Thread: 44 Mag Subsonic

Hi guys I have zero experience with this kind of load any advice appreciated. how would this cal work in a 16” Bergara single shot? Thinking something short and handy for tight stuff and scrambling around up close deer and goats and pigs. I’ve realised with a pistol calibre you can get all kinds of expanding projectiles like 240 gn hollow points. Would probably put a red dot on it. How far out would it shoot you reckon? What haven’t I thought of?
Cheers

9grns of trail boss 240grn hollow point 50m for deer and goats max pigs 25m or less till you've got it sussed.

9gr unique 300 gr xtp = DRT

1" groups at 100 yds

Awesome thanks guys this is a huge help. Johnm is that a Wizard or what? Full length suppression? Cool

Rossi Pomba

7.5gn trail boss 240gn swc cast bullet

280g cast flat nose with 7.5-8 g trail boss for subs ,19g 2205 with same bullet for full power loads.

My mate just scored a marlin leaver action thats had the mag tube shortened 2 5 rounds barrel shortened and a massive can fitted with the 7.5 gn trail boss load it sounds like a subsonic from an unsupressed 22 and shoots less than an inch at 50m

Its interesting how many people myself included are getting enthused about large calibre sub sonic stuff for hunting. Seems we may have gone full circle back to the ballistics of cartridges from the 1860s and 70s in search of a challenge.
Just about anyone can hit their target at 200 yds with a moderrn high powered rifle and optics but it takes skill and thorough familiarity with your equipment to do the same with a rainbow trajectory round.

@Marty Henry my veiw is subsonic large cal heavy bullets are certainly very good hunting tools in close bush roar hunting stuff for example a 300+ gn bullet at subsonic speeds has craploads of energy possibly more than the average 308 or what have you depending on the load
Personally I need my longer range 300m 260 or Grendel for hunting as being in the wheelchair or on the quad bike I can’t stalk
But I reckon for the average bush hunter a heavyweight subsonic round is all you need

@Marty Henry Agreed, mind you even though America has always managed to drive magnumitis, there has always been the opposite that like big diameter slower heavy projectiles.
Elmer Keith was that way inclined but jack O'Connor loved the 270, but he was apparently a little recoil sensitive (Don't know where I read that but will stand corrected if wrong).
The 44magnum ALA Elmer K, is very highly ratedin the US for close up (and sometimes far away) deer load especially when they do a pistol season.
There is a valid argument for a larger diameter heavy projectile, already bigger than smaller rifle projectiles at full mushroom, that will still expand further and probably pop out the other side letting daylight in and blood out.

I'm partly motivated by wanting something light, short and handy for the bush, and partly by wanting something hopefully hearing safe without earpro, which would be awesome for quick shots. Some places I hunt I need to be able to shoot 300 yards, but there's another place I like to go which is steep as f***, often very tight and most of the shots are very close. That's what got me thinking about a second rifle for scrambling around with. For a while I was thinking to work up a subsonic load for my existing .308, but then I started learning about expansion and twist rates and it started to look less satisfactory a solution. Then I stumbled on the idea of .44 mag, which solves a lot of those issues instantly plus you get heavier projectiles with more energy close in. I've been thinking single shot for the simplicity but the lever action is also a really good idea. I shot a goat last week at 10 metres and although I didn't need it, being able to quickly cycle a second round into the chamber did feel reassuring. Of course as soon as I get this rig sorted I'll probably start only seeing animals at 250m + lol.

I have often thought that a 44 mag or 44.40 with a twist to handle 400 gr cast bullets would be the close range nirvana. I love my 45/70 but I download it quite a bit for most uses.

What sort of a twist would that require? The bergara is 1:20 which I believe will do nicely for 240gn but don’t know about 400. I shot a 45/70 once. Loved it!

45/70 is as follows (rule of thumb) rules are made to be broken though a
1/22 Upto 420 maybe 450, 1/20 upto 500 1/18 500+
Every twist rate I’ve tried will shoot lighter bullets also
Have put 405gn through a 1/18 with good accuracy
Not sure about 44 mag though I wouldn’t think it would be that far different