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  #1  
Old 04-01-2012, 01:09 PM
David Sinko David Sinko is offline
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Default Best use for IMR 4227?

What good is this stuff? I bought a pound because the seller was literally throwing it at me to get rid of it. I know it's used as a magnum revolver powder, but is it any better than either 296 or 2400 which I already use? It looks like its other redeeming quality is the .22 Hornet, which I do load on occasion. Is there anything else?

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Old 04-01-2012, 01:16 PM
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I've used it in 30 Carbine years ago. I recently loaded some 44 Specials with it and it did okay but it won't replace Unique.
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Old 04-01-2012, 02:06 PM
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I was researching loads for 7.62 x 39 and it was listed in the Lyman manual pg 242 for use wth a Hornady 123 gr sp #3140. Start load 20 grains. I have also seen it listed in the Lee, Hornady and Lyman manuals for use with various weight 357 loads.

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Old 04-01-2012, 03:08 PM
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It's also used for 32-40 and 38-55 loads with lead bullets at ca. 1200 fps. and 410 shotshell loads.
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Old 04-01-2012, 03:14 PM
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I have a buddy that swears by it for .44 mag loads.
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Old 04-01-2012, 06:51 PM
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I use it for my 25-20 Marlin. Works fine.
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Old 04-01-2012, 08:20 PM
Peter M. Eick Peter M. Eick is offline
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357 Maximum and 4227 are made for one another. You can burn it up in the 357 Magnum, but I only use it in my Max's. Works great!.

In the magnum it is a bit slower than 2400 and needs a good crimp to get it going. Think max loads only!
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Old 04-01-2012, 08:26 PM
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I use it for .30 Carbine, .357 Magnum, and .45 Colt. There will be a few unburned kernals in the handgun loads, but accuracy is so good that I can easily overlook it.

Don
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Old 04-01-2012, 08:35 PM
GypsmJim GypsmJim is offline
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I switched to 4227 in all my .38, .357 and .45 Colt loads. Big improvement in accuracy. Always had trouble finding a good load for a snub .38 and this solved the problem.
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Old 04-01-2012, 09:31 PM
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Works good in the .401 Winchester S/L.
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Old 04-01-2012, 11:16 PM
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It excells for trapdoor loads in 45-70.
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Old 04-02-2012, 03:28 AM
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I found it to be very usefull in teaching me to appreciate 2400 and 296
when I tried it in the .357 mag and .44 mag.
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Old 04-02-2012, 08:41 AM
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If you load 44 magnum, try 22 grains under a 240-250 grain lead bullet. This is a slightly compressed load (it's ok, Hodgdon lists it as a compressed load in their load data). This load under 240 gr. lead truncated cone bullet from Penn Bullets is superbly accurate in my 44s. I got the load from Penn's website.

Doesn't seem to be as "sharp" in recoil as most other full 44 mag loadings. Quality of the slower burning powder, I guess.
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Old 04-03-2012, 02:06 AM
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I use it in my 22 Jet - 13.5 gr. with the Hornady 40 gr Jet bullet. I prefer it to H110/296 because it doesn't have as much muzzle flash.
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Old 04-03-2012, 07:49 PM
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It is my preferred powder in .460S&W and hunting rounds for .44mag and .357mag, both in revolvers and carbines. While it does not give me quite the velocities that H110/W296 gives, it is just as accurate and is much less temperature sensitive. Best accuracy comes from loads that are nearly to slightly compressed.
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Old 04-03-2012, 09:30 PM
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40grs in a 500 S&W with a 350gr bullet. Also good results in 44 mag and 357 mag.
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Old 04-03-2012, 10:34 PM
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Great in a .22 Hornet Contender barrel, very accurate..
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Old 04-04-2012, 09:25 AM
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It's my all time favorite in 44 mag
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Old 04-04-2012, 01:17 PM
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I guess I'll try it in the .22 Hornet and maybe 7.62x39. I load very little Hornet (it's my brother's Contender barrel) and it seems I hit the magic load on my very first try with 296. I find that the 7.62x39 is a tough one to load with softpoints. Very few handloaded softpoints produce acceptable accuracy in my AKM, so I'm willing to try anything different.

