Hi -

I'm fairly new to .44 magnum and .44 special rounds. I've come across different types of ammo labeled "cowboy" loads.

Can someone please educate me and tell me if these loads are good for target practice (in the case of .44 special) and if so, recommend me some brands and weights/loads?

Thanks very much

Rich

They SHOULD be good target rounds. Cowboy loads are generally heavy slugs with very low recoil to allow quick and accurate follow up shots in the competitions.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Good all round ammo!
Usually cast bullets, modest load and recoil.
I have some newer 44 Specials, and I have some vintage ones.
No need to stress test the older guns!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Good target rounds but I prefer a bit more velocity, at least 1,000 fps with 240 gr cast bullets and above.

A lot of companies offer "Cowboy" loads, But IMO they should just call them low recoil target loads because anyone who shoots cowboy action events like SASS will be loading their own ammo. Way too expensive to be buying quality "cowboy" ammo if one shoots on a regular basis.

A lot of shooters like the light 200 gr LFP to the larger 240 gr LFP
for loads in the 700 to 850 fps for Cowboy action shooting.

Revolver, rifles and shotguns are used in the sport and many
try to use the same ammo for their pistols and rifles to make
things easier in the reloading room.

General notes;

Cap & Ball percussion cal. 36 up to 45 may be used.
Smokeless: cal. 32 up to 45 may be used.

The 32 center fire and .36 Ball may not have enough energy for all reactive 16x16 targets.
They are however set up to fall with a center hit from a 38 special 158gr factory ammo loading.

Minimum fps is 400 up to 1,000 for revolvers or a minimum Power Factor of 60. ( Rifles 1,400fps )

The 200gr .44 is fine at the starting 400fps with a PF of 80.
The 240gr at 400 has a power factor of 96............ for those that reload their ammo, for minimum recoil.

A factory 200gr at 700fps has a PF of 140.

Have fun.

Ps;
If this is too expensive, you might look into .............
fast draw with wax bullets.
Not for most but it can get addicting.

Back to basics, "Cowboy" loads are intended for use in Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) events where the idea is to knock over steel targets at relatively close range. It's a timed game where the shortest time to knock down the targets wins. Therefore rapid recovery between shots is desirable, and that requires minimal recoil. Most CAS shooters reload their own ammunition as they shoot a lot of it. CAS rules specify maximum permissible muzzle velocities for revolver and rifle loads, but most shooters go as low as they can, consistent with the ability to knock down targets. Great grouping performance is not essential as the targets are fairly large and easy to hit.

Thanks everyone!

Can someone please educate me and tell me if these loads are good for target practice (in the case of .44 special) and if so, recommend me some brands and weights/loads?

I'd start with the cheapest I could find.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"