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  #1  
Old 11-29-2021, 09:42 AM
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Default New 44Mag plinking load

Found my new favorite 44 Magnum practice/plinking load. I loaded some new Starline brass with 5.5grs of W231 and an ACME 240gr powder coated SWC. I seated them about the middle of the top driving band. Took it to the range and 20 shots thru the chronograph showed this.
Average 837fps
Extreme Spread 27
Standard Deviation 9

This was through two guns an 8 3/8” & a 6.5” 629 Classics
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Old 11-29-2021, 10:09 AM
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Good shooting. I have found W231 and Red Dot, under 240 swc's work well for reduced power .44 mag loads. About 850 to 950 fps is a sweet spot for range / plinking loads.

Larry
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Old 11-29-2021, 11:29 AM
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What was the distance for your target? I have a bag of coated 240's and 4lbs of 231 in my cabinet....
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Old 11-29-2021, 12:21 PM
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I load 11 grains AA#5. 240 gr hardcast. Warmer than 44 spl but lighter than magnum. Fun and accurate, easy on gun and shooter.
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Old 11-29-2021, 01:21 PM
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WOW !!

That had to be a really strong wind from the right of you, that day.
Hope you can get out on a nice day.

Boy, that sort of spoils things about having to look for a good load, now.
Bummer man. Maybe take up Golf, for all your spare time?

Sweet.
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Old 11-29-2021, 01:44 PM
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I load 7gr 231, gives 857fps,great light mag case 240grLSWC load in my629 6.5".44
Jim
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Old 11-29-2021, 01:52 PM
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I load the same 5.5 grains 231 but deep seat the bullet to crimp over the driving band. The rounds look a bit different but the accuracy is amazing. It is my normal carry load in a 4” M29-2.

Dan
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Old 11-29-2021, 02:02 PM
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To each his/her own; but I shoot full power loads in all my magnum handguns. I can handle those loads and I know where those bullets will hit whether at 25 yards or 200 yards. For plinking, I shoot 22 rimfire! Why own a magnum when you don't use it as such!
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Old 11-29-2021, 02:09 PM
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My favorite " light " 44 magnum loads use 5.0 grs of Bullseye powder using a 240 gr swc . It's Elmer Keiths " gallery " load . Great for target practice . His 8.5 grs of unique is a nice , little stronger load using same bullet . Both shoot POA = POI . From what I have read , that 8.5 grs of Unique was his " everyday " load . Finding lighter loads in the 44 can be enjoyable . I have liked 6.5 grs of Red Dot , 700x , WST and Titegroup for a little more punch than the 5.0 grs of Bullseye powder , all crimped in the crimp groove . All very accurate out of my 29-10's , 4 & 6.5" barrels . Regards Paul
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Old 11-29-2021, 02:47 PM
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In my Cowboy Action Shooting days, my best .44 Mag load was a 240 grain SWC and 7 grains of any of the faster propellants, usually Bullseye.
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Old 11-29-2021, 03:26 PM
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Well now...

Alliant says 6.0gr Bullseye for a 240gr LSWC. So, a -10% START load would be 5.4gr...

Seems like y'all are on to something here!

Might just be in the ballpark for 44 Special (maybe even a 44 Special "+P"!) as well?

Cheers!
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Old 11-29-2021, 03:49 PM
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Is there a reason why you didn't crimp in the crimp groove? I see some posts now and then when a reloader starts 10% below Minimum. I don't know where that came from but in 40+ years of reloading the only 10% reduction I've seen and occasionally use, is from Maximum. There is a reason for starting/min. suggested loads and 10% lower may pose problems. But with the 44 Magnum there probably is no danger as I've loaded 44 Magnums with 44 Special data many times (I have loaded exerything from .432" balls over a dusting of Bullseye up to 310 gr ingots for my T-Rex Killer loads; near max/max loads of WC820)...

I don't have my records in front of me but your load is right around my "Target" load, but your marksmanship is better than mine! Good easy shooting for a change from Magnum...