Does it need a magnum primer in the revolver loads? I have never used a single magnum pistol primer and have no intentions of starting now.

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Old 04-05-2012, 08:24 PM
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I've been using 23 grs with the 429421 in 44 mag for many years now. It gives 1250 in a 6 1/2" M29, 1300 in my Redhawk. It is accurate in every 44 I've tired it in, including a Marlin carbine. Primers are round, cases eject easily. Like Hammerdown said, recoil seems to be less sharp. As I've said here many times, I believe 4227 is easier on the revolvers than 296/H110. I saw enough back in the silhouette days in magnum revolvers to know it is true. It gives a little up to 296/H110 in ultimate velocity, but not enough to matter. A magnum primer isn't necessary.
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Old 04-06-2012, 08:08 AM
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yep, a killer .22 hornet powder.
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Old 04-07-2012, 01:05 PM
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I use it in my Winchester 32-20 with lead bullets.
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  #23  
Old 04-07-2012, 04:13 PM
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Back in the day I loaded 22.0 behind a 240 Hornady FMJ.
Would really slam the rams at 200 meters.
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Old 04-08-2012, 05:14 AM
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In my Marlin 32-20 4227 will push the 118gn cast bullet over 1800 fps. Makes a good varmint load.
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Old 04-08-2012, 06:25 AM
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4227 is the very best powder i have ever used in 44sp. and 45lc i have used it for years. when useing it use a mag. primer or it will not all burn. my load with 45lc is a 255 cast and 19gr. 44sp. is 17gr with a lyman 215 cast.
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Old 04-14-2012, 02:12 PM
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Good velocities, great accuracy, can't get enough in the case to create an overload, and it's single-based (which is what contributes to it being easier on the barrel than other powders in this burning rate range), makes it a fantastic powder for the 44 Magnum.

It works great in the other applications listed. If someone doesn't have good success with it, they haven't tried enough variations. It does like to be at 100% load density or mildly compressed.

I will say that since Hodgdon took over IMR and 4227 is now being manufactured in Australia, I'm not sure it's a single-based powder anymore. I have enough of a stash of Canadian 4227 that I just haven't bothered to look...
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Old 04-14-2012, 04:12 PM
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+1 for the .32-40...
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Old 04-21-2012, 10:21 PM
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I'm late to this post, but 4227 is the cat's meow in the 500 S&W Magnum. Its burn rate fits the caliber to a Tee.
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Old 07-12-2014, 04:59 AM
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Seems like imr4227 and h110 are still on the shelf at a local gun shop. Saw a user contribution on a site using 10gr of imr4227 in a 40s&w with a heavy bullet. Anyone ever try this?
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Old 07-12-2014, 09:27 AM
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IMR4227 was the first powder I ever handloaded with. The Lee Loader kit had a dipper for it. Worked perfectly with the 44 Magnum and 240/250 gr jacketed and cast bullets.

IMR4227 was designed for the pistol sized rifle cartridges like the 44 WCF, 38 WCF and 32 WCF. Burns very clean in rifle length barrels. It does leave some unburned powder in revolvers. IME, it leads much less with cast bullets and is very mild on guns in comparison with other magnum powders. It also has very light flash.

I have managed to find good loads with it in 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 44 Special and 44 Magnum. If IMR4227 was the only revolver powder I could get, it wouldnt bother me too much.
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Old 07-12-2014, 01:11 PM
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.30 M1 Carbine and .50AE are the two I use it for.
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Old 07-12-2014, 03:37 PM
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As others have said, it's the bee's knees for the largest revolver cartridges.
I use it in the 445 Supermag and 444 Marlin with a WLR primer.
I suspect it is available because of it's narrow range of applications.
It would be nice to know authoritatively if the IMR and H versions are the exact same thing these days.
Many manuals have different recipes for the 2 and QuickLoad has different properties for them.

