.44 Magnum "Manstopper" Loads?

[Koda]

Well, these are "ratstoppers".

those are for the really small but fast bad guys...

 

[JuglansRegia]

I have some 210gr silvertips that are supposed to be moving about 1600 fps out of a 6" barrel

 

[titsonritz]

44 S&W Special 200gr DPX

 

[titsonritz]

I have some 210gr silvertips that are supposed to be moving about 1600 fps out of a 6" barrel

Its more like
– Muzzle Velocity: 1250 fps
– Muzzle Energy: 729 ft lbs Warranted against manufacturers defects.

https://opticsandammo.com/product/winchester-ammo-supx-44-remmag-210gr-silvertip-hp-mfg-x44ms/
https://www.safesidetactical.com/shop/win-sprx-silvertip-44mag-210gr-20-60320
https://palmettostatearmory.com/win...rtip-hollow-point-ammunition-20rds-x44ms.html
https://www.munitionsexpress.com/wi...-bear-44-magnum-210gr-silvertip-hollow-point/

 

[Paolung]

So, I find myself carrying, and shooting, the various .44 Magnums more and more these days. Whilst looking over an older text, I read a synopsis of various .455 Webley loads, including the famous "manstopper" wadcutter/hollowpoint. Which got me to thinking about similar loads for the .44 Special/Magnum; that being for social applications, that are on the heavier side, hollow-point, maybe wadcutter or semi-wadcutter, et al.

What are some loads along these lines you've employed? In what revolvers and barrel lengths? Thanks!

P.S. The .44 Magnum is a fine target and hunting cartridge, but this thread is on defense against problematic two-legged types.

Buffalo Bore's:
"Anti-Personnel" load
"Deer Grenade" +P
Heavy +P+ (big ol' 340g chunk-o-lead)

Their Anti-Personnel 44 Spec.

 

[bionic knees]

the problem with buffalo bore is that they are coming in at approx $125 per box of 50 plus shipping. that's a manstopper right there!!

 

[Paolung]

the problem with buffalo bore is that they are coming in at approx $125 per box of 50 plus shipping. that's a manstopper right there!!

Yeah, definitely not for target practice!

But if you want a real stomper of a load, they have 'em in most of the common mid to large calibers.

 

[Certaindeaf]

A 180 grain HP driven really fast.
The traditional 240 grain hollow points are so heavily constructed they will never expand unless you hit a big rock so going even heavier and slower doesn't make sense.
A fast light (180-200gr) SWC also makes larger than caliber wound channels in animals.
In .357, the classic stopper is a SJHP 125 gr, not a solid 200 grainer or anything in between.

 

[JuglansRegia]

Its more like
– Muzzle Velocity: 1250 fps
– Muzzle Energy: 729 ft lbs Warranted against manufacturers defects.

https://opticsandammo.com/product/winchester-ammo-supx-44-remmag-210gr-silvertip-hp-mfg-x44ms/
https://www.safesidetactical.com/shop/win-sprx-silvertip-44mag-210gr-20-60320
https://palmettostatearmory.com/win...rtip-hollow-point-ammunition-20rds-x44ms.html
https://www.munitionsexpress.com/wi...-bear-44-magnum-210gr-silvertip-hollow-point/

Nope, l loaded these myself back in the day when you could buy silvertips as components. I would have to dig out a box to find the load data but it was near maximum and they expaned nicely

 

[titsonritz]

Nope, l loaded these myself back in the day when you could buy silvertips as components. I would have to dig out a box to find the load data but it was near maximum and they expaned nicely

Ah-ha, gotcha. I bet they did expand nicely, Silvertips aren't bonded construction, nothing to stop them from mushrooming at those speeds.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I've had interesting experience with .44 shot loads, in a buddy's filbert orchard, dispatching destructive ground squirrels. We used to buy the Speer capsules, and load our own. Found them to be a very short range solution, even out of my 7 1/2" Redhawk. As you push them faster, the pattern opens up so fast they aren't very useful. Loaded optimally, 15-20 feet was the practical limit. Interesting, but not all that useful, IMHO. About once every two weeks, we'd go out for "TNT"....tank and twelve gauge, lol. If all the squirrels did was eat the nuts, there were plenty to go around but the little buggers would dig under the base of a tree and take a 100 year old tree down in short order. They'd run underground quick when they heard us coming....and we'd back a huge water tank up to the base of the tree, and open the ball valve on a 3" hose, and flood their little butts out of the ground....where they met with the next adventure.