Last edited by mikld; 11-29-2021 at 03:54 PM.
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Old 11-29-2021, 04:10 PM
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I liked the 5gr of Bullseye and 8.5gr of Unique loads in Hornady 44mag cases for my indoor range shooting with maybe one fullhouse load to test if my tooth implants are still up to parr.
These loads worked well for me in a 4" mountain gun and 3" 629-4 Backpacker.
With powder prices and availability now being what they are using less powder for the same amount of pleasure is not a bad choice with the 5gr of Bullseye load.
Probably the other nine shooters on the firing line and the range officers like the light load choice also.
BTW,I'm 78 years young.but these old legs have seen better days.
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Old 11-29-2021, 05:10 PM
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The pictures is actually sideways. The group was above that 1” target square. That group was at 15yards from a bench. I’ve whacked my Chrono a few times already trying to shoot offhand thru it. Haha.
I seated it above the crimp grove because I wanted to try the deep seating mentioned above. The next ones I load I’m gonna crimp right at the top/just over the shoulder of the bullet and in the regular crimp groove and see what the differences are. I love 231 powder and bought a lot of it when I first started reloading. I may take one of my scoped revolvers and try it a little further out.
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Old 11-29-2021, 05:44 PM
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BKS;

If your chrony has factory metal rods.............

you might replace them with wooded dows from a hardware store that
break a lot easier and maybe prevent damage to your unit.

The sun visers can usually be glued back together, if damaged.

Carry on.
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Old 11-29-2021, 08:41 PM
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I’m following this with interest. I’m wanting to develop some easy loads 44mags loads , using* Red Dot, for my Rossi 92 lever action rifle.
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Old 11-29-2021, 09:13 PM
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I don’t fully understand the hole “deep seat” thing other than it reduces air space in the case and makes them more efficient. 44 mags become Specials. I was reluctant to deep seat bullets just because of the look. The load I use was recommended by David Bradshaw. David knows more about shooting accurately than most. I finally gave it a go and it was almost magical. Why light loads? Well sometimes heavy loads aren’t needed and sometimes they are.

Dan
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Old 11-29-2021, 09:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevada Ed View Post
BKS;

If your chrony has factory metal rods.............

you might replace them with wooded dows from a hardware store that
break a lot easier and maybe prevent damage to your unit.

The sun visers can usually be glued back together, if damaged.

Carry on.
Thank you I had no idea you could do that.
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Old 11-30-2021, 09:35 AM
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I also shoot a lot of light loads in my magnums. I have .22 revolvers, but S&W doesn’t make a 3” N frame .22, which is one of my favorite plinkers. I use 7 grains of 231 in that one with a 240 LSWC.
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Old 11-30-2021, 03:49 PM
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Nice shooting! Thanks for posting.
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Old 11-30-2021, 08:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jake1945 View Post
To each his/her own; but I shoot full power loads in all my magnum handguns. I can handle those loads and I know where those bullets will hit whether at 25 yards or 200 yards. For plinking, I shoot 22 rimfire! Why own a magnum when you don't use it as such!
I'm not going to try to answer for the OP but I will tell you about a friend. He is on a fixed income and can't afford to buy many guns. He loads ammo for his .44 Magnum at full power for when needed but sometimes you just want to plink with your favorite gun. In those times he loads what amounts to a stiff .44 Special for a fun day of shooting. I don't think you should judge what others do by your circumstances.

BKS, thank you for your post. Good shooting and that load looks good. Well done...
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Old 11-30-2021, 10:17 PM
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7.0 - 7.5 gr of TiteGroup and any 240 gr cast shoots real nice and clean out of my .44Mag. Plenty of thump, and easy on the shooter.
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Old 12-04-2021, 08:07 PM
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I've been using 8.5 gr of CFE-P under 240 gr LSWC for several years with great accuracy. It's easy on me and the gun and will still knock down a 55 lb steel ram at 200 meters.
Starline cases have been loaded 18 times with just one split and WLP primers. Talk about stretching a dollar...
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Old 02-01-2022, 03:48 AM
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Loaded some more 231 in the 44 today. I loaded a series of 185gr XTPs, Hornady’s start load is 10.0 grs. The top 44spl load is around 7.0, I believe, I loaded some (Mag)at 9.5, 10.0, 10.5grs.
Shot one of the 9.5gr loads today and it is VERY manageable.
I hope to Chrono them tomorrow maybe.

