Posted on 11/09/2014 12:33:59 PM PST by lbryce
Garrett’s heavy .44 Magnum load proved exceptionally effective, going through-and-through breaking both shoulders of the pronghorn.
Sometimes what we hunt with is almost as important (and often more interesting) than what we hunt. “You won’t see a trophy buck antelope in the unit, Sam.” That’s what Tracy told me. As a full-time professional government hunter he should know. After all, he lives day by day in the region. But undying optimism had me looking for that “big boy” anyway. I won’t say how many bucks I ended up studying under 12X magnification. Might sound a bit unbelievable. But of course Tracy was right. I saw not one “special” buck. No rain. No new food. No horns. Since I live where a short walk from my front door puts me in antelope country, I’ve taken the prince of the plains with bow & arrow, muzzleloader, the iron-sighted .30-30 clan, right up to my custom McGowen (Montana) sizzling .240 Gibbs with an 80-gr. bullet pushing four grand. But never a handgun.
It was time to change that. Know thyself has always been good advice, whether from Shakespeare or a pundit preaching around the back-room gun store cracker barrel. And I know me. I have some fine six-guns and semi-autos. But I end up packing only the least weighty when on foot in the game field. For pronghorns, I would employ a handful of potency in a light package. The Smith &Wesson Model 329 PD .44 Magnum Scandium. Easy on the hip at 25.5 ounces unloaded, the Scandium is heavy on smack-down.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanhandgunner.com ...
A .44 Magnum will take down some good size ruminants for sure.
Big ass round, with a lot of kinetic energy and hitting power.
Fired one a few times... found it... NOT pleasant... haha!
Love my S&W Model 29.
What are the advantages, if any, of a .44 rifle over, say a 30/30? I’ve never been able to figure that out.
Mrs. L is quite fond of her 4” Model 629.
For what it is worth, a 240 grain would be overkill for an antelope. The animal is called “Turbo-Goat” because of its speed and size.
IMHO, a 310 grain is more of a “Hail Mary” round for a brown bear attack scenario.
Having shot .44 mag since college (back when Jesus wore short pants) my wrist can take a maximum hand load and a Lee 310 grain bullet when I use a Dan Wesson revolver with the same length barrel the author of the article used.
He is a better man on recoil than I when he chose that light weight, short barrel .44 mag and that load.
Felt recoil may well be similar to or likely greater than a 7.5” Super Redhawk .454.
You need a 6-8 inch barrel to make it fun, that is unless you are shooting paint cans or canned fruit.
—I am reminded of a quote from some years ago-forget the gun writer—speaking of the Elmer Kieth fans as never having been convinced that the .30-30 was an adequate deer cartridge until it was available in handguns-—
One possible advantage could be carrying only one cartridge for both rifle and handgun.
“...back when Jesus wore short pants...”
That is the funniest thing I’ve heard to describe “back in the day”...haha!!!
I’ve shot big bore rifles, handguns, etc., and I’m not a fan of the recoil. I had a .45-70 Marlin 1895G for a few years, and that was a bear.
I stick to 7.62 and 5.56 now for rifle work (I also like .30-06, .303, 7.92x57 and 7.62x54R).
Handguns, I stick with .45 and 9mm.
Buddy of mine has a SW .460 handgun... frigging thing is a cannon.
“and I’m not a fan of the recoil” - - Yes, indeedy!
A friend offered me a .378 Weatherby, a Weatherby custom shop product with a stock of wood one would expect to see on a fine Italian shotgun. However, being attached to my retinas, and wanting them not be detached, I regretfully passed.
‘Twas a pity, as that could easily have been a superb long range hunting rifle.
I’ve taken a few deer and a #300 black bear with an 8” .44 mag. Deer surrender instantly. The bear, a little convincing.
For folks who prefer a semi-auto, Ruger once made the M44, which was a .44 Magnum semi. It's the rifle that put Larry Flynt in a wheelchair.
I got one too. I have to hand-load my own rounds to bring them to a more comfortable plinking and practice round. My full power for hunting though. They pack a wallop. Unfortunately. It lies at the bottom of a lake from when my canoe tipped over. Freepers are the clumsiest boaters.
No doubt... .44mag is quite the powerful performer.
The old .45-70 I had was black bear killer too; the gentleman I purchased it from took several with it over the years.
Now... .45-70... I always wanted a Trapdoor Springfield in .45-70. Even a repro would be nice, but the price is not attractive. Pedersoli makes/ made some fine repros some years back, but they were like 800 bucks. Too much..
In a self defense situation, 10 or 11 rounds in the magazine instead of 6.
I had one of the Rugers, I wish I had never sold it.
Great light weight rifle, with plenty of power.
Oh well.
Man, that is SWEET...
Harrington and Richardson... I have an old bolt action 20g shotgun from them. late 1940s vintage.
Been around a long time.
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