Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP – Bold Soft Cast Defense Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP sits right in the middle of Buffalo Bore’s 44 Special lineup, and it is arguably the most interesting load in it. A soft alloy cast bullet with a hollow point, driven to 1150 fps for roughly 558 ft-lbs, it is built to expand like a jacketed bullet while still penetrating like a cast one. Safe in 44 Special handguns and rifles generally and in any firearm chambered for 44 Magnum, but Buffalo Bore excludes the Charter Arms Bulldog. Twenty rounds per box, item 14C/20.

• Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP Overview
• Soft Cast Hollow Point 44 Special Ballistics
• Why A 190 Grain 44 Spl Defense Load Works
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This Expanding Cast Bullet Ammo

Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP Overview

Cast bullets are usually associated with hard alloys that refuse to deform. This one goes the other way. The alloy is deliberately soft, so the hollow cavity in the nose can actually do its job, and because the bullet is cast rather than jacketed there is no copper jacket to strip off and leave the core behind.

Buffalo Bore’s own claim is that it expands on flesh and bone while penetrating deeper than most expanding lead core bullets of the same weight. The physics support that. A jacketed hollow point loses depth when the jacket and core separate. A one piece soft cast bullet mushrooms and stays whole.

It is a heavy load, well above standard pressure 44 Special. That is the reason for the Charter Arms exclusion, and it is also why this heavy 44 Special carry ammunition produces numbers in an old case that would have surprised anyone shooting factory 44 Special fifty years ago.

Soft Cast Hollow Point 44 Special Ballistics

558 ft-lbs at 1150 fps is the highest energy of any of the lighter bullets Buffalo Bore loads in this calibre. The 180 grain jacketed load runs the same speed for about 530, and the 200 grain copper load makes roughly 537 at 1100 fps. Only the 255 grain hard cast beats it, at 566.

That comparison is worth sitting with, because energy alone does not decide anything. The 180 grain jacketed bullet opens the fastest and penetrates the least. The 255 grain hard cast does not open at all and penetrates the most. This soft cast hollow point 44 Special load is the deliberate compromise between those two.

Barrel length still matters. A six inch revolver will make the published number and a snub nose will not, and since expansion depends on impact velocity, a very short barrel shifts this 190 grain 44 Spl defense load towards the hard cast end of that spectrum.

Why A 190 Grain 44 Spl Defense Load Works

Most defensive bullet design is an argument about where to sit on one line, with rapid expansion at one end and deep penetration at the other. A jacketed hollow point leans hard towards expansion. A hard cast semi wadcutter leans hard towards depth. Very few loads try to land in the middle on purpose, and the Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP is one of them.

This one does, and the mechanism is simple. Soft lead deforms readily, so the cavity opens at handgun speeds without needing a jacket to help it. But because the bullet is a single piece of metal with nothing bonded or crimped to it, there is no separation to cost it weight once it has opened.

That makes a 190 grain 44 Spl defense load unusually flexible. It is credible against a two legged threat at across the room distance, and it is credible against a hog or a black bear in a way that a fast fragile hollow point is not. If you carry one 44 Special revolver for both jobs, this is the load that asks you to compromise least.

The honest limitation is that soft lead is soft. Against heavy bone at close range it may open faster and wider than you want, and it will never match the 255 grain hard cast for driving straight through a shoulder. Expanding cast bullet ammo is a compromise, and compromises have edges.

Specifications

Range Notes For This Expanding Cast Bullet Ammo

Confirm compatibility first. Buffalo Bore states this load is for all 44 Special handguns and rifles except the Charter Arms Bulldog, and that it is safe in any firearm chambered for 44 Magnum. That exclusion is specific and worth taking at face value. If you carry a Bulldog, the 44 Special 200gr hard cast wadcutter is the load Buffalo Bore developed for all 44 Special firearms including Charter Arms.

Check your point of impact at a realistic distance. Fixed sight 44 Special revolvers are generally regulated around a 240 to 246 grain bullet, so a 190 grain bullet at 1150 fps will often land lower than the sights suggest. Find out on paper rather than in the field.

Expect more fouling than a jacketed load leaves behind. Expanding cast bullet ammo carries a lubricant, so the cylinder face and forcing cone will look dirtier after a session. Bore leading is generally modest at this velocity, but give the barrel a proper look when you clean.

Practise with cheap ammunition and confirm with this. Heavy 44 Special carry ammunition is priced as a premium product, so most people shoot inexpensive plated or cast loads for volume and run a box of the real thing to verify function, recoil and zero.

Heavy 44 Special Carry Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 44 Special 190gr Cast HP is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or another load from the Buffalo Bore catalog, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For faster expansion see the 44 Special 180gr JHP, for maximum penetration see the 44 Special 255gr hard cast Keith SWC, and for a lead free option see the 44 Special 200gr Barnes TAC-XP.