Remington 44 magnum 240 gr soft point against black bears?

[tkdguy]

I hike and camp in remote areas in Eastern Oregon and have had very close calls with black bears in camp while I have been asleep and or returned to camp. Others in the area have had assertive black bear intruders when they have been out of camp. I have a semi-auto Ruger 44 Deer Slayer with 18" barrel and 5 rounds combined in the tube and or carried a Ruger Super 44 Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel. I have always used Remington 44 240 soft points. After shooting a BB with a 30 30 and taking 3 rounds to stop the bear, I am rethinking my 44 mg loads. What do you think of the Remington 44 240 grain soft point rounds for the back up safety protection? Or should I move up to a Buffalo Bore round? Ideas?

Read More

 

[Alexx1401]

I hike and camp in remote areas in Eastern Oregon and have had very close calls with black bears in camp while I have been asleep and or returned to camp. Others in the area have had assertive black bear intruders when they have been out of camp. I have a semi-auto Ruger 44 Deer Slayer with 18" barrel and 5 rounds combined in the tube and or carried a Ruger Super 44 Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel. I have always used Remington 44 240 soft points. After shooting a BB with a 30 30 and taking 3 rounds to stop the bear, I am rethinking my 44 mg loads. What do you think of the Remington 44 240 grain soft point rounds for the back up safety protection? Or should I move up to a Buffalo Bore round? Ideas?

Any .44 Mag ammo coming out of the little Ruger rifle is plenty for a Bear in the 200# range. Only thing to worry about is of course being able to hit what you are shooting at and maybe if you want to make a dead center shot to the head. Some possibility of one maybe wanting to glance off the skull but for the BB's I would feel fine with the load you are carrying.

 

[ron]

Curious as to what area of Eastern Oregon are you talking about? Good question. I carry 300 grain gas checks in my 44. But
what the he!! do I know. Never shot a bear.

Defense Against Bears with Pistols: 97% Success rate, 37 incidents by Caliber

Using a pistol to defend against bear attacks seems to be a viable option.

www.ammoland.com

 

[osprey]

After reading up on the lehigh defense line of extreme penetrator ammo and component bullets I am thinking of making the switch from hardcast for my heavy woods carry loads. It seems you get the best of both worlds, straight line penetration of a hardcast with the permanent wound channel of an expanding bullet. It is a very innovative all copper monolithic projectile with flutes. I put an order in with Lehigh for extreme penetrators for 10mm (185gr), 44 mag(250gr) and 45/70 (305gr). Lehigh also sells loaded ammo with these projectiles as well as Underwood ammo. Might be worth consideration.

 

[edslhead]

Ive always just yelled at black bears and they take off. Never had to shoot one.

 

[DizzyJ]

I hike and camp in remote areas in Eastern Oregon and have had very close calls with black bears in camp while I have been asleep and or returned to camp. Others in the area have had assertive black bear intruders when they have been out of camp. I have a semi-auto Ruger 44 Deer Slayer with 18" barrel and 5 rounds combined in the tube and or carried a Ruger Super 44 Blackhawk with 7.5" barrel. I have always used Remington 44 240 soft points. After shooting a BB with a 30 30 and taking 3 rounds to stop the bear, I am rethinking my 44 mg loads. What do you think of the Remington 44 240 grain soft point rounds for the back up safety protection? Or should I move up to a Buffalo Bore round? Ideas?

I would think that combo of rifle and bullet (240gr soft point) would be a good one.

 

[tkdguy]

I would think that combo of rifle and bullet (240gr soft point) would be a good one.

I just carry one or the other.

 

[BigBull 301]

Bears are easy to kill, if you hit them in the vitals.

I've killed several with rifles, bow and a ........44Mag S&W 4" 629.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

One thing to remember here...
Is the killing a bear when hunting ( which I have done before , several times)
Might be different than the stopping or killing of a bear in defense of life.

Please note that I am not trying to argue here...
Just saying that an animal hunted may react differently , than an animal who is acting aggressively.

