GC 25.0 gr. WW296 1395
Lyman #431244GC 22.0 gr. #2400 1484
Lyman #431244GC 21.5 gr. AA#9 1365
Lyman #431244GC 24.0 gr. H4227 1395
NEI #295.429GC 10.0 gr. Unique 1157
NEI #295.429GC Keith 21.5 gr. WW296 1395
RCBS #44-300FN 21.5 gr. WW296 1402
SSK 310.429FN 21.5 gr. WW296 1312
Special Pleasure Loads for the .44 Magnum:
Bull-X 240 SWC
6.5 gr. HP38 851
6.0 gr. WW452AA 860
7.5 gr. WW231 914
7.0 gr. BullsEye 971
12.0 gr. Blue Dot 992
12.0 gr. HS-6 1041
8.5 gr. Unique 1065
19.5 gr. H4227 1109
10.5 gr. Herco 1132
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66 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
Just came across this post. I remember reading an article in Alaska magazine about three guys who went fishing just after midnight. One of the men spotted a charging bear coming just a few yards away from him. He grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun and threw it at the bear (said he didn't have time to point and shoot) and dived into the river. His buddy saw the bear, grabbed his 9mm (yes, his tiny 9mm) and fired. He fired a total of seven shots. He said the first was at the bears shoulder. That dropped him. YIKES! Three more hit him in the head. One was fatal and two others made a scrape mark richoceting off the skull. After reporting the incident to the ASP, they were told to return and skin the bear and I believe cut off the paws and report it to Fish and Widlife. That part seems strange to me, but they did have to return and somehow dispose of the carcuss. Mostly what I remember was the fisherman carrying a 9mm. During my visit to Alaska, I mentioned carrying a 357. NO WAY I was told...atleast a 44 should be carried.
Just came across this post. I remember reading an article in Alaska magazine about three guys who went fishing just after midnight. One of the men spotted a charging bear coming just a few yards away from him. He grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun and threw it at the bear (said he didn't have time to point and shoot) and dived into the river. His buddy saw the bear, grabbed his 9mm (yes, his tiny 9mm) and fired. He fired a total of seven shots. He said the first was at the bears shoulder. That dropped him. YIKES! Three more hit him in the head. One was fatal and two others made a scrape mark richoceting off the skull. After reporting the incident to the ASP, they were told to return and skin the bear and I believe cut off the paws and report it to Fish and Widlife. That part seems strange to me, but they did have to return and somehow dispose of the carcuss. Mostly what I remember was the fisherman carrying a 9mm. During my visit to Alaska, I mentioned carrying a 357. NO WAY I was told...atleast a 44 should be carried.
Joined
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895 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
No I have not killed a bear with handgun,and I can safely say I never will,cuz I have better sense than to be out there in bear country with one."I may have been born at night;but it wasn't last night." :lol: Rick
No I have not killed a bear with handgun,and I can safely say I never will,cuz I have better sense than to be out there in bear country with one."I may have been born at night;but it wasn't last night." :lol: Rick
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571 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
Here is the story HogSniper was refering to, The whole story and a pic of the (very small sow) can be seen at http://www.adn.com/front/story/1633810p-1751603c.html
Kenai River -- When a brown bear poked its head over the bluff behind the state's most popular fishing hole just after midnight Friday, 20-year-old Matt Pennington was surprised.
When it came full-bore for Pennington, the surprise turned to shock.
"The speed," he said this week, "that's the part that gets me."
Nervous about bears, Pennington had carried a shotgun on a sling across his back as he and fishing buddies Garen and Kalen Brenner hiked down along the Russian River to near the Kenai ferry crossing earlier that evening.
The shotgun was still there as Pennington stood knee-deep in the water about 100 feet upstream from the ferry landing on the river's south bank. When the salmon run peaks, hundreds of anglers line up shoulder-to-shoulder along this stretch of river.
On this night, though, there was only Pennington, his longtime friends the Brenners and three others.
