.44 Magnum Ammo: 8 Best Options for Hunting, Protection and Plinking

Are you looking for the best.44 Magnum ammo to feed your lever gun or wheel? We’ll be covering eight top loads and their best uses. Fielding Photography. Fielding Photography..44 Magnum For Concealed Carry or Home Defense. While.44 Magnum was adopted by some law enforcement agencies, it is not a good choice for defense. Dr. Gary K. Roberts is the current authority on terminal and ammunition performance. He was a colleague and protege of Dr. Martin Fackler who helped to develop the FBI’s testing protocol. AR15.com hosts Dr. Roberts’ tests on.44 Magnum. These tests show that fast-opening, light for-caliber bullets are the best ones to use as defensive weapons against human threats. Some of the recovered bullets from Dr. Roberts’.44 Magnum ballistic Gel tests. Photo by Dr. Gary Roberts. For instance, the Hornady XTP XHP JHP 300-grain bullet penetrated more than 20 inches in bare gel and expanded to an average 0.7 inches, all while retaining its weight. Although the results are impressive, there is a possibility that the bullet could still be lethal to innocent bystanders in a defensive situation. Choose your ammunition carefully if overpenetration is a concern. Every bullet that leaves your muzzle is your responsibility. You are still responsible if the bullet hits both the threat and someone else. .44 Magnum Ammo – Expanding Vs. HardcastA.44 Magnum rounds loaded with a flat-nose lead bullet. Photo: Wikipedia. While an expanding bullet can cause a larger wound cavity, it is usually temporary. Many people forget that tissue is elastic and can quickly return to its original form. What are hardcast bullets? They can punch deeper holes and don’t depend on the barrel length for their terminal performance. Hardcast bullets are preferred when over-penetration is not important and the target requires a hole drilled hard and well, such as for dangerous or large game. Expanding.44 Magnum ammunition is better suited to soft targets such as whitetails or hogs that don’t require maximum penetration. .44 Magnum ammo buyer’s guideHornady 300-Grain JHP Hornady 300XTP JHP is ideal for medium-game hunting. It penetrates deeply, expands consistently, and retains weight well, which is what XTP hollowpoints are known for. For expanding Magnum ammo like this, a 6-inch barrel is the best. However, it will also work well with a 4-inch gun. This load is close to the price of standard Magnum ammo. HSM’s Cowboy Action line was designed for SASS and CASS shooters. It is a mild load that uses a substitute black powder. It is a 200-grain flat nose (Keith semiwadcutter), cast bullet that can travel at an advertised 975 feet per sec and 422 foot-pounds energy. This.44 Magnum ammo is still quite expensive, but it’s about the most affordable you can buy. It’s also very soft-shooting. If you have no other options, it could be used as a medium game hunting load in a carbine within 100 yards. Price: ~$50 Per Box of 50 //hsmammunition.comHornady .44 Magnum 225 Grain FTX LEVERevolutionHornady’s LEVERevolution line purports to make cartridges more aerodynamic. This load’s G1 BC is.145. It’s not. It is still a good hunting load for a handgun or carbine, because it uses the same bullet design that Critical Defense and Critical Duty. Hornady claims that this 225-grain FTX load, which has a 100 yard zero, has a first intercept at 25 yards and a second intercept at 100 yards. It drops 5.4 inches at 150 meters, giving it a range of approximately 125 yards with a 1.5 inch offset. The point of impact drops to 16.5 inches at 200 yards. A 7.5-inch barrel produces an advertised 1,410 fps and 993 foot-pounds energy. Velocity is about 1,410 fps. A 16-inch or an 18-inch carbine would increase Velocity by 200 to 300 fps. Their 305-grain, hard cast load is a great choice for dangerous or large game in any.44 Magnum. Factory velocities are 1,328 fps through the barrel of a 6-inch gun and 1,779 through the 18.5-inch carbine. This nets approximately 1,200 foot-pounds (or 1,328 fps) of energy. However, it is just shy of 2,000 foot pounds through an 18.5 inch barrel. This is the same muzzle energy that a.30-30. This .44 Magnum ammo is designed to penetrate deeply in whatever it hits, so it’s a natural choice for a backup handgun or lever-action in bear country.MSRP: $53.68 Per Box of 20 // buffalobore.comWinchester Super-X 210-Grain Silvertip JHPIf you were going to keep a .44 Magnum for defense (.44 Special would be better, but we’ll save that topic for later) what information is out there favors fast-opening, light-for-caliber expanding bullets. This 210-grain JHP load in the.44 Magnum is ideal for defense and medium game loads at moderate ranges. Winchester claims 1,250 feet per second of velocity and 729 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle. It’s milder than.44 Magnum ammunition. This would be a good defensive loading in a 4-inch revolver and decent for hunting medium game.Price: ~$40 Per Box of $20 // winchester.comUnderwood Ammunition 255-Grain Cast Lead Keith Semi-WadcutterThis is the original .44 Magnum woods load. The “.44 Associates” were a group that hot-loaded.44 Special. Among them was the legendary Elmer Keith. Keith also created a semi-wadcutter cartridge design with a flat nose, sharp shoulder, and a semi-wadcutter bullet for multi-purpose use. The 255-grain Keith SWC load is excellent for hunting and target shooting, and it penetrates deep. It’s an excellent load for all purposes, except in situations where overpenetration may be a concern. Underwood’s 255-grain hardcast Keith SWC has an epoxy coating for cleaner shooting. It is rated at 1,350 fps with a muzzle velocity of 1,032 feet-pounds at the muzzle and 1,032 foot pounds at the muzzle. It can be used on all platforms and is recommended to bring a Stetson or a cigar. MSRP: $31.99 Per Box of 20 // underwoodammo.comRemington UMC 180-grain Jacketed Soft PointWhile not quite as cheap as the aforementioned HSM Cowboy Action load, Remington UMC 180-grain JSP is as close as you get to cheap .44 Magnum ammo that’s still loaded to full power. It can be used for medium-sized game hunting or defense with most platforms, including 6-inch and 4-inch revolvers. It’s light, fast and controlled-expansion loaded. Remington claims it can go 1,610 fps at the muzzle and 1,036 feet-pounds at its muzzle. It’s a good all-purpose load that can be used with revolvers and carbines, provided you don’t have bears. It excels at one thing. It may not be the best at one thing, but it checks many boxes. MSRP: $66.99 per Box of 50 // Remington.comFederal premium HammerDown270-Grain Bonded soft Point. We should not forget that.44 Magnum can also be used in lever-action rifles. Federal Premium HammerDown 270Grain Bonded Soft Point was designed for lever-action rifle hunters. Bonded bullets are strong and can penetrate deeper tissue. This was almost a century ago, when rifle bullet technology had advanced to the point of Bonded and Nosler Parition. In the 1990s, JHP pistol bullets were introduced with Speer Gold Dot. This load is ideal for deep penetration and controlled expansion. It can also be used reliably in lever-action rifles. Federal claims a velocity of 1,715 feet per second at the muzzle, with 1,763 foot pounds of energy. It can be used for a maximum range of approximately 125 yards. MSRP: $38.99 Per Box of 20 // federalpremium.comMore Big-Bore Articles:NEXT STEP: Download Your Free Storm Tactical Printable Target Pack62 Printable MOA Targets with DOT Drills – Rifle Range in YARDSThis impressive target pack from our friends at Storm Tactical contains62 printable targetsfor rifle and handgun range use. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be found in MOA. Get Free Targets