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Old 07-12-2014, 04:15 PM
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Shortly after I started handloading in 1980 I started looking for a good load in the 41 Magnum. Ken Waters' Pet Loads book stated his best load for the middle magnum was 21 grains of IMR 4227 behind a 210-220 grain cast bullet, if memory serves. I used that load behind the Lyman 410459 for a lot of years; it was always more accurate than I was, and Ken's statement that recoil seemed softer than with other powders was exactly my experience as well...
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Old 07-12-2014, 04:53 PM
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After using it in a 38 snub nose to a 357 6" Magnum with
110 to 158gr bullets both lead and Jacketed.....

I think it is much better suited for the 40 caliber or larger cases.
It did not do well in my 22-250 target loads.... SR 4759 shot much better.

Way too slow for the little 9mm, also.

I did have a few loads that were accurate but at twice the amount of powder.......... so why use it ?
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Old 07-12-2014, 05:50 PM
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218 Bee, 30 Carbine, 32-20, 25-20, and 22 hornet.

Works o.k. in 44 mag, and 357 mag as well.

Give it a try for reduced lead loads, or 110 grain half jacket loads in 30-30 or 303 Savage.

Last edited by gregintenn; 07-12-2014 at 05:53 PM.
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Old 07-12-2014, 06:39 PM
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Since 2400 seems to only be produced one pound at a time, and you need to know the secret handshake to buy it I, have also been thinking about trying 4227 for my magnum calibers.

Is there any things that I, should steer clear of, certain brands of bullets, or types of primers, ect, ect.

Thanks.
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Old 07-12-2014, 08:04 PM
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I just bought a 8 pound keg. I am a 2400/Unique guy but have all but given up on every seeing any again. I am just happy to finally find some powder i can use for handgun.
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Old 07-12-2014, 08:39 PM
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Wow, two years later and I still have not finished that original pound of powder! It works very well with 110 gr. RN bullets meant for the .30 Carbine loaded in 7.62x39 but only my Yugo SKS will feed these bullets. I never tried it in the .22 Hornet or the magnum revolver cartridges. Just a week ago I went to see my component supplier and he had a lot of this powder sitting on the shelves. If I didn't already have so much other powder I would've grabbed more of this.

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Old 07-12-2014, 10:58 PM
John Erickson John Erickson is offline
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I tried it in my 357, do to having problems finding my go to powders. I found it very accurate and now I might just start using it over my 2400 110 and blue dot.
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Old 07-12-2014, 11:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scattershot View Post
I have a buddy that swears by it for .44 mag loads.
Same here, it's great for .44 mags.
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Old 07-13-2014, 12:31 AM
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It's a good magnum pistol powder, not a great one but a good one.
It's a little bit slow, and leaves unburned powder behind.
It might do a little better in the New breed of mega magnums like the 460 and 500.
myself, I'm looking to use it in 45-70 loads.
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Old 10-09-2014, 11:28 PM
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I hesitated to buy the IMR 4227 for handgun loads because I could only find load data for 357 Mag. What I wanted was a an available powder that would be used in the 38 Special. As everyone knows there seems to be a shortage of desired powders.

So I bought the IMR 4227 and used it in loading 38 Specials, 148gr DEWC with 8gr's of the IMR 4227 and Mag Primers. Lead was flush with lip of the brass. Shot standard pistol course of 10, 15, & 25 yards. Each distance carried well and pattern consistent.

Last thing, the IMR 4227 burned cleaner than most powders I use.
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Old 10-18-2014, 09:56 PM
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I was going through some old boxes of supplies and ran across an old unopened tin of 4227 that I had bought in the early 1980's for .357 loading instead of w296. Still had the price tag on it, $12.50/lb. Wonder if its still good?
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Old 10-18-2014, 10:28 PM
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If it's been sealed the entire time and stored in temperatures under 100 degrees I would expect it to be perfectly fine. Certainly worth opening up and giving the sniff test. As for using it, the best course of action here is to see if you have some load manuals that date back to the same period. Because on some occasions powders can be updated without the identification changing and sometimes those changes can result in a revision of the load data. If you don't have any older data then start low and work up very carefully.
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Old 10-18-2014, 11:32 PM
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.30 Carbine and revolver cartridges. IIRC, you'll basically fill up the case whatever you load with it. There's zero chance of a double charge.

BTW; Awhile back it was all that was on the shelf. I called Hogdon and asked if H4227 and IMR4227 were interchangeable as my books listed the opposite of what they had. The nice gent at customer service told me; not exactly, but if you start with the starting load and work up, you should be ok.
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Last edited by M3Stuart; 10-18-2014 at 11:36 PM.
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Old 08-21-2016, 07:55 PM
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Default Imr 4227

Extremely good powder choice for cast bullets in 44 magnum and better handguns ie 454 Casull. Achieves higher velocities at lower pressures resulting in what feels like reduced recoil compared to 2400/296/110. Slower burning results in less base cutting of cast bullets that are properly sized, also is a good choice in high expansion rifle cases such as 45/70. Would not recommend this powder for low power revolver loads such as 38 special, better powders for these cartridges would be universal or unique. Another good powder choice for cast bullets in rifle cartridges would be AA5744, no fillers are required for cases as large as 45/70, and it being a tick slower than IMR4227 is also good for 44 mag and better magnums. I would also recommend using the federal large pistol match magnum primer with these 2 powders in 44 mag revolver cases, in rifle cases std primers work well in 454 Casull use of CCI small rifle magnum is recommended.
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Old 08-21-2016, 09:45 PM
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I used the same load as Hammerdown 77 for thousands of rounds shot out of a Super Blackhawk 44. I found it burned cooler than unique and didn't lead the barrel at all with hard cast 240s.
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Old 08-21-2016, 10:13 PM
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I shot it in .44 mag loads years ago; had not used it in years but I recently bought 6# of it at a good price, so I guess I'm back in. Plan to load some with heavy cast bullets in .44 mag and may try it in .357 also.
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Old 08-21-2016, 11:57 PM
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Just in case anyone else in here shoots the .445SM, 2 of my favorite loads feature IMR-4227 and the WLR primer.
I have reamed the Starline brass to use rifle primers and also use cut off rifle brass:
31 grains 4227 under a Cast Perf. 260 WFNGC 2.0" COAL
30 grains 4227 under a Hornady 300 XTP crimped in the lower cannelure 2.08" COAL.
Deviations in the single digits or low teens.
There are others but these 2 have always shined for me.
4227 is a widely underrated powder.
Maybe because it is not flashy and doesn't produce every last fps possible.
But to paraphrase Townsend Whelen it's the accurate guns/loads that are interesting.
And that is 4227's forte. What's not to like?
I am still trying to get A-1680 to behave anywhere near as well, looking for the potential extra fps.
Going to the WLRM with those loads next.
Back to the loading desk......

Some comparisons with 296 and 1680 are to be found in this evolving spreadsheet:
Sorry about the blank pages. The conversion to PDF is not perfect (OpenOffice).
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Encore-445-chronograph-data.pdf (94.4 KB, 50 views)
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Old 08-22-2016, 12:14 AM
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I bought just a little under two pounds of it really cheaply - for $20 IIRC. I've loaded a few rounds of 357, but haven't got a chance to shoot them yet. I plan on loading some 44 mags with it too now that I have some 240gr hard cast lead to load.

Everything I've read - in this thread and others - says load it above the middle of the range and use a magnum primer. So, that's what I'm doing. Everything I've read says that downloading or using regular primers you're more likely to end up with quite a bit of unburned powder grains.

The other consistent comment about it is that it is very accurate and that it has a very mild recoil - more of a hard shove rather than a sharp snap or slap. I think the two things are related. Seems to me that sharp snappy recoil is more likely to allow the barrel to start to rise before the bullet has exited. With the milder push type of recoil it seems it would be easier to stay on target until after the bullet has cleared the end of the barrel.

Anywho, that's everything I've read and my thoughts on why it is so accurate. As with all things reloading, YMMV...
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357 magnum, 44 magnum, carbine, colt, crimp, hornady, m29, model 29, primer, redhawk, silhouette, smith & wesson, smith and wesson, snubnose, trapdoor, winchester

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