Born again shooter... need some advise

S&W 629

I'm new to this forum, and have enjoyed reading all of the entertaining comments! I've been away from hunting/shooting for several years, and have since sold all three of my 30.06's. But now I'm in the market to buy a new rifle for deer hunting.I've been looking at the Ruger Bolt-action in .44 Magnum. The area that I'll be hunting in is heavily wooded... plus the ammo will interchange with my 629 Smith. And if memory serves me correctly... the average shot was less than 100 yards.So I guess my question is this. Do any of you have experience using this caliber for hunting? And if so, could you please give me some pros & cons about it? Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thanks ~S&W

7mm_ultra_mag_is_king

bullet drop is tremendous after 50 yards' Will kill deer dead but you have to know your yardages and shoot the gun at different ranges and make note of bullet drop. Shot placement as always is critical. I use speer gold dot hollow point with 9 grains of unique. I shoot these out of a taurus m44 with a 8 3/8 barrel and have decent luck at close range. Practice with the gun because it is a handgun cartride in a rifle and it does not mean it will shoot like a rifle

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when all else fails........................

sandman2234

I hunted for a while with a winchester lever, but decided to quit dragging one gun for the woods, and another for the open areas. If your going to buy a gun, get one that will do both. A million different opinions on what that gun would be, but something that shoots a little flatter out past a hundred yards would be a lot better.

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Have Gun, will travel

Iconoclast

Back when I hunted deer (after being shot at twice, I decided not to give the damn flatlanders a third chance), I used the original .44 Ruger carbine. The comments about bullet drop and placement are valid, but the cartridge will definitely do the job. I do concur w/ the gent who suggested a different combo if your territory presents opportunities at distances beyond 100 yards. That was rarely an issue here and when I planned to hunt such an area, I used something with a flatter trajectory. If you're going to limit yourself to one rifle, much as I love that little .44, my advice would be to buy something more versatile.

andersk

For hunting in the woods (ie. not shooting all that far) you cannot beat the Winchester Model 94. The 30 - 30 will do the job just fine! And the .356 will give you some more whomp. An AE (angle eject) will let you mount a scope if you want to reach out a little further, or if you don't practice enough, or if you want a little more light early and late in the day.Bonne Chasse!

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Ken

timberbeast

Where I hunt, I don't have a prayer of a shot at over 100 yds, woods are too thick. Have taken does at about 40 yds. with a Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag. My main rifle is a Winch 94 in .32 Win Spl. Haven't had to trail a deer yet in almost thirty years of hunting this land. One shot, dead in tracks, some luck there to be sure, but good judgement as well. Passed many shots up that some would have taken. Just know your cartridge, your rifle, and your own limitations, and don't push it. On a rifle, for this closer range hunting, I prefer Williams peep sights with the small aperature removed. My revolver is open sights, but I can hit a 6" group at 70 yds. I won't shoot at a deer with it over 50.