I’m looking for a load to duplicate a 45acp 185gr XTP.
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Old 02-01-2022, 05:27 AM
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What was the range…….25 yards?
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Old 02-01-2022, 01:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BKS View Post
Loaded some more 231 in the 44 today. I loaded a series of 185gr XTPs, Hornady’s start load is 10.0 grs. The top 44spl load is around 7.0, I believe, I loaded some (Mag)at 9.5, 10.0, 10.5grs.
Shot one of the 9.5gr loads today and it is VERY manageable.
I hope to Chrono them tomorrow maybe.

I’m looking for a load to duplicate a 45acp 185gr XTP.
The discontinued Hornady Custom 180gr XTP in 44 Special was rated at 1,000 fps.

The 45acp 185gr Hornady XTP in either their American Gunner or Black lines are under 1,000 fps: that 9.5gr of 231 should be way in excess of 1,200 fps with an 180gr XTP...

Nice to hear that it is manageable: ENJOY!

Cheers!

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Old 02-01-2022, 01:45 PM
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So I chronographed the loads today.
3" Model 629-6
51 Degrees
20ft to Chrono

9.5grs of W231 w/ 180gr XTP
Average of 10 Shots 996fps
ES 48 fps
SD 15fps

10grs of W231 w/ 180gr XTP
Average of 10 shots 1074 fps
ES 90fps
SD 27fps

10.5grs of W231 w/180gr XTP
Average of 10 shots 1079fps
ES 42fps
SD 14fps

I shot through the chronograph into a target at 15yards, with 3 different powder charges they all went into one large hole about 2-2 1/2".

Shot another 38 rounds at a 25 yards target. Recoil is not bad, you know you are touching off something. My 3" Ahrend's combat grips on it. No fireball, all cases ejected smoothly. All ammo loaded at the same time, same machine, new brass, Remington 2 1/2 primers. etc.

Someone please help me with the ES/SD.
The 10.0 / 10.5 loads are really close but in the 10.5gr load the spreads are narrower. Does that make it a better load? Does it mean that in this situation, the powder has reached its "useable" loading?

Next will be to test expansion, but it will be a few days, cold weather coming.

Last edited by BKS; 02-01-2022 at 01:46 PM.
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Old 02-01-2022, 02:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jake1945 View Post
To each his/her own; but I shoot full power loads in all my magnum handguns. I can handle those loads and I know where those bullets will hit whether at 25 yards or 200 yards. For plinking, I shoot 22 rimfire! Why own a magnum when you don't use it as such!
Believe it or not, you'll get old one day and appreciate the advantages of handloading down.
In the '80's we used to shoot nukes all day long in .44's, 45's and .454 Casull. Dick (Casull) gave us a load that pushed a 260gr bullet at 2000fps. He actually went up to 2200fps. I can appreciate the preference for power as we hunted with these loads. I still have those revolvers and routinely load them down to more comfortable levels. That way I can still appreciate a finely made machine without the power I once preferred.
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Old 02-02-2022, 01:31 AM
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BKS: Well, the Hodgdons estimated fps was from an 8+" barrel: your original post indicated barrels longer than the 3" you chrono'ed (spelling?)... That's what my "excess of 1,200 fps" comment was based upon.

Wonder what the velocities from the 8 3/8 & 6.5" barrels might be?

Cheers!
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Old 02-02-2022, 03:53 AM
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Yes Sir. I thought they would be faster too.

No sweat.

I just put those on this post instead of making another. I will run them through a 5” gun when it returns from the gunsmith. I sold my 8 3/8” and am having the 6.5” gun fitted with a 5” barrel to match my 625.

I may go up a 1/4 to 1/2 grain more and test it. Be about the limit of what I want to shoot out of that 3” gun with the wood grips. I shot just over a 100rds today without a problem.

