Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 240gr JHP – Refined Lower Recoil Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 240gr JHP is the load most 44 Magnum owners should probably be shooting. A 240 grain jacketed hollow point at 1350 fps carries about 971 ft-lbs, which is full house 44 Magnum performance, and Buffalo Bore keeps it inside SAAMI pressure so it works in every revolver chambered for the cartridge.

• Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 240gr JHP Lower Recoil Overview
• Reduced Recoil 44 Magnum Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 240 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point 44 Load Suits Most Shooters
• Specifications
• Revolvers That Take This Alloy Frame Revolver Safe Load

Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 240gr JHP Lower Recoil Overview

Buffalo Bore item 4G belongs to their Lower Recoil line. The 240 grain jacketed hollow point runs a nominal 1350 fps for roughly 971 ft-lbs. Twenty rounds per box.

Buffalo Bore chronographed it at 1225 fps from a four inch Smith & Wesson Model 329 and 1359 fps from a 5.5 inch Ruger Redhawk. The 329 is an alloy framed revolver weighing around 26 ounces, and the load is rated safe in it.

Lower recoil in Buffalo Bore’s catalogue does not mean reduced power. It means the load stays within SAAMI limits rather than climbing into +P or +P+ territory, which keeps the impulse manageable and the list of approved firearms short at zero.

There is a quiet argument buried in this product. The 44 Magnum earned its reputation on power, and the market followed by loading it ever hotter. Buffalo Bore, of all companies, built a line going the other way, because the cartridge at its original specification was already enough for most of what people do with it.

Reduced Recoil 44 Magnum Ammo Ballistics

At 1350 fps a 240 grain bullet produces about 971 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. That is the classic 44 Magnum number, the same figure the cartridge has been quoted at since 1955, and it remains plenty for deer sized game at handgun distances.

From a four inch barrel the load still turns in 1225 fps, worth about 800 ft-lbs. Compact 44s give up less than their barrel length suggests because the cartridge burns most of its powder early.

Compared to the 1550 fps Deer Grenade or the 1425 fps 340 grain heavy load, this one is noticeably gentler in the hand. That matters more than the chart shows, because a shooter who is not flinching puts the bullet where it needs to go.

Sight regulation is another advantage. Most 44 Magnum revolvers with fixed sights were regulated around a 240 grain bullet at roughly this velocity, so reduced recoil 44 Magnum ammo of this weight usually shoots close to point of aim straight out of the box.

Why The 240 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point 44 Load Suits Most Shooters

A jacketed hollow point is the most broadly useful bullet design in a handgun cartridge. The copper jacket controls expansion and keeps the lead core together; the cavity in the nose gives it something to open around. At 1350 fps a 240 grain bullet of this construction expands reliably without coming apart.

That is the balance this load is built around. Push the same bullet to 1600 fps and the jacket and core can separate, which costs penetration. Slow it to 1000 fps and it may not open at all. The middle is where a 240 grain jacketed hollow point 44 bullet does its best work.

For a general purpose deer handgun ammunition choice this is the safe pick. It will take whitetail cleanly, it will handle hogs, and it will not punish a shooter who only gets to the range a few times a year.

Where it is not the answer is anything with heavy shoulder bone and bad intentions. For bear defence or large game a hard cast flat nose penetrates far deeper, and Buffalo Bore builds those too.

Taken together it is an unglamorous load that does almost everything well, which is why a 240 grain jacketed hollow point 44 remains the default choice decades after better marketed options arrived.

Specifications

Revolvers That Take This Alloy Frame Revolver Safe Load

Because it stays inside SAAMI pressure, Buffalo Bore rates this load for every 44 Magnum firearm in normal working order, explicitly including revolvers with alloy frames and alloy cylinders. That covers the Smith & Wesson 329PD and 329 Night Guard, the whole steel N frame line, Ruger Redhawks, Blackhawks and Super Blackhawks, Taurus revolvers and lever guns.

That is the practical appeal. The heavy Buffalo Bore 44 loads come with a list of approved guns and a warning not to use anything else. An alloy frame revolver safe load carries no such caveat.

In a lever action carbine the extra barrel adds velocity and the recoil all but disappears. A 240 grain jacketed hollow point from a 44 Magnum rifle is an excellent short range woods load for deer.

If you are buying your first box for a new 44, this is the sensible place to start. Shoot it, learn the gun, then decide whether you need something heavier for the country you actually walk in.

General Purpose Deer Handgun Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 240gr JHP is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders of this general purpose deer handgun ammunition normally leave within one business day.

For a hard cast bullet in the same pressure class, see the Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith. For maximum damage on deer, the Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P 240gr Deer Grenade fragments instead of penetrating, and for a strong frame revolver the Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast goes deepest. Tested velocities are published by Buffalo Bore Ammunition.