By David aka Mystro

December 9, 2012

I just got in from a cold wet day of deer hunting after making the longest ever pistol shot in my 25-year hunting career. I took this huge doe tonight with my S&W 629 6" pistol. The load was my own Hornady 240XTP going 1340fps.

I was sitting under a hemlock tree at the edge of the field and watch her come in from 300yards away. She would not come any closer and looked like she was ready to run off. It was 4:30pm in the rain/mist and the light was getting dim. It was now or never, so I put my orange front sight across the top of her back, took a deep breath released it and let the shot fly. I was totally relaxed and used my left knee to stabilize my left arm. She fell like I hit her with my 300win mag. It was instant lights out. The 240 XTP found its mark on her front shoulder and performed flawlessly.

It was a textbook shot. A bit of luck, skill, and opportunity all came into play. I am ecstatic. I couldn't be more pleased with my hand loaded bullets performance in my beloved S&W 44 magnum.

I worked up a tack driving but mild recoiling XTP load:
Powder AA#9 20.3 grains
Hornady XTP 240 JHP
CCI mag primer