Would you use 44-40 on hog?

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:48 pm

I just bought a uberti 73 short rifle in 44-40
The only ammo handy is 200 grain RNFP cowboy rounds...
I dont know the powder charge.....
Do you think its good enough to dropp a hog in its tracks?
Head or neck shots
Second choise is my marlin 30AS in 30-30

Comal Forge · Post by **Comal Forge** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:50 pm

It's plenty but get close and shoot them in the head. Stay away from body shots since the hide will slow penetration.

leveractionjunkie · Post by **leveractionjunkie** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:55 pm

yes I would.

gundownunder · Post by **gundownunder** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:05 pm

Why wouldn't you?
A 200gr lump of lead at about 1200 fps is going to turn pig into pork today just as it did back in 1873. You will probably end up with a 44 cal hole in one side and a slightly bigger hole out the other side and that leaves a lot of space for blood to pour out of. If you hand load and don't mind wearing out brass faster you can develop loads that match or even exceed .44 magnum loads (sorry, I just read your post again. I dont think the Uberti is designed for hot loads). Your 30-30 will extend your range by about 50%, so I guess it depends on whether your pigs are in the scrub or out on the plains. Remember, the 44-40 was Americas top medium game cartridge until the almighty 30-30 came along.

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:11 pm

If my old H&R 22 did as good as it did, I'm sure the 44wcf would do better.

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:53 pm

gundownunder, you just answered your own question with your words about the .30-30. He has that gun available, which outperforms the .44 WCF, so why not use it & have the extra insurance? Not tryin to start an argument here, you understand, but it just seems so obvious to me that the .30-30 is the one to go to, between the two. jd45

Marlin .35 · Post by **Marlin .35** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 9:58 pm

I'd not hesitate to use the 44-40 on hogs, deer or black bear. A well known guide in the Adirondak mountains of New York, Jim Kenealy, thought the 44-40 the best cartridge for such purposes!! This was in the 80's!! Art

crawdaddyjim · Post by **crawdaddyjim** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:17 pm

Big boolit, Dayed hog. nuff sayd.

Any who you bought now shoot it. And hopefully you can shoot it better than that poor ole 32 you got.........

Just kiddin, JUST KIDDIN!

Big Bore 94 · Post by **Big Bore 94** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:37 pm

Stick the barrel about two inches in his ear and say bang!

Post by **AmBraCol** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:11 am

RIHMFIRE wrote:I just bought a uberti 73 short rifle in 44-40
The only ammo handy is 200 grain RNFP cowboy rounds...
I dont know the powder charge.....
Do you think its good enough to dropp a hog in its tracks?
Head or neck shots
Second choise is my marlin 30AS in 30-30

I already have. A wore out '73 Winchester in 44-40 loaded with a Lee 44 hard cast hollowpoint (originally for the 44 mag) over a dose of Unique. 100 pound hog or so, went in the head, clear down through the chest and so deep into the ground I couldn't dig it out. (didn't have a shovel) I'd say it did pretty good...

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 6:48 am

jd45 wrote:gundownunder, you just answered your own question with your words about the .30-30. He has that gun available, which outperforms the .44 WCF, so why not use it & have the extra insurance? Not tryin to start an argument here, you understand, but it just seems so obvious to me that the .30-30 is the one to go to, between the two. jd45

I would consider hunting with the .44/40 nostalgic, the same reason I sometimes use muzzle loaders and leave my more modern game getters at home!

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:12 am

game keeper wrote:
jd45 wrote:gundownunder, you just answered your own question with your words about the .30-30. He has that gun available, which outperforms the .44 WCF, so why not use it & have the extra insurance? Not tryin to start an argument here, you understand, but it just seems so obvious to me that the .30-30 is the one to go to, between the two. jd45
I would consider hunting with the .44/40 nostalgic, the same reason I sometimes use muzzle loaders and leave my more modern game getters at home!

