44Spl and CFE Pistol

[BillBro]

I had a most pleasant experience at the range yesterday. I had scored 200 new Starline 44Spl cases awhile back and just got around to searching out a load for which I had most of the specified components.
On Hogdons website I found a load for a 200gr Nosler over CFE Pistol lit up by a WLPP. I started at 6.3gr, then 6.6 and 6.9gr. The 6.3 and 6.9 grain loads were very satisfying. Shooting 15 yards with my 4" M29 the 6.3 produced a 1.7" 6 shot group and the 6.9gr a 1.2" group. The 6.3gr load was so mild it felt about like a stout 38spl load, very pleasant. I believe though that the 6.9gr load will be my load. No pressure signs at all, clean clean burn, accurate and just fun to shoot.

6.9gr CFE
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6.3gr CFE

 

[SLT223]

CFE-P is a phenomenal propellant. Ive loading 44 Special in magnum cases with it for a few years. It meters extremely well, which helps with consistency. It’s my go to medium burn rate powder. I use it in .44, .45 Colt and .357 cases.

On another note the seafood buffet in Wrightsville Beach looks delicious. Im pretty big fan of Top Sail Island and Wrightsville beaches.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I am another believer that this powder is the new kid on the block
that might turn out to be king of the hill.

It also works great in 38, .357 & 9mm.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Ditto with 40 S&W

I am another believer that this powder is the new kid on the block
that might turn out to be king of the hill.

It also works great in 38, .357 & 9mm.

And 40 S&W with plated Berrys, Nosler JHPs & Hornady XTPs as well!

Cheers!

 

[teletech]

You guys and your modern powders. I'll check in in a couple decades and see how it's going.
It's not that they aren't doing great things with powders these days, but with the cost of primers I'm not in a huge hurry to spend a lot of time and material breaking new ground.
I only just discovered the utility of Titegroup and so far the only thing I'm doing with it is .44Spl, but will admit that it's pretty nice in that application at least.

 

[gwpercle]

You guys and your modern powders. I'll check in in a couple decades and see how it's going.
I only just discovered the utility of Titegroup and so far the only thing I'm doing with it is .44Spl, but will admit that it's pretty nice in that application at least.

I'm with Teletech !
It may be all great and wonderful but I'm not dumping Unique for it any time soon . Unique has way too much data and experience with users ... I'll check back in 50 years and see how CFE-P is doing .
Not dumping Bullseye and 2400 either !
Gary

 

[Nevada Ed]

I'm with Teletech !
It may be all great and wonderful but I'm not dumping Unique for it any time soon . Unique has way too much data and experience with users ... I'll check back in 50 years and see how CFE-P is doing .
Not dumping Bullseye and 2400 either !
Gary

I will be doing a test with a full load of CFE-p to see how it stacks up against Unique powder, when things calm down.

I'm not tossing any "Old powder" out either but I just have to know what the fps is with the short 9mm case, mostly with a large 147 gr bullet.

 

[BillBro]

Myself I'd happily use Unique because I value all the decades of use and praise it has got from users and devotees but I'm not going to pay what I see it going for everywhere when I have pounds and pounds of other powders that do work. I didnt load for my 44 mag or Special until all of the BS happened and had bought alot of powder before it all happened. If I found some at a decent price I'd happily try Ynique, or any of the other tried and true powders for any of my calibers. I'm just trying to work with what I have on hand.

 

[sw282]

l feel safe in saying that forum friend buddy ''75Vette'' has shot at least 20pounds of ''CFE PISTOL'' over the past 6-7 years. l've personally put 20,000+rds thru my 629 Magnum Hunter during the same period. About 10K were loaded using CFE PISTOL. Great powder

 

[rockquarry]

I had a most pleasant experience at the range yesterday. I had scored 200 new Starline 44Spl cases awhile back and just got around to searching out a load for which I had most of the specified components.
On Hogdons website I found a load for a 200gr Nosler over CFE Pistol lit up by a WLPP. I started at 6.3gr, then 6.6 and 6.9gr. The 6.3 and 6.9 grain loads were very satisfying. Shooting 15 yards with my 4" M29 the 6.3 produced a 1.7" 6 shot group and the 6.9gr a 1.2" group. The 6.3gr load was so mild it felt about like a stout 38spl load, very pleasant. I believe though that the 6.9gr load will be my load. No pressure signs at all, clean clean burn, accurate and just fun to shoot.

