.44 Gold Dot 200 gr. and deer?

[hammer24]

I've loaded light .44 magnum loads for my 9 yr. old son to hunt with for the last few years. He shoots an H&R handi rifle and his load is 9 gr. Unique under a 200 gr. nosler jhp and it is extremely accurate in this rifle. He has taken a deer each of the last two years with this load at 30 - 40 yds. Each deer was a perfect hit with an exit and each ran less than 50 yds before piling up.

My problem is that the 200 gr. Nosler is not to be found anywhere, and he is down to under a dozen cartridges. So, I'm looking for a replacement projectile. The 200 gold dot is a proven bullet in the lower velocity ranges (.44 spl) so I was considering it. I haven't ran the load over a chronograph yet (gotta get one) but from the load data I'd say it is certainly under 1,300 fps, and could be under 1,200 as per similar 44-40/ .44 spl rifle data. The 200 gold dot is designed for personal defense at .44 spl velocities, so I believe we'll be in the range.

My question is does INGO have any experience with deer and this projectile? Will it penetrate sufficiently with these velocities given the shots stay <70 yds? Another alternative would be the 200 or 180 xtp. I'm really not looking to reinvent the wheel here with a completely new load, I'd like to substitute the projectile and see what it does.


First deer

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First buck last year.

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[jurassicnarc]

I suggest you acquire Nosler, Hornady, Speer (non Gold Dot) or other 240 gr JHP or JSP with plenty of lead exposed, rather than a 200 gr. A nice light load of 9.5 gr of Unique (I use 10.0) would be O.K. close up, but 22.8 grains of either H110 or Win 296 would be even better (24.0 grains is Max). All of these work well in my old Winchester 94 octagon barrel, and yield approx 1.5" groups at 50 yards. They all work just as well through my S&W 44 mag revolver and should be easy enough on his shoulder. Since loads here are not maximum, most anybodys 240 gr slug should work. I wish him well. P.S. H110 and 296 are the same stuff.

 

[hammer24]

Found the Noslers I needed.

 

[snapping turtle]

I second going to the 240 JSP. Unique has been tough for me to acquire so h110 or LIL gun are what I am forced to use as of late. I use unique load with 10 grains in my pistol. Nice easy accurate plinker. A bit dirty compared to others I have used.

i have had excellent end results from the 240 JSP if I have one complaint it would be that my shots seem to leave little blood trails. Maybe a jhp might give me a bit more blood on the ground.

the deer are running dead with tons of blood in the chest cavity and none travel far but in my heavy brush hunting grounds most do not drop on the spot. Thing is my dad's buck last year was shot at twice the distance and dropped dead with the same load.

that kid looks tough but a flinch is not a good thing to introduce in a young shooter. If you can get some Winchester white box 44 mags and introduce one or two in shooting practice before season and see how he does with them. He might just be ready for the full load stuff if he does not flinch. That is a decision that only you and he can make. I got flinch at 13 after some shooting sessions with a 7mm mag. It took me some time back on the bench with a good 22 to square me back into the non flinch routine.the 44 mag is not real brutal with factory 44 mag. The 7mm mag with hand loads in a light weight sported rifle was to much for me at that time.

 

[Broom_jm]

The most important thing is that your son is clearly not afraid of shooting this gun, as evidenced by the good shot placement. My daughter is doing essentially the same thing with a 44/40 lever action and 200gr XTP bullets. She has no fear of the gun because she shoots it frequently throughout the year. If you put any of the 44 caliber bullets behind the shoulder of your average whitetail, I don't think the brand of bullet is going to matter much at all. If the Nosler's shoot good for you, and the terminal performance has been up to your expectations, then you have everything you need to help your son continue his success. Kudos on being a great dad!

 

[hammer24]

Thanks Broom_jm. The noslers have done exactly what I've needed them to do. Spectacular accuracy out of his rifle, and the 200s recoil significantly less than 240s, that's why I use them for his loads. I've taken over 2 dozen deer with .44 projectiles over the years, from 200, 210, 225, 240, 250, and 300s in jhp, jsp, and swc, and have handloaded for the .44 magnum for quite a while now. I've come to the same conclusion as you. Any .44 projectile at standard velocities will kill a deer cleanly.

