Game Slugs for .44 and .45

[Deaf Smith]

I have a S&W 624, 4 inch barrel, I just love to pack hiking. I use a Buchmeier cross draw holster I picked up for $20!

Looking for the best slug to use for hunting with it. I reload so I can order what I need. I'm thinking 250 grain but I am flexible on that.

Also a Ruger Redhawk .45 LC.. same thing. A real good bullet to reload. The Ruger is more of a hunting gun (4.2 inch barrel.)

Now I saw Montana Bullet Works on the net but if you know better, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks.

[CraigC]

The 250gr Keith is classic but honestly, I've killed a whole slew of stuff with generic 240gr bevel base SWC's at 1100-1400fps. WFN's make a bigger hole but for deer sized game, the SWC is plenty.

[wvfarrier]

Heck any jacketed flat nose will work. You are already punching a large .44-.45 hole in whatever you are shooting. That being said, Ive been using the Montana Bullet Works WFNs lately.

[Walt]

For lower velocity calibers like .44 special and .45 Colt, I use machine cast bullets from SNS Casting. It's a good outfit, they do 2 day shipping with outstanding packaging and I order 1,000/box. My 624 likes their 240 grain RNFP bullets over 8 grains of Power Pistol for about 960 fps, SD of 8 to 10 fps. My short Blackhawk in .45 Colt shoots well with their 250 grain RNFP bullets over 10.5 grains of AA5 for a velocity of about 850 fps and SD of around 15 fps. I cast my own for high velocity calibers but SNS bullets work well for loads in .44 special and .45 Colt

I hope that helps.

[Catshooter]

If you're even just a bit mechanically inclined and can follow directions and can afford to lay out for the tooling, casting your own is an excellent way to move forward. Doesn't take much money or skills.

And then, the craziness of the times or not won't affect your ability to shoot as much as you care to. It's a nice piece of independence to have.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I like the classic Keith bullet in the .44 Special and am quite happy with 7.5 gr of Unique.

The .45 Colt seems to step up a bit with the 270SAA bullet cast soft and I have been loading it over 7.5 gr of Titegroup or 8.5 gr of Unique. Either load seems safe in my SAA and they hit plenty hard for any deer.

[Griff]

I keep a couple boxes of 240 grain HPs loaded up to Ruger levels for my 45 Colt rifles. Haven't had a chance to actually use them on game, but have every confidence they'll work superbly!