6.9gr CFE
seafood buffet in wrightsville beach nc

6.3gr CFE

Not a criticism, just a suggestion... shooting benchrested groups at twenty-five yards will tell you a lot more about accuracy potential than shooting up close where almost everything is accurate. Accurate and inaccurate loads are far more easily separated at distance and it saves on load development ammo. Good luck-

 

[Nevada Ed]

Not a criticism, just a suggestion... shooting benchrested groups at twenty-five yards will tell you a lot more about accuracy potential than shooting up close where almost everything is accurate. Accurate and inaccurate loads are far more easily separated at distance and it saves on load development ammo. Good luck-

I'm glad that you stated 25 yard "Bench rest test" !!

Being born in 1944, my off hand at 15 yards or longer is nothing to brag about.........

and yes, a chair is nice to have.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

In the past, our ol' friend Hickok45 has oft remarked that most firearms are basically "more accurate" than he is... This is typically while he's banging that gong offhand with a 3" semi-automatic pistol. Using FREE! factory ammo, for the most part.

For the most part, and IMHO, unless someone is actually shooting at you, or you are shooting at our four-footed (& winged) brethren, or in some competitive venue, reloading 44 Specials for accuracy much beyond 50' is more a function of sight (re: aged eyes) and skill (& practice) vs. the individual firearm, once you have a load that works.

I, too, am a fan of CFE-Pistol.

Cheers!

P.S. Those do appear to be a couple great CFE-Pistol loads, and that there's some fine shootin', BillBro!

 

[BillBro]

I'll throw this out to see what advice I get, I also have HS-6, 4227, A2,5,7, and 9, H110, Vhitavuori N340, some Vectan 7.5 and 6.5, a little titegroup, and, I think that's it. If there is a better 44spl powder among them please advise. I tested some HS-6 alongside the CDE and also A5 and my gun liked neither. Of course most of my testing has been with some of the worst plated,240gr bullets I've seen and I'm glad to almost be rid of them. I really believe most of my dismal results with that cartridge has been due to that bullet. So along the same vein I'd love to start casting so any design and mold recommendations also welcome.

 

[rockquarry]

I'll throw this out to see what advice I get, I also have HS-6, 4227, A2,5,7, and 9, H110, Vhitavuori N340, some Vectan 7.5 and 6.5, a little titegroup, and, I think that's it. If there is a better 44spl powder among them please advise. I tested some HS-6 alongside the CDE and also A5 and my gun liked neither. Of course most of my testing has been with some of the worst plated,240gr bullets I've seen and I'm glad to almost be rid of them. I really believe most of my dismal results with that cartridge has been due to that bullet. Do along the same vein I'd love to start casting so any design and mold recommendations also welcome.

My experience with plated bullets hasn't been good. However, if you're interest in accuracy is secondary, they're fine. I've used some of the powders you've mentioned and since you have them on hand, develop a number of loads. If you're not looking for maximum velocities, I've yet to find anything better than Bullseye, 231, Herco, and Unique, and not necessarily in that order.

A cast bullet that FITS and is of the right alloy mix for your load will be at least as accurate as an accurate jacketed bullet, often more so. I just finished loading about three hundred rounds of .44 Special using a 200 grain SAECO flat nose design and Herco powder. I prefer a heavier bullet, but this one shoot slightly better than the popular 250 grain Lyman #429421 for me. My guns, two 29s and three 24-3s do better with .432" bullets but other revolvers may need .430" or .431" bullets.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Maybe the HS-6 of what you have...?

For a mold it really depends upon what you are looking for: i.e., a 200gr bullet to shoot for fun at the range in both 44 Special & possibly 44 Magnum as well, or something more serious like a 240gr "Keith style" LSWC for SD or game?

I have the LEE 429-200-RF for the former application, use various JHPs for the latter.

Cheers!

P.S. There are those who swear by the 4227s. I think you already have a winner with CFE-Pistol.

 

[BillBro]

Sorry, my bullet/ mold request was about as ambiguous as could be huh? I want to weigh a few things before I answer so as to not waste everyone's time.
As to the hs6, for me and my one 44 it did not perform so well and with that and the cfe I was using hornady xtp bullets but even with those the hs6 did not show as well that time but I'll definitely try it in other combinations.
I'll get back with bullet designs but off the top of my head I guess something like a 200-225gr SWC , a Keith design maybe? Something most of you know to be an accurate bullet design for target shooting because I dont intend to carry a 44spl (although there would certainly be nothing wrong with that), something for use in a revolver only. If it would just happen to be effective against 4-legged beasts that's be fine too.

