I highly recommend Buffalo Bore Company's heavy .44 mag ammo (they are a bit pricey though). Because Marlin still uses a very slow twist (1:38) in it's .44 barrels the heaviest bullets that will stabilize are around 300 grains, sometimes more, sometimes less, it depends greatly on your particular rifle. Either hard cast or jacketed soft points are a good choice, but I believe that the Partition bullets are available in .44, another good choice. But keep in mind that hogs aren't bullet proof and a well constructed bullet at normal .44 mag velocities will put even large hogs down quickly and cleanly.
What .44mag ammo to use on Hogs?
Hello All, I would like to know what heavy ammo I can use in my 1894 .44mag for Hogs. I am looking at getting some heavy factory loads for that purpose, I have used the 240gr winchester white box stuff on deer but thought I might use something a little heavier on hogs as the hogs taken may range from medium to very large (hogs taken will be at medium range -100yrds)... I am also interested in knowing what brands and bullet weights you all might suggest. I have an 1895 guide gun and I know many may suggest that I use that, but I have already taken both deer and hogs with it in past years and now want to get a hog with the 1894 since I have taken a deer with it in December. Thanks for any info ya'll can provide me and I look forward to your input.
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Thanks for the reply bull3540, I have greatly considered the buffalo bore ammo line, and I will probably stick with 270gr to 300gr. Can you give me a little more info on the partition bullets?
G
My personal favorite from Buffalo Bore is the .44 mag. 270 grain. The Nosler Partition is built so that the first half of the bullet mushrooms quickly on impact then ceases due to a solid core. http://www.winchester.com/Products/...gold/Pages/default.aspx?c=44+Remington+Magnumdestroyer4570 said:Thanks for the reply bull3540, I have greatly considered the buffalo bore ammo line, and I will probably stick with 270gr to 300gr. Can you give me a little more info on the partition bullets?
At very high velocities the front half of the bullet may even be shed but the back keeps on going, often punching right through to the other side. This won't happen unless you are real close to your target but it has proven to be a very effective round. One thing I have found with the .44 mag in lever guns is that the semi wad cutter bullets often do not feed well, which sucks because they are often the cheapest factory ammo available. I also think that the Hornady offerings would be a good, economical choice for hog hunting; http://www.hornady.com/store/44-Mag-225-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
Thank you again bull3540, You have given me a great deal of info and resources to look up.
Since I bought my 1894ss in 44mag about 7 years ago I have used 240gr winchester soft hollow points and I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pigs with this ammo in Australia from all sizes to all ranges of distance it is my number one choice!!
Sam
Sam
+1 I fully agree with Sam. I bought a couple of boxes a few years back, because I needed some new cases, and the performance was so good it made me wonder why I reload, sort of.aussiehunter83 said:Since I bought my 1894ss in 44mag about 7 years ago I have used 240gr winchester soft hollow points and I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pigs with this ammo in Australia from all sizes to all ranges of distance it is my number one choice!!
Sam
Mark.
the buffalo bore "deer grenades" are as deadly as you wil find
Thanks for all the input guys, I plan on buying several recommended brands of
ammo mentioned and see what my rifle shoots best and go from there. I will post results on the ammo I choose and how it performs when I go out and hunt which won't be till next month, but for now I can only anticipate the hunt and have fun trying and shooting various brands of ammo getting ready for it.... ;D
ammo mentioned and see what my rifle shoots best and go from there. I will post results on the ammo I choose and how it performs when I go out and hunt which won't be till next month, but for now I can only anticipate the hunt and have fun trying and shooting various brands of ammo getting ready for it.... ;D
I've killed several hogs with the 44 Magnum, both in revolvers and lever guns. I have used hard cast bullets, Winchester JSP's, and Hornady XTP's all in my handloads. These have all worked fine and given one shot kills. The bullet I have used that was unsatisfactory was the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot soft point. These are too lightly constructed for hogs IMO.
My Marlin 1894 shows a strong preference for jacketed bullets and I usually shoot the Winchester 240 JSP in it.
My Marlin 1894 shows a strong preference for jacketed bullets and I usually shoot the Winchester 240 JSP in it.
I havent shot a hog with my .44 yet, however, I load a 200 grn LRNFP at 1500 FPS and it give a hell of a thump and complete pass through on deer. I would not hesitate on hogs out to 100 yrds.
same here, I just buy factory 240gr soft hollow points as well. I think with the 44m you just have to keep the range under 50m. Assuming Aussie pigs are the same as USA Hogs.aussiehunter83 said:Since I bought my 1894ss in 44mag about 7 years ago I have used 240gr winchester soft hollow points and I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pigs with this ammo in Australia from all sizes to all ranges of distance it is my number one choice!!
Sam
Yeah about the same I think the pigs in the US can get a bit bigger. But I have shot good size pigs up to 100 yards no problem with that ammo.rattes said:same here, I just buy factory 240gr soft hollow points as well. I think with the 44m you just have to keep the range under 50m. Assuming Aussie pigs are the same as USA Hogs.
The Hogs here in the US do get big, My friend a couple years back shot a huge boar that was close to 275lbs(give or take) with his .357 revolver at around 35yrds and a short time later I shot a medium sow(160lbs or so) using my RSB in .44mag that had came into the feeder with a group of hogs after the boar was shot not even 30 minutes before. Both ran off and died in the thick brush about 50-60yrd away....thankfully we were able to recover both hogs and found them dead as doornails when we walked up on them to recover.... I know that using my 1894 I'll get more velocity with the 20inch carbine barrel vs the 71/2 from my SBH revolver...I was tempted to use a heavier load but reading your responces and given the fact that I have used the winchester 240gr ammo to take a spike buck this year with great success,(dropped in it's tracks) not to mention that my rifle shoots this ammo pretty well I think I will stick with what works and use the ammo on hogs as well....thanks for all the responces.
For hog hunting info, I like to go to Texasboars.com. One of the gurus there uses a 9.5" SRH with a custom 240 grain hard cast SWC. I think I'd be tempted to use the BB 270 grain as a good heavy bullet suitable for any hog in the Americas.
The more I "study" the 44 Magnum, the more convinced I am that a bullet between 240 and 270 grains is about perfect.
The more I "study" the 44 Magnum, the more convinced I am that a bullet between 240 and 270 grains is about perfect.
Tatersoup, Thanks for the reply. I do frequent the Texasboears forum from time to time, i'll have to go check them out as i haven't really visited that site in awhile. I have seriously considered using 270gr ammo on hogs, as I am now using the winchester white box 240gr and would like try a heavier load. I have have been told by a fellow forum member here about the speer 270gr gold dot and that is a great round on shooting big hogs...I would also like to try the BB 270gr ammo as well and see how they work...Agains thanks for the reply.
I used a lyman 429244 (265g from WW) over 22g W296 in a 6.5" 29 from @ 20 yards and it went through him and off into China somewhere.
Nailed the pig DOWN.
Pig was 160# and I carried that SOB for one mile over 4 fences and 3 gullies back to the truck. Next time I'm going to park by a feeder.
Nailed the pig DOWN.
Pig was 160# and I carried that SOB for one mile over 4 fences and 3 gullies back to the truck. Next time I'm going to park by a feeder.
Snapping Twig, I don't reload yet but would love to get in to it so for now I can only use factory made ammo. The ammo you handloaded and used on your pig, what would you say is it's equivalent in factory made ammo, if any? I know that handloads may not have an equivalent in factory but what factory round would come close to performing like your handload did???
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