Back on topic, there are some crazy powerful loads out there for the .44 Mag, but honestly the basic 240 grain JHP moving along 12-1300 fps is a pretty serious load. For scruffy 2 legged targets, I'm very sure it'd do the job. Got a Winchester lever action carbine in .44 Mag and let me tell you, that load out of a short carbine is no joke.

 

[CountryGent]

I haven't turned up a source for the Hornady 300-grain load, but I did find that Prvi Partizan has a 300-grain load for the Forty-Forty.

Buffalo Bore's +P "deer grenade" appears to be quite corking. Curious how they'd be out of the wheelguns or carbines (one a lever, the other a bolt). Hmmmm.

 

[Hemlock]

Funny you mention it, because the Hornady 300-grain XTP is one I found in my travels. Seems to be quite spicy. Will it work in a Smith & Wesson? (One is Model 29 with 6½" barrel, the other a 629 with 5" tube. Both in the "Classic" series.)

I don't know about that load, but I do know that 24 gr of WW296 & 240 gr lead SWC will work just fine in my Redhawk and my Blackhawk.
When I tried it in my S&W model 29 it flattened the primers and I had to pound the cases out of the cylinder. Just can't take the heat!

 

[mr.revolverguy]

I believe I will be sticking with this load for a very long time. I was pleased with the velocities and the controllability I had with it in the shorter barrel revolvers.

44 Magnum All Around Utility Load:

44Magnum Case

240gr Jacketed Soft Point

Hodgdon Universal 9.7gr

C.O.A.L 1.610 – Medium Crimp

Federal Large Pistol Magnum Match Primer — Got a brick of these for $30 so I used them, they can be expensive. So a change to Large Pistol Magnum Primers will save you a few bucks but may cause different results. Anytime you change any component you should start over working up your loads again.

This data is not intended to replace the appropriate reloading manuals data and should not be used without verifying and double checking the loads between two different official published reference points IE reloading manuals. If you elect to utilize any of this data it is at your own risk..

After giving all of that information I do not carry my reloads in anything. I have tested PMC 44 Special 180gr JHP which is very close to my load. Only caveat the JHP does not expand at this velocity in Clear Ballistics Gel as I would like it but gets 18in of penetration. So I use the PMC if I desire to carry a 44.

 

[OldBroad44]

A 180 grain HP driven really fast.
The traditional 240 grain hollow points are so heavily constructed they will never expand unless you hit a big rock so going even heavier and slower doesn't make sense.
A fast light (180-200gr) SWC also makes larger than caliber wound channels in animals.
In .357, the classic stopper is a SJHP 125 gr, not a solid 200 grainer or anything in between.

As I recall from looking at the data that is usually summarized to say the .357 jhp was the best stopper, the problem was only a few loads were represented by enough shootings to be statistically significant. Either the loads that cops carried or that urbanite bad guys carried. The 125 jhp was the cop load. As I recall there were no data on anything above 158 gr in 357. And it was early days on expanding bullets and most 158gr .357 bullets didn't expand in those days. As for 41mag and 44 mag, there were either no shootings represented or too few to be statistically significant. That was also before most 9 mm expanded properly. And it would take even longer before people could make .380 bullets expand. So the impression usually conveyed that .357 was a better man stopper than .41 mag or .44 mag was incorrect. That was untested. Another problem was that the tally was only of % shots lethal sooner or later. It was not a tally of what was instantly incapacitating.

