Thanks for the feedback, guys. Sounds like I should worry about practicing more than worrying about the weight of the bullet. After I run out of my box of Leverevolution rounds then maybe I'll look into something else.
I have used a 44 rifle for a few years now. I took a 10 pointer with my Marlin 1894 with a 240 XTP over Win 296. I hit the near shoulder, both lungs and the top of the heart, through the far shoulder and lodged just under the skin. It weighed 228 grains and expanded to 0.73". Thats 95% weight retention and 150% expansion. You can't ask for much more than that. The deer went about 30 yards on foot and then rolled another 10-15 yards down the hill. Yes. I had to drag him UP the hill. All 163 lbs of him. I bought a Ruger 77/44 this summer and I'm still working to find a load I can be happy with. I've got a little more work to do with the 240XTP's and I'm also trying the 200 XTP's as well as the 225 FTX's all over Win 296.
I have tried a few different rounds in my rossi m92 including hornady leverevelution. Winchester white box is the most consistent out of my rifle. this will be my first year with a 44 mag, I'll be using the wwb jsp.
I bought a Ruger 77/44 this summer and I'm still working to find a load I can be happy with. I've got a little more work to do with the 240XTP's and I'm also trying the 200 XTP's as well as the 225 FTX's all over Win 296.
Somes tips I learned with these rifles is that when shooting for groups, you should hold the muzzle end down while shooting by holding down the top of the barrel or by gripping the sling. These rifles are very light, and the .44 is not a fast round, so muzzle jump can wreak havoc when trying to group. I also slicked up the trigger some. Many of these Rugers have a 7-8 lb. trigger from the factory, and heavy trigger pull + light rifle = poor groups (for me.) I load with H110 (essentially the same as Win 296) and 240 XTPs, I found that the closer I got to max, the better the groups got. Mine didn't like the 225 FTXs much.