Text File

From: weed@sweetpea.jsc.nasa.gov (daniel weed 283-4162) Newsgroups: rec.guns Subject: .44 Magnum Load Summary Message-ID: <9301121450.AA09479@sweetpea.jsc.nasa.gov> Date: 12 Jan 93 18:27:27 GMT Lines: 256

OK. Here is the summary of .44 Magnum handloading wisdom I promised. I have reproduced the responses verbatim, although I removed any names to protect the innocent. :-) In this summary you will find a variety of recommendations and comments about bullets, powders, loads and guns for the 44 Magnum.

As usual, your mileage will vary. Do not go out and try unfamilar loads without first consulting your loading manuals, etc, etc...

Thanks to everyone who responded.

--- Dan

ORIGINAL POST

#I need recommendations on powders and bullet weights for higher power loads, #such as Blue Dot vs. H110 vs. 2400. Which powders are cleaner burning? #Which have the most muzzle flash, or the least etc - the important info #that doesn't show up in reloading manuals. Also sources for good lead and #jacked bullets would be appreciated.

********************************

I use 2400 in heavy .357 Magnum loads, and find that it doesn't seem to burn completely - there are always a few little sandy particles left, which seem to be the gunpowder with the coating burned off. This is easy to clean off, so it isn't as annoying as sooty burning. I don't know about muzzle flash, but the Scott Solo powders are reportedly low flash. Both H110 and 296 also have very good reputations for use with full power loads. I've been happy with the lead bullets from Bull-X.

---

Three pet loads that are accurate in my machines:

.44 specials 240 SWC over 6.4 gr Green Dot (940+/- f/s) .44 mags 240 JHP over 18.0 gr 2400 (1180 +/- f/s) .44 mags 240 JHP over 24.5 gr 296 (1550 +/- f/s) This is my hunting and silhouette load.

For H110, 2400 & 296 powders use magnum primers for best results.

bang - bang !

--- Well, here's all I have accessible on-line. Blue Dot is the cleanest burning powder I've tried with jacketed but muzzle fash is pretty heavy I'm getting ready to test some loads using AA5, 7, and 9. I've had really good results with Bull-X cast lead. Penn is also good and a little harder but slightly more expensive (with shipping added; Bull-X includes shipping). I've had dismal results with Unique. Green Dot and Red dot perform the best with 190-215g lead.

BULLET CASE PRIMER POWDER CHARGE(g) GUN BBL FPS STD. SIZE DEV. Bull-X .429 180 JHP Win WLP Blue Dot 13.4g 629 6.5 1098 52 14.2 1259 75 16.8 1417 48 WW296 27.1 1387 24 2400 20.5 1435 22 Unique 12.3 1362 45 Bull-X .430 190 SWC Win WLP Unique 6.6 873 31 7.1 943 27 Green Dot 5.5 834 25 6.0 908 19 WW231 6.2 845 24 6.5 896 13 Bull-X .430 215 SWC Win WLP Green Dot 6.2 863 8 Bull-X .430 240 SWC Win WLP Green Dot 6.7 872 13 Unique 6.6 822 30 WW231 6.5 842 18

None of the loads are compressed. The hotter loads with Blue Dot, 2400, and 296 come pretty close to being compressed.

IMO, one reason Red and Green Dot do so well in the lighter loads is because they arn't as dense as other powders like WW231 and Bullseye. In other words, they fill the case better. I just wish they were cleaner but I can live with it with 1.25" group sizes @ 50 yards!

Also, 2400 seems to leave a lot of "birdseed" - I prefer 296. Both give better accuracy than Blue Dot in my gun.

Oh, BTW, Bull-X has a special going on now - buy two boxes of 500 cast bullets and get a 3rd box 1/2 price (mix-n-match ok).

---

Me too, I started reloading 44 magnum a couple of weeks ago, for my 10" T/C contender. I have loaded 200 rounds with 8.5g of Unique, W-W large pistol primer and 240g lead RN bullets. I timed them on a chronograph and I got an average of 1050 fps muzzle velocity. The accuracy was excellent (about 2.5" at 50 yards). I took it to a local NRA silhouette match and was able to knock down some chickens, some pigs and 1 ram ( I missed the rest :-) ).

---

I use 6.0 gr. of Bullseye, standard (CCI 300) primers and a 245 gr. semi- wadcutter for target loads. Velocity is about 900 fps with good accuracy. My revolver is a S&W 629 Classic. I'm also working up a max. load for Horniday 240 gr. XPD slugs, using 2400 and Federal brass. I expect to end up using about 20 gr. and getting around 1200 fps. The target load (245 lead slug) is well below max (7.2 gr.) and should be safe. The full house load would be near max, so work your way up carefully.