As for the load and rifle in OP's question...
I would think it would work well...I say think , because I have no actual experience with this combination...
And I do not like to say yes , if I don't know for sure.
Andy

 

[osprey]

I believe your choice of 240 jsp in 44 mag is fine for hunting bear where shots are more controlled and you can pass on less than perfect shot angles. For bear protection I would choose something than penetrates deeply through hide, bone and internals. Hardcast has been the gold standard for a long time but some of the newer design boutique rounds are gaining traction.

 

[tkdguy]

I do not know if it is worth the trouble to double the expense of buying Buffalo Bore ammo, which is twice the price of Remington and then, having to sight in the rifle and the pistol all over again. It is a good point that dealing with an aggressive bear is one thing I did not think of. I can check but I think Remington has a slightly heavier 44 mag bullet and maybe with more energy?

Just checked that Remington has a 275 grain JHP bullets with about 200 foot pounds of energy and 100 fps velocity. Maybe I will check that out.

 

[The Heretic]

Bears are easy to kill, if you hit them in the vitals.

I've killed several with rifles, bow and a ........44Mag S&W 4" 629.

Location, location, location - if you hit them in the right spot(s) and the projectile is sufficient (mass and construction), it will do the job.

While a lot of people like to compare them as relatively equal, the .30-30 is more powerful than the .44 mag, especially at a distance. For one thing, it has better sectional density and more velocity.

 

[osprey]

I reload so the cost of specialty loads does not come into play. But if I didn't reload, spending $50-60 on ammo suited for the task at hand would not even phase me. Use one box to sight in and prove function and the other for carry. The second box should last you your remaining days.

44 Remington Magnum 305 Grain Lead Long Flat Nose Gas Check

[bc-description action="new description"] Technical Information Caliber: 44 Remington Magnum Bullet Weight: 305 Grains Bullet Style: Lead Long Flat Nose Gas Check 21 BHN Case Type: Ducta-Bright 7a Nickel Plated Brass Ballistics Information Muzzle Velocity: 1325 fps Muzzle Energy: 1189 ft lbs...

www.underwoodammo.com

 

[Hatman1793]

Not to question what you believe to be adequate or borderline 240's in a Ruger SAA, but raising the question & reporting your experiences is what Forums are for. Adequate or inadequate penetration is a huge factor here too.

I want to add in weight as a factor too. A reasonably heavy gun with a long barrel, & only 6 shots that must be hand-cocked also presents some issues.

Where I hunt moose there also are wayward bears, but are mostly on better behaviour than your bears. Feeling sufficiently threatened, my go-to self defence gun would be a Glock 20SF, 10mm with a supersonic JHP.
Thoughts?

 

[tkdguy]

Not to question what you believe to be adequate or borderline 240's in a Ruger SAA, but raising the question & reporting your experiences is what Forums are for. Adequate or inadequate penetration is a huge factor here too.

I want to add in weight as a factor too. A reasonably heavy gun with a long barrel, & only 6 shots that must be hand-cocked also presents some issues.

Where I hunt moose there also are wayward bears, but are mostly on better behaviour than your bears. Feeling sufficiently threatened, my go-to self defence gun would be a Glock 20SF, 10mm with a supersonic JHP.
Thoughts?

I think I am going to stay with the semiauto Ruger 44 Carbine and likely choose either a heavier bullet that Remington puts out resulting in more foot pounds of energy by about 200 plus pounds and velocity or go with BB, but depending on price. I will stay with the 240 grain 44 soft point in the Ruger Super Blackhawk.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Any .44 Mag ammo coming out of the little Ruger rifle is plenty for a Bear in the 200# range. Only thing to worry about is of course being able to hit what you are shooting at and maybe if you want to make a dead center shot to the head. Some possibility of one maybe wanting to glance off the skull but for the BB's I would feel fine with the load you are carrying.

A traditionally built jacketed 240gr is way too heavily constructed for a 200lb critter.
I'd just use a regular Keith slug and not worry about non expansion.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

A traditionally built jacketed 240gr is way too heavily constructed for a 200lb critter.
I'd just use a regular Keith slug and not worry about non expansion.

Yeabut what does Elmer Keith really know 'bout the .44 magnum....Err Wait...
Andy

 

[The Heretic]