Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast – Ultimate Woods Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast sits at the top of the 44 Magnum ladder and then climbs one rung past it. A 340 grain gas checked flat nose at 1425 fps carries about 1533 ft-lbs, which is more than many 45-70 lever gun loads produce. Read the firearm list before you buy it, because this one is not for every 44.

• Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast Overview
• 44 Magnum +P+ Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 340 Grain Hard Cast Flat Nose Bullet Goes Through
• Specifications
• Which Revolvers Take This Dangerous Game Revolver Load

Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast Overview

Buffalo Bore item 4D loads a 340 grain L.B.T. style hard cast lead flat nose with a gas check to a nominal 1425 fps, producing roughly 1533 ft-lbs. Twenty rounds per box.

Buffalo Bore chronographed it above 1401 fps from a 5.5 inch Ruger Redhawk and above 1478 fps from a 7.5 inch Redhawk. Those are factory revolvers off the shelf, not laboratory test barrels.

The +P+ designation is not decoration. This load runs above standard 44 Magnum pressure and Buffalo Bore restricts it to a specific list of heavy frame guns. Firing it in anything outside that list risks damaging the revolver and injuring the shooter.

Buffalo Bore built this as a dangerous game revolver load in the literal sense. It exists for people who carry a handgun in brown bear country, or who hunt large animals with one, and who want the deepest penetration a 44 Magnum case can be made to deliver.

44 Magnum +P+ Ammo Ballistics

At 1425 fps a 340 grain bullet produces about 1533 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. A standard 240 grain 44 Magnum factory load at 1350 fps makes roughly 971 ft-lbs, so this 44 Magnum +P+ ammo delivers more than half again as much.

Momentum tells the story better than energy does. At 340 grains and 1425 fps the figure is 484,500 grain-feet per second, against 324,000 for that standard 240 grain load. Since this bullet does not expand, all of that goes into forward travel.

Recoil is genuine. In a 5.5 inch Redhawk it is sharp and heavy, and most shooters find a 7.5 inch barrel or a Magnum Research BFR considerably more pleasant. This is not a load you shoot a hundred rounds of on a Saturday.

Accuracy is generally very good for a heavy cast bullet, and the 340 grain hard cast flat nose bullet tends to shoot to a higher point of impact than lighter loads at any given distance because it spends longer in the barrel while the muzzle is rising.

Why The 340 Grain Hard Cast Flat Nose Bullet Goes Through

A hard cast bullet is poured from a lead alloy stiffened with tin and antimony. It does not mushroom, it does not shed a jacket, and it does not come apart when it hits heavy bone. What goes in is what comes out the other side.

The wide flat nose is doing as much work as the alloy. A round nose parts tissue and lets it close again; a flat meplat punches a full diameter hole for the entire length of the wound channel. Combined with 340 grains of weight, that is the recipe for the straight line penetration this load is known for.

The gas check is a small copper cup swaged onto the base. At 1425 fps a bare lead base can melt and smear, leaving the bore leaded and accuracy gone by the end of a cylinder. The gas check seals the base and keeps the barrel clean.

What you give up is expansion, and against thin skinned game a good hollow point will produce a wider wound. Against a bear, a moose or a hog with a heavy shoulder in the way, this deep penetrating big bore handgun ammunition reaches the vitals and the hollow point may stop short.

The L.B.T. profile this bullet follows was developed by Veral Smith specifically to maximise the meplat while keeping enough bearing surface for accuracy. It has become the standard shape for serious hard cast handgun bullets, and a 340 grain hard cast flat nose bullet in 44 caliber is close to the practical limit of the case.

Specifications

Which Revolvers Take This Dangerous Game Revolver Load

Buffalo Bore approves this load for the Ruger Redhawk and Super Redhawk, the Freedom Arms Model 83, all steel Taurus Raging Bull revolvers, the Colt Anaconda, the Magnum Research BFR, and Dan Wesson revolvers, along with suitable rifles chambered in 44 Magnum.

Buffalo Bore states plainly that this ammunition is not for Smith & Wesson revolvers. That includes the Model 29, the Model 629 and the rest of the N frame line. If you shoot a Smith, choose a standard pressure load instead.

Lever action and single shot rifles in 44 Magnum generally handle it well and gain significant velocity from the longer barrel, though feeding a long flat nose bullet through a tube magazine is worth checking by hand before you head out.

Sight regulation matters with a bullet this heavy. Fixed sight revolvers may print well above point of aim, so confirm where this dangerous game revolver load lands before you rely on it.

Deep Penetrating Big Bore Handgun Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders normally leave within one business day.

If your revolver is not on the approved list, look at the Buffalo Bore 44 Special 255gr Hard Cast SWC instead. For the same hard cast idea in other big bores, see the Buffalo Bore 45 Colt +P 325gr Hard Cast and the Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast. The approved firearm list is published by Buffalo Bore Ammunition.