I may just stay with my 5.5-6.0 load and a 240swc. I may also get some full wadcutters to try also.
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Old 02-02-2022, 08:41 AM
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Actually your right where you should be velocity wise with those 180gr xtp"s.

A link to the lyman 48th reloading manual (free download), on page #352 lyman has load data for the 44mag/ww231 using a 4" barrel.
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Manu...%20-%20ocr.pdf

The 44cal's (44mag/44spl) are fantastic cartridges. Unfortunately they are also the most misunderstood/mis-used cartridges for the last 40+ years. Dirty harry and full house loads are the modern 44mag. The 44spl has been tossed to the wayside since the 60's.

The 44spl/mag has always been known for their accuracy. What most shooters don't realize is just how easy to control the lighter 44mag loads are. What light loads like your 5.5gr/ww231/240gr bullet bring to the table is a target load that can be shot 1 handed (nra style bullseye) that has a power factor in the +/- 190 range.

Duster340 is a member on this website that had a nice collection of 44cal wc molds. Perhaps you could do a search and see if he listed any good/bad loads/testing. I've owned a lot of 44cal wc molds over the years, this is the last batch I owned.


Of those wc's/hbwc's pictured above, I sold 3 of them off and still own the 200gr and 220gr molds. The 200gr wc pictured above is a type III wc that was cast from an old cramer nose pour mold. The 220gr cast wc is actually a 220gr hbwc.

6.0gr to 6.5gr of clays and any 180gr to 250gr cast bullet in 44mag cases produce extremely accurate loads. That 200gr nose pour wc (perfect bullet bases every cast bullet) is a type III style wc that has a tapered nose that excellent for bullet/forcing cone alignment. 25yd 6-shot test group


Low pressure loads and cast bullets in the 44mag (16,000psi or less):
Typically you want to look for bullets that are made with low bhn alloys. You also want small bottom drive bands/bullet bases and square lube grooved bullets if you can find them. The short bullet base/bottom drive band will collapse/seal faster than it's larger counterpart increasing velocity. Same with a soft alloy VS hard alloy along with a square lube groove will collapse at less pressure than a rounded lube groove.

Both these bullets are cast with 8/9bhn alloy and then pc'd. The red bullet is a 245gr Keith style swc hp. The green bullet is the cramer 200gr wc.


I used those 2 bullets to do a little testing with a 2 1/2" bbl'd charter arms bulldog/44spl. I used 8.0gr of power pistol with both bullets which is a standard pressure 15,000psi load. I wanted to see if these loads would hit to the poa @ 25ft using a 6-oclock hold on the small white inner circle of the target.


While 5 shots aren't definitive by any means, that target pictured above was very telling.

Both bullets used the same load. The swc is heavier and seats deeper in the case (less case volume ='s more pressure). Yet the 200gr wc had a higher velocity. This is because of the smaller bottom drive band/bullet base being more efficient sealing faster/better so less gas/pressure escaped with the short start pressure of the load.

The other thing that target told me it was defiantly time to get rid of the wood grips. The heavier longer bodied bullet had more twist/grabbed the rifling better. My grip/hands aren't what they used to be and the revolver was twisting in my hand (low right group).

Anyway something to think about. Low pressure loads ='s small bases with lube grooves that collapse easily and soft alloys.
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Old 02-02-2022, 08:51 AM
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Does anyone use IMR4227 or H110 for their 44Mag rifle loads? Looking at all my reloading manuals, these powder show up frequently. And, maybe just as important, I’ve got a couple of pounds on hand.
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Last edited by fordson; 02-02-2022 at 08:55 AM.
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Old 02-02-2022, 03:34 PM
ironhead7544 ironhead7544 is offline
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IMR4227 and H110/WW296 work fine for rifle loads with cast or jacketed bullets in 44 Magnum.
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Old 02-02-2022, 05:52 PM
STORMINORMAN STORMINORMAN is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironhead7544 View Post
IMR4227 and H110/WW296 work fine for rifle loads with cast or jacketed bullets in 44 Magnum.
Not too shabby in 300 Blackout, either...
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