As I recall various brands were lumped together in the results. So during the old days I carried Winchester Silver Tip 158 gr jhp in my .357s. It was the most expansive 158 gr bullet, and expanded as well in gel tests as most manufacturer's 125gr bullets. In the tallys of supposed effectiveness in real shootings the Winchester 158gr would be lumped together with everyone else's 158grs, and nobody else's opened up. I liked the longer .357 bullets in short barrel guns because they seemed to be more precise. That is, in years of looking at Ransom Rest tests of various .357 guns and ammo in gun mags I noticed that 125gr bullets lost a good bit of precision when fired from 2.5" barrels. The 158 grain much less so. I speculate that with shorter barrels you need a longer bullet to optimally stabilize the bullet.

 

[Certaindeaf]

As I recall from looking at the data that is usually summarized to say the .357 NHL was the best stopper, the problem was only a few loads were represented by enough shootings to be statistically significant. Either the loads that cops carried or that urbanite bad guys carried. The 125 jhp was the cop load. As I recall there was no data on anything above 158 gr in 357. And it was early days on expanding bullets and most 158gr .357 bullets didn't expand in those days. As for 41mag and 44 mag, there were either no shootings represented or too few to be statistically significant. That was akso before most 9 mm expanded properly. And it would take even longer before people could make .380 bullets expand. So the impression usually conveyed that .357 was a better many stopper than .41 mag or .44 mag was incorrect. That was untested. Another problem was that the tally was only of % shots lethal sooner or later. It was not a tally of what was instantly incapacitating.

As I recall various brands were lumped together in the results. So during the old days I carried Winchester Silver Tip 158 gr jhp in my .357s. It was the most expansive 158 gr bullet, and expanded as well in gel tests as most manufacturer's 125gr bullets. In the tallys of supposed effectiveness in real shootings the Winchester 158gr would be lumped together with everyone else's 158grs, and nobody else's opened up. I liked the longer .357 bullets in short barrel guns because they seemed to be more precise. That is, in years of looking at Ransom Rest tests of various .357 guns and ammo in gun mags I noticed that 125gr bullets lost a good bit of precision when fired from 2.5" barrels. The 158 grain much less so. I speculate that with shorter barrels you need a longer bullet to optimally stabilize the bullet.

I took a few deer and hogs with first and second generation 115gr 9mm Silvertips with a Hi-Power no problems. The .44 Special 200? gr Silvertip was worthless as it was so mild it wouldn't expand. Thankfully I never used it on any game at all.

 

[CountryGent]

I had a few boxes of this 300-grain fodder come in today. Should be interesting.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I had a few boxes of this 300-grain fodder come in today. Should be interesting.

View attachment 1186756

Back before lightweight .44 magnums were a thing I loaded the old Lee 320 grain SWC really hot for my stainless .44 Bulldog. I carried it far and wide, from Montana grizzly country to the Bay Area, California.
I still feel sorry for that thing.. my 4" model 29 was much more suited but hey.
Oh, to load 100 cost me about $1.

 

[joneb]

I guess if the 125gr JHP works for .357 mag then a 180gr JHP should do well the 44 mag.

 

[OldBroad44]

I guess if the 125gr JHP works for .357 mag then a 180gr JHP should do well the 44 mag.

For a general purpose SD load that you may have to fire indoors or from inside a car? Even a .357 mag fired under such circumstances puts you in serious risk of broken eardrums and temporary or permanent hearing loss. The .357 mag is about twice as loud as 9 mm, .38sp, .44 sp, .45acp, and 45 colt. The 44 mag is way louder than the 357 mag. If you are carrying a .44 for self defense under circumstances that might include firing indoors or from the inside of a car I suggest you load with .44sp, not .44mag. For example the 44 sp Speer Gold Dot JHP if you need an expanding bullet. Or the Grizzly 44sp. 260 grain Cast Performance wide flat nose hard cast at 950 fps (521 ft. lbs.) for maximal penetration. That is, .357 mag powe kevel but with a much heavuer fatter but also subsonic bullet. Don't know where you can buy the Gold Dots these days. The Grizzly load is on the Grizzly Cartridges website page 27 and is in stock. And they are a local manufacturer.