The only reason the 200 GD gave me pause was the fact that it was designed for the .44 special and for massive expansion at velocities as low as 600 fps. I was just curious if anybody had any personal experience with this particular projectile on deer. I use it in my .44 snubby as a carry load, but thankfully have no experience shooting anything other than paper or steel with it. The 200 GD.44 is not quite the "flying ashtray" it used to be, but it is still very explosive, and I was concerned about adequate penetration. It is a very different animal from their (Speer's) 210 gr. or 240 gr. Gold Dots that are designed for the magnum.

200 Gold dot


210 Gold dot

Really it is a moot point, as I have found the Noslers that I needed and can just keep trucking as I have been. I'll stay with them progressively bumping up the charge as he grows, or until they give me a reason to switch.

 

[kludge]

Lacking Noslers (or my preference, XTP's) I'd be shooting cast lead SWC or RNFP with a wide meplat between 240 and 260 grains. AAMOF, many hunters would never use anything else.

 

[Hookeye]

I've hit deer up close with the 200 Nosler, bullets stopped on far side hide. One came apart (shoulder hit) the other OK.
One deer at 150 yds, bullet in and out.
Handguns though, probably much reduced V, but my loads were max'd out.
Recoil I thought medium light. Blast was pretty hefty though (6" Smith and Ruger 9.5").
More comfy blast wise than 180s.
Rifle, not at max load, I would think that probably be an even trade off and the 200's hold up and go deep enough.

 

[Broom_jm]

Resurrecting an old thread: I wonder how much different the 200gr XTP's would be than the Nosler bullets? I've got a fair number of the 200 grain XTP's, as well as several hundred 200gr cast bullets, but I'm not sure they're hard enough to use for deer hunting. Is there a preferred BHN for deer hunting?

 

[hammer24]

Go with the xtps. The noslers are more of a jsp than a jhp. Noslers l believe are .429, where the xtps are .430. I think the xtps would probably expand better than the noslers at lower velocities. As far as cast goes, I think in lower velocity loads a softer bullet won't hurt as much as if you were really pushing them hard. Again, you probably will need a softer bhn to get any expansion. I shoot a lot of hard cast, and even at rifle velocities, they won't deform much if at all. I doubt if you hit a broadside deer with one, that the bullet would even know it hit anything! The xtps should fit the bill, but ultimately the accuracy will steer you.

 

[hammer24]

I don't want to overstate the need for expansion. Even without any expansion, you're still punching a half inch hole through the animals vitals, which will cleanly kill any deer. Put just about any .44 bullet where it needs to go (at reasonable velocities) and it'll do the job. Adequate penetration is probably the more important factor with these types of loads.

Edit to add: When working up adequate hunting loads while keeping recoil minimal I've found the Limbsaver pads to be a HUGE help in reducing felt recoil for the youngsters.

 

[Hookeye]

I ran Nosler and XTP 200's, saw no difference. In and out and the deer rides home in the back of the truck.
But all of mine were handgun rips, not rifle.
Dunno what the extra V does there.

 

[Broom_jm]

I ran Nosler and XTP 200's, saw no difference. In and out and the deer rides home in the back of the truck.
But all of mine were handgun rips, not rifle.
Dunno what the extra V does there.

Given that my goal is to slow down the velocity out of a 14" T/C barrel to what you might get from full-house loads out of an 8" revolver, I would imagine the bullets will behave the same, since the impact speeds should be similar.

 

[Broom_jm]

Last night I loaded 8.5 grains of Unique under 200gr XTP and 200gr IBC cast lead bullets. Recoil was quite reasonable; a level I think my daughter would be comfortable with. Accuracy from the XTP bullets seemed to be a lot better, but that was with very limited testing. At the same time, range will be limited to 50 yards with these loads, so one-hole accuracy isn't exactly required.

 

[hammer24]

Good deal. If you get around to chronographing it, let me know what the results are.