Have fun

--- The most consistently accurate load that I've come up with so far, for my S&W 629, is 23gr of H110 and Sierra 220gr FPJ. The H110 is pretty dirty but my experience has been that larger powder charges chronograph much more consistently than faster powders and smaller charges.

--- I prefer to use 2400, AA7, and AA9 in my hot .44 loads, but I have a friend who swears up and down that blue dot is the best. Neither of us has tried H110. Typically, using 24gr of 2400 behind a 240gr SWC, I can get around 2200 fps.

I complement you on your choice of revolvers. I have two super BH's in different barrel lengths and love them. The super Redhawks are nice as well, but they weigh so damn much, it can be a real challenge to hold them steady on target. I've got some other brands as well, but I like the Ruger's the best.

---

Congratulations! You're going to enjoy this purchase a lot.

You will hear all kinds of loading information, and not all of it will agree with my experiences, but try this.

Add another dimension to your loading (and cut costs dramatically) by casting your own bullets for _most_ of your shooting applications. The Lyman #429244 bullet is a particularly good choice for the following reasons:

1) It can be cast soft, loaded without gas check, and used in mild loads (I'm using 9.0 grains of Unique, which _is_ a bit dirty, but it shoots so accurately that I hate to change. Recoil is very pleasant in a big Ruger.

2) It can be cast hard, loaded with gas check, and used in loads with energy most people won't believe, with no appreciable leading (at least, not using RCBS rifle bullet lube), and very reasonable pressures, using H110. In addition, this load shoots tothe same place as the #1 target load listed above. The world has always known that cast bullets can be pushed faster than jacketed with the same powder charge, but _usually_ leading negates any advantages. Not on this load, with CCI Magnum primers and 23.0 grains of H110. Hodgdon lists this load at about 1600 fps, as I recall.

The big, hard semi-wadcutter makes a good hunting bullet for good-sized game like deer, bear, and pig, where you need some penetration.

If you want _serious_ people-stopping the Hodgdon manual shows (again, with H110) a 180-grain hollowpoint at ~1800 fps, a velocity at which most hollowpoints perform _wonderfully_.

At any rate, put on Pachmayr grips, buy a Hodgdon manual (H110 is head-and-shoulder above the other powders for high-powered loads at safe pressures), spend a lot of time plinking and target shooting with whatever light load you choose, and enjoy. This is a fun gun, and experimentation will keep on revealing new fun for years and years. It has for me.

Hope this helps.

---

Our club is using a 240 grain SWC lead bullet with 10.6 grains of Accurate Arms No. 5 powder... We are using Winchester brass...

That's our recommendation...

---

I just got a 6" .44 mag Colt Anaconda myself, and have only realoaded a few rounds for it, but I'll tell you what I've found: 24 grains of W296 for a 240gr Hornady XTP bullet seems to be around the same power as the various types of full power factory loads I've tried in it. (Not scientific, just 'feels' about the same). The W296 gives a hell of a lot of flash though, by far more than any of the factory loads. Fires pretty clean, tough. This is all I've tried so far (only had the thing a week). Hope it helps

--- Presently, I'm using 24.0 grains of WW-296 under 240 grain jacketed bullets. I've tried 25.0 grains of the same powder under 240 grain Bull-X SWC hard cast lead bullets, and while the accuracy is good for the first couple of cylinders, leading builds up terribly at these velocities. This latter load is my "bear load," and not recommended for everyday shooting (because of the leading problem described).

I've had good luck with 2400, Blue Dot, and a couple other powders described in my loading manual at home, but have switched almost exclusively to H110 and WW-296 for "hot" loads for my magnums (.357, .41, .44, and .45 LC) because this powder nearly fills the available case (preventing double charging), has good accuracy, and appears to be the powder that Federal, Remington, and Winchester use in their magnums (at least, the few cartridges I've reverse- engineered).

Looking forward to your "summary" report. Happy holidays!

---

Don't waste your money loading jacketed bullets in the .44 special just for target. Go pick up a box of 500 240gr lead bullets either from Speer or American and a can of Bullseye with some cci300 primers. It makes and excellent target load that will shoot in almost anyting. The 500 lead bullets should cost around $25.00.

---

I reload .45 ACP using W-231, so I have been using a fairly light .44 mag load using the same powder. I use 10.0 grains of 231 behind a Sierra 240 gr jacketed SWC. This should reach about 1100 fps. The Speer #11 manual says I can use up to _about_ 11.5 grains of 231. The recoil is stiff, but not uncomfortable, and it appears to be accurate. Also, using 231 is about 1/2 the cost of using, say, 20 some odd grains of W-296 (per bullet). I plan on using the 231 load for practice (although I`ll switch to cast bullets), and save the 296 loads for silouette.

********************************

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Weed weed@sweetpea.jsc.nasa.gov McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. - Houston "My comments are my own, not my employer's"