Today I plan on purchasing a S&W 21. I know that I want to use Unique but I'm not sure what bullet weight to use. I've read that others are using 240gr and 200gr lead bullets. I would like to use a load with 5.9gr of Unique with a 240gr SWC. Which bullet weight works best with the fixed sights on the 21?
What is the maximum charge for Unique and a 200gr or 240gr cast bullet? None of my manuals list Unique powder for the .44 SPL.
I'm really looking to find which loads work best for the 21 with Unique. I use Unique for .38spl so I would like to use it for the .44spl simply for cost savings.
I hope I'm not "beating a dead horse". I used the search function but I didn't quite find what I was looking for.
Skeeter Skelton's famous load for the 44 special was 7.5 grains of Unique for a 240/250 grain bullet. 7.8 sounds like too much to me. Go to alliantpowder.com and check their data.
Parson Colt, the preacher's kid
Posts: 1026 | Location: Indian Territory, USA | Registered: 04 April 2002
Unique is not listed for the 44spl on Alliant's website, I checked there first.
You are right, 7.8gr's is too much. I have a dipper for 5.9gr's. I typed the wrong number as I was looking at my dippers. I'll edit my first post to reflect my mistake.
My Lyman cast book lists a starting load (Unique) of 4.0 with a 245 gr cast bullet. This has a velocity of 455. They list 7.0 as a max with a velocity of 880. I would start at 5.0 and work up from there. I use 7.0 in magnum cases and it is no wimp.
Posts: 3650 | Location: illinois | Registered: 04 March 2001
Hornady's 7th edition shows Unique @ 4.9 gr for 650 fps and continues to 6.5 gr for 800 fps. This is for 240 gr lead swc and swc-hp.
Jeff
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin "That's OK, I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway" "guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." from George Washington's farewell address.
Posts: 160 | Location: St. Louis County, MO | Registered: 13 November 2007
I shoot a 250 grain LSWC and use 5.7 grains of Unique for a blooper load and 7.2 grains as my maximum load. Most of my guns get the 5.7 grain load since a couple of them are older than I am and I ain't a spring chicken.
Stay with a 240 to 250 grain lead slug and from 5.0 to 7.5 grains of Unique and you will be just fine.
The bullet weight that works best will depend on the particular gun. Most modern fixed-sight S&W's shoot to a 6 o'clock hold with full weight bullets (240-250 grain in .44 Spl.). This means that point of impact will be about 2-3 inches high at 50 feet. If you use a 200 grain bullet at 50 feet, POI will probably equal POA. Also, 200 grain bullets at the same velocity will have less than 2/3 the recoil of 250 grain bullets.
Unique is a great powder for the .44 Spl. - I've used it with bullets from 185 grains to 250 grains with excellent results. Have fun experimenting with your new revolver!
Posts: 238 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 08 September 2003
Originally posted by zeke: Have a 4 in M21 44 special. The sights are made to accomodate 200 gn bullets on mine and some others that have been reported on.
Ditto what Zeke says. The front sights on every new M-21 I've looked at are too short for 240-250gr. bullets unless you stoke it up with Elmer Keith-type loads at 1000+fps to lower the P.O.I. The low-velocity loads you're talking about are going to hit ~4" high at 15yds.
For serious use I load up my M-21 with heavy loads of 250 gr. SWCs, but for everyday plinking I prefer to shoot the 200gr. RNFPs. I believe that somewhere around 6.0gr. Unique + 200gr. bullet will give you a MV of ~700-725fps. IMO, Unique is too slow-burning for these light loads with a 200gr. bullet and you're likely to have a lot of unburned powder grains and maybe accuracy problems. I think that you'll be better off with a faster-burning powder - maybe Bullseye, RedDot, or even GreenDot.
Posts: 13 | Location: n. Texas | Registered: 02 May 2008
I've used RedDot in the past and always been happy with the results. I might save the Unique for the 240gr hot loads and give RedDot a try with the 200gr bullets.
If your looking for a slower, less recoil round, you should probably investigate trailboss. It was designed for that and will work great in the 44 special case.
If the women don't find you handsome...., They should at least find you handy.
Posts: 1760 | Location: Central New Hampshire | Registered: 10 February 2007
The only reason I would shy away from Titegroup in the 44spl is because of the possibility of a double charge. If you take Bullseye and cut the volume by 1/3 you will have the amount of case fill that Titegroup will give you. Just too much possibility for a problem.
Unique is a powder you will like using in the 44spl. It will give good performance. I believe the original loading for the 44spl had a 246gr LRN for a bullet type. If it were me, I would look for a good EK bullet to run in that baby. Give you a bit of a nostalgia thing going on there!
The Speer #8 lists a 250gr LSWC and Unique from 6-7gr with the respective velocities running 770-906fps. Those velocities should put the sights right on, I would think.
Remember, be safe and have fun!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: smith crazy,
SKIP USMC 1973-1979 Born Again 1983-Eternity! .................................................................................... (John 17:17) KJV Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. The Marines don't have that problem" - Ronald Reagan Unashamedly Christian, American, Male, all three of which are currently under attack!
I've been looking at bullet molds and debating what I want to purchase. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a 240gr SWC, just haven't decided on the brand. I'm definitely a fan of the Keith style SWC.
I also recently purchased some 200gr. Nosler JHP. Any recommendations for a good stout load with the 200gr jhp's?