You got it game keeper..The 44-40 is nostalgic, a legendary round
with tons of history....and thats why I want to hunt with it....
I like the old stuff.....Too bad it aint an original......
Its just more fun hunting with the old technology!
Does anybody have any load info?

jd45 · Post by **jd45** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:13 pm

AmBraCol, I have to say after reading your post, I've come away with a newfound respect for the cartridge! jd45

Post by **AmBraCol** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:41 pm

jd45 wrote:AmBraCol, I have to say after reading your post, I've come away with a newfound respect for the cartridge! jd45

If you were to see the rifle it was shot out of, you'd think even more of it. The rifle was worn down and out. The chamber was so loose that every second or third round would split the case. And yet with a medium charge of Unique that rifle had plenty of power. I wish there'd been a way to reline it or rebarrel it, but in the boondocks of Brazil there was no such option. I traded it on a brand new Taurus 32 SWL for the wife.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:25 pm

RIHMFIRE wrote:The only ammo handy is 200 grain RNFP cowboy rounds...
I dont know the powder charge.....
Do you think its good enough to dropp a hog in its tracks?
Head or neck shots
Second choise is my marlin 30AS in 30-30

Given that the ballistics of most "Cowboy" loads are the approximation of this Winchester Cowboy load, or lower, I'd stick with your .30-30.

My $0.02 anyway.

Edit: Now, if you were to pull those bullets and reload with data like this:
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Universal .428" 1.600" 6.6 950 10,000 PSI 7.3 1069 11,100 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 HP-38 .428" 1.600" 5.5 901 9,800 PSI 6.5 1020 12,400 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Titegroup .428" 1.600" 5.0 956 8,400 PSI 6.2 1117 12,900 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Clays .428" 1.600" 4.2 845 8,200 PSI 5.0 924 11,700 PSI
NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

I'd revise my opinion.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 7:54 pm

Griff wrote:
RIHMFIRE wrote:The only ammo handy is 200 grain RNFP cowboy rounds...
I dont know the powder charge.....
Do you think its good enough to dropp a hog in its tracks?
Head or neck shots
Second choise is my marlin 30AS in 30-30
Given that the ballistics of most "Cowboy" loads are the approximation of this Winchester Cowboy load, or lower, I'd stick with your .30-30.

My $0.02 anyway.

Edit: Now, if you were to pull those bullets and reload with data like this:
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Universal .428" 1.600" 6.6 950 10,000 PSI 7.3 1069 11,100 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 HP-38 .428" 1.600" 5.5 901 9,800 PSI 6.5 1020 12,400 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Titegroup .428" 1.600" 5.0 956 8,400 PSI 6.2 1117 12,900 PSI
200 GR. LEAD RNFP 200 Clays .428" 1.600" 4.2 845 8,200 PSI 5.0 924 11,700 PSI
NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

I'd revise my opinion.

Thanks Griff
We had a Cowboy Mounted Shooting compitition this past weekend
at our Silver Sand Arena...about a mile from my house...
Was a lot of fun watching these guys blasting balloons. They used
pistols and rifles....Some had trouble with there rifle loads jambing
in there guns.... they used 66s, 73s, 92, and 94,s, all short rifles
and one guy had a revolver carbine...I really enjoyed that afternoon.
thanks for the load info

Comal Forge · Post by **Comal Forge** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:17 pm

My first "real" centerfire rifle was a model 92 20" carbine in 44-40 and I did not handload so I had to use factory ammo. This was in the 1970's and I believe 44-40 WCF ammo was the most expensive on the market (BTW, I was at Sportsman's Warehouse last night and saw a box of Super-X factory shells at $64.99 for a box of 50...

).

I killed many deer with that rifle, several javelina, one feral hog and one chicken hawk. Most shots were well under 50 yds. The bore was not in good shape and would barely stay on a paper plate at 100 yds. but I took that into consideration when hunting. However, it always killed well.

Would you use 44-40 on hog?

Would you use 44-40 on hog?

Re: Would you use 44-40 on hog?

Re: Would you use 44-40 on hog?

Re: Would you use 44-40 on hog?