Oh, I also have a few other powders at my disposal, one which I never see mentioned in relation to 44Spl or 44Mag, but one which has given me one of the highest performance 44mag loads for my Henry BigBoy, H800x and the other powder is Ramshot Silohuette but it and HS-6 are my top tier 9mm powders, as is CFE but the other two edge out the CFE a little.

 

[rockquarry]

Sorry, my bullet/ mold request was about as ambiguous as could be huh? I want to weigh a few things before I answer so as to not waste everyone's time.
As to the hs6, for me and my one 44 it did not perform so well and with that and the cfe I was using hornady xtp bullets but even with those the hs6 did not show as well that time but I'll definitely try it in other combinations.
I'll get back with bullet designs but off the top of my head I guess something like a 200-225gr SWC , a Keith design maybe? Something most of you know to be an accurate bullet design for target shooting because I dont intend to carry a 44spl (although there would certainly be nothing wrong with that), something for use in a revolver only. If it would just happen to be effective against 4-legged beasts that's be fine too.

Oh, I also have a few other powders at my disposal, one which I never see mentioned in relation to 44Spl or 44Mag, but one which has given me one of the highest performance 44mag loads for my Henry BigBoy, H800x and the other powder is Ramshot Silohuette but it and HS-6 are my top tier 9mm powders, as is CFE but the other two edge out the CFE a little.

HS-6 is a "niche"-type powder; one that's very useful in some applications, but not many. Like you, I've found it to be a much better and more versatile powder in 9mm (with cast bullets) than just about anything else. However, I have developed a few accurate loads in other handgun cartridges using HS-6 and cast bullets. I'm finishing off an 8 lb. keg of the powder now and probably won't buy any more of it. Magnum primers are often recommended with HS-6; I've compared them with standard primers and can see no difference in accuracy or anything else.

 

[BillBro]

In my case with the 44spl and HS-6 I saw poor accuracy and lots of unburned powder, I used Winchester large pistol primer and while not specifically a magnum designated primer I know they're universally accepted for use as such. Maybe it.was my crimp. I gave the rounds what I thought was a medium-heavy crimp. Look, I've only been reloading for about 5 years now and have much to learn and crimping always confounds me, how much is too much how much too light but I felt I gave them a sufficient crimp, maybe not. I also didnt take my chronograph because I always just see if a particular load will demonstrate accuracy potential, if it does I'll load again to see if its consistent and look at the numbers. I, like most I think, am always most interested in accuracy. I guess some people chase velocity too though.

 

[teletech]

I'll throw this out to see what advice I get, I also have HS-6, 4227, A2,5,7, and 9, H110, Vhitavuori N340, some Vectan 7.5 and 6.5, a little titegroup, and, I think that's it. If there is a better 44spl powder among them please advise. I tested some HS-6 alongside the CDE and also A5 and my gun liked neither. Of course most of my testing has been with some of the worst plated,240gr bullets I've seen and I'm glad to almost be rid of them. I really believe most of my dismal results with that cartridge has been due to that bullet. Do along the same vein I'd love to start casting so any design and mold recommendations also welcome.

I've had very good luck with Titegroup in my .44 using lightweight bullets (174gr TC). It prints a lot lower than my full house 98. Blue Dot loads but is just as accurate and a lot easier on the shooter.

 

[Ron IL]

I loaded a couple pounds of CFE Pistol 3 or 4 years ago. The last couple of weeks I have been shooting some of them. I loaded it in 45 acp and 38 spl. It shoots very accurate and very clean. No soot on the stainless revolver. I use mostly Unique and Bullseye but got it back in Obama era when powder got scarce. I tried several powders. My grandson gave me a 4 lb container of Titegroup and I loaded 2 lb of it. I shoved it back into the corner to use when I can't get powder anymore. It shoots so hot it makes my barrel in me GP100 too hot to touch. It also leaded my barrel really bad. My bullet guy said to quit using it and go to a slower powder. I went to Unique and it shoots very clean. I wet patch and 1 dry patch and the barrel shines. I pulled down 750 38 reloads and dumped the powder out and reloaded with Unique. It took 30 minutes to clean the lead out after the Titegroup. Anyway I really liked the CFE pistol.