Gary1911A1
Guest
I seem to recall Remington made a 44Mag Round that wasn't full strength, but not a 44Special either. Does Remington or anyone else still make a load like this?
Remington 44Mag Medium Load?
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There are several manufacturers who have a 240 JHP at around 1180 FPS. I believe Remington loads that but I can't recall the catalog number. Maybe Speer, too, and probably a few others. That's a pretty sturdy .44 Magnum but not what I would call full-charge, which might be another 150-175 FPS faster than that. Look for something at about that speed.
S&WIowegan
US Veteran
Most of the common brand name ammo is downloaded significantly from the original Remington 240 gr LSWC at 1500fps. I bought some Magtech 240s a few yrs. ago and they were puddytat loads.
No fear.
No fear.
BIGDOC
US Veteran
For what it's worth...I have found that the Federal 200gr. specials are awesome and VERY manageable. and for a hot round the Hornady .44 LEVERevolution 225gr. both are super accurate in my 629 3 inch.
Qc Pistolero
Member
It was labelled ''medium load'' and if I recall correctly,it pushed a lead SWC at around a claimed 1000Fps.It was offered in the late '70s -early '80s.
To my knowledge,nobody is offering such a load nowadays.Guess you'll have to either load your own or go with .44Spl.
Qc
muddocktor
Member
Freedom Munitions has some loads that might meet your criteria I think. They have a 240 grain RNFP plated load that I've personally shot and it is what I would class as a medium load slightly on the hotter side. Their page on it says 1235 fps. They also have a 240 grain lead SWC round at about the same speed listed. And they have a 200 grain lead RNFP load shown at 1000 fps, which sounds pretty much like that old Remington load you are talking about.
Texas Star
US Veteran
You're right. I liked it. It was, I believe, made at the sugestion of gun writer Hal Swiggett.
Alas, few heard of it and most .44 Mag. users wanted just the hot stuff.
Its loss made the .44 much less versatie for those who don't reload.
Last edited:
RobertJ.
Member
Buffalo Bore's .44 Special 255 gr./1000 fps might be close to what you're looking for.
2 bucks a pop, though!
My Ruger SRH .44 is my #1 HD gun, and I shoot a 200 gr. Speer Gold Dot HP, with enough Blue Dot to push it about 900 fps.
Do you reload? If you don't, it might be a good time to consider it!
2 bucks a pop, though!
My Ruger SRH .44 is my #1 HD gun, and I shoot a 200 gr. Speer Gold Dot HP, with enough Blue Dot to push it about 900 fps.
Do you reload? If you don't, it might be a good time to consider it!
Biggfoot44
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What Texas Star said. It was later offered in their value priced UMC line in the yellow boxes. The bullet was described in the literature as either swc or simply "lead" . By actual shape, it was RNFP. For a time CCI had a similar Blazer round , with s true swc.
None of the major mfg presently offer a similar round. I haven't researched recently, but when I did look, some of the smaller ammo companies like Georