Looking to develop a lighter .44 Magnum load in the 1000 - 1100 fps range. Have used AA#5 at 10 grains with a Sierra 220 grain bullet with not that great accuracy. Also had some Powder discoloration at the case mouths.I have read that this can be caused by to light of a powder charge. I have some Meisner Lead RN/FP in 240 grain (.430) that I would like to load. I don't know if upping the charge of AA#5 to11 grains is the way to go or if I should go to a little slower AA#7 at 12 grains. Has anyone used either of these powders for this application?

10 gr of Unique will do it.

I agree that Unique would work well here.

Just shot some with eleven grains...very nice

That amount under a 240gr. swc gives me almost 1100fps through my 8 3/8" Model 29.

x2 this is my go to plinking load. Have gone a low as 8 grains Unique for total cream puff loads for the kids. Both pushing Rainier and/or Berrys plated 240 gr FP's

I load 7.5 grains of Titegroup and it's fun and accurate. A buddy loads 8 grains of Unique and it shoots to the same POI and is pretty soft shooting also.

But most people do not shoot 8 3/8" M-29s! That load will give about 1000 FPS in a 4-6" depending on the specific gun. It would have helped if OP had said what length barrel he wanted that velocity from!

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Gunsmithing since 1961

I should have mentioned in the original post that the gun is a S&W model 629-6, with a 6" barrel. I was thinking that a little slower powder (AA#7) would fill the case more and maybe give better performance.

Don't know what gun or barrel length you are using but in my
experience W231 works well for mid-range loads in my 4" S&W 29-2
and in my 7 1/2" Ruger Blackhawk. 8.5 grs W231 under a 250 gr cast
SWC gives a little over 1100 fps out of the Ruger.

I have never shot the bullet weight you mentioned but 17.5 grs. of 2400 and 240 gr. JHP's has been accurate in 3 different .44's with quite moderate recoil.

And, it fills a good bit of the case, making double charges hard to do.

If you want better volume, go to a flake powder like Unique or even old Herco for medium vel loads. 2400 is the standard for 44mag loads IMO. Sure other slower powders will give a bit more vel, but they also don't down load as well. For light loads, I like RedDot over TG, better loft & less smoke with lead bullets.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

+1 That's been my fav load, but with cast lead bullets. Maybe not the most efficient, but definitely the most traditional.

.

If you're looking for AA#5 loads: http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-con...pec_7-2-13.pdf

Out of my 6" 629 classic, 13.0 gr of AA-5 and a 240 LRN five 1260 fps and fair groups while 6.8gr of the same setup only runs 698 fps.
18.0gr of AA-7 in front of a 200gr XTP is clocking 1450fps with 5 shots under 1/2"
Out of a 6" T/C, 10gr of Unique and the 240 LRN averages 1210 for me.
I prefer a LFN but these were available when I was trying out the above powders.

My .44 Magnum target load is 5.5 grains of Clays under a 240-grain cast semi-wadcutter. It is pleasant to shoot, accurate and nothing burns as cleanly as Clays. It shoots to the same 25-yard POI in my three 629s as Hornady's 240-grain XTP factory load so I don't have to change anything when I take the guns hunting in heavy woods.

Ed

6.5 gr of red Dot or 7 gr Green Dot aver very accurate under a 240-250 gr cast bullet.

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Front sight and squeeze

Up the charge a little bit.

^^^^^^^^ This.