"I was casting," Pennington said, "and I just happened to turn to the left. I saw (the bear) right there, coming up over the hill. It came right at me at a full run. I yelled, 'Bear, bear, and he's charging.' "
Pennington threw down his fishing rod and began wrestling the pistol-gripped Mossberg, pump-action 12-gauge off his back. He was unsure whether he'd been able to chamber a shell when he realized the bear was almost on him.
With the grizzly at three feet away, Pennington knew he had to do something. But what? He was deadly afraid of pulling the trigger on the shotgun only to hear the thunk of a firing pin falling on an empty chamber.
So he threw the gun in the bear's face and dove for the deep water of the fast-flowing river.
"I tried to stay underwater as long as I could," Pennington said. "It got real deep."
As Pennington submerged, the Brenners were drawing their guns.
Kalen had heard, "Bear, bear," before seeing a blur as Pennington disappeared into the river with the dark shape of the bear close behind.
"It was fast," 21-year-old Garen said. "We didn't hear any footsteps or anything."
"By the time I saw (Pennington) hit the water," Garen said, "I just started shooting.
"Usually I keep the gun in my chest waders, not loaded."
On this night, though, he had decided to fasten the holster to a strap holding up his waders, and the gun was where he needed it.
"We've fished there for years," Garen said. "We've seen bears. They've just never been a problem. They don't usually come over the hill and charge you."
Still, the men knew there was danger. When people in the Grayling Parking Lot at the Russian River Campground asked why they carried firearms, Kalen told them it seemed better to play it safe.
"Me and my brother, we're always looking out for something that's not normal," he said.
This was far from normal.
"(The bear) was five feet away when (Garen) got that first shot off," Kalen said. "That's how fast it was coming."
That Garen hit the fast-moving bear with his handgun was fortunate, he admits. That one of the 9 mm, full-metal-jacket bullets -- woefully inadequate for stopping a charging brown bear -- happened to slam into the socket of the bear's front shoulder might almost be considered a miracle.
That bullet blew up the shoulder. The bear went down, rolled over and spun.
Garen kept shooting, now joined by Kalen. They estimated they fired at least seven shots.
"I pointed my gun at its head and shot three or more times," Garen said. "And we're yelling, 'Matt! Matt! Where are you,' because we didn't know where he was."
"I thought he was drowning," Kalen said.
Pennington wasn't drowning. He was just coming up from his Kenai dive in chest-high neoprene waders, hoping the bear was gone.
It wasn't, or so Pennington thought.
"I saw the second bear, and I thought it was the first one," he said. "I thought it was coming down the river after me."
"I heard him yell, 'Shoot, shoot,' " Kalen said.
Only then did the Brenners realize there even was a second bear.
"It was so dark you could barely see," Garen said. "We saw the bear because it was blacker than the dark, and because it moved."
The second bear ran as Pennington screamed.
"We honestly thought it was a baby we had killed," Garen said.
Larry Lewis, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife technician, later estimated the weight of the dead bear at 400 to 450 pounds. The Brenners admitted they don't know much about the size of bears, having only seen them at a distance.
"Neither of us have ever hunted or anything," Garen said.
Here is the story HogSniper was refering to, The whole story and a pic of the (very small sow) can be seen at http://www.adn.com/front/story/1633810p-1751603c.html
Kenai River -- When a brown bear poked its head over the bluff behind the state's most popular fishing hole just after midnight Friday, 20-year-old Matt Pennington was surprised.
When it came full-bore for Pennington, the surprise turned to shock.
"The speed," he said this week, "that's the part that gets me."
Nervous about bears, Pennington had carried a shotgun on a sling across his back as he and fishing buddies Garen and Kalen Brenner hiked down along the Russian River to near the Kenai ferry crossing earlier that evening.
The shotgun was still there as Pennington stood knee-deep in the water about 100 feet upstream from the ferry landing on the river's south bank. When the salmon run peaks, hundreds of anglers line up shoulder-to-shoulder along this stretch of river.
On this night, though, there was only Pennington, his longtime friends the Brenners and three others.
"I was casting," Pennington said, "and I just happened to turn to the left. I saw (the bear) right there, coming up over the hill. It came right at me at a full run. I yelled, 'Bear, bear, and he's charging.' "
Pennington threw down his fishing rod and began wrestling the pistol-gripped Mossberg, pump-action 12-gauge off his back. He was unsure whether he'd been able to chamber a shell when he realized the bear was almost on him.
With the grizzly at three feet away, Pennington knew he had to do something. But what? He was deadly afraid of pulling the trigger on the shotgun only to hear the thunk of a firing pin falling on an empty chamber.
So he threw the gun in the bear's face and dove for the deep water of the fast-flowing river.
"I tried to stay underwater as long as I could," Pennington said. "It got real deep."
As Pennington submerged, the Brenners were drawing their guns.
Kalen had heard, "Bear, bear," before seeing a blur as Pennington disappeared into the river with the dark shape of the bear close behind.
"It was fast," 21-year-old Garen said. "We didn't hear any footsteps or anything."
"By the time I saw (Pennington) hit the water," Garen said, "I just started shooting.
"Usually I keep the gun in my chest waders, not loaded."
On this night, though, he had decided to fasten the holster to a strap holding up his waders, and the gun was where he needed it.
"We've fished there for years," Garen said. "We've seen bears. They've just never been a problem. They don't usually come over the hill and charge you."
Still, the men knew there was danger. When people in the Grayling Parking Lot at the Russian River Campground asked why they carried firearms, Kalen told them it seemed better to play it safe.
"Me and my brother, we're always looking out for something that's not normal," he said.
This was far from normal.
"(The bear) was five feet away when (Garen) got that first shot off," Kalen said. "That's how fast it was coming."
That Garen hit the fast-moving bear with his handgun was fortunate, he admits. That one of the 9 mm, full-metal-jacket bullets -- woefully inadequate for stopping a charging brown bear -- happened to slam into the socket of the bear's front shoulder might almost be considered a miracle.
That bullet blew up the shoulder. The bear went down, rolled over and spun.
Garen kept shooting, now joined by Kalen. They estimated they fired at least seven shots.
"I pointed my gun at its head and shot three or more times," Garen said. "And we're yelling, 'Matt! Matt! Where are you,' because we didn't know where he was."
"I thought he was drowning," Kalen said.
Pennington wasn't drowning. He was just coming up from his Kenai dive in chest-high neoprene waders, hoping the bear was gone.
It wasn't, or so Pennington thought.
"I saw the second bear, and I thought it was the first one," he said. "I thought it was coming down the river after me."
"I heard him yell, 'Shoot, shoot,' " Kalen said.
Only then did the Brenners realize there even was a second bear.
"It was so dark you could barely see," Garen said. "We saw the bear because it was blacker than the dark, and because it moved."
The second bear ran as Pennington screamed.
"We honestly thought it was a baby we had killed," Garen said.
Larry Lewis, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife technician, later estimated the weight of the dead bear at 400 to 450 pounds. The Brenners admitted they don't know much about the size of bears, having only seen them at a distance.
"Neither of us have ever hunted or anything," Garen said.
here's one
Here's a story from the super cub guru himself....wel, his wife anyway.
http://www.fepco.com/bear_attack.html
Here's a story from the super cub guru himself....wel, his wife anyway.
http://www.fepco.com/bear_attack.html
Joined
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1,023 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
HogSniper, that was in Soldotna AK, on the Kenai river. (use to live a mile from there) Alaska DFG, requires any bear shot in self defence be skined and the paws be turned over to them. They usually have it tanned and the money goes into their beer,oops! training fund.
Gun Runner
HogSniper, that was in Soldotna AK, on the Kenai river. (use to live a mile from there) Alaska DFG, requires any bear shot in self defence be skined and the paws be turned over to them. They usually have it tanned and the money goes into their beer,oops! training fund.
Gun Runner
Joined
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203 Posts
Has anyone ever killed a grizzly bear with
I read in guns and ammo magazine somebody shot a polar bear with a 44. he Put 5 shots behind the sholder. Two bounced off but it could be done with a grizzly too.
I read in guns and ammo magazine somebody shot a polar bear with a 44. he Put 5 shots behind the sholder. Two bounced off but it could be done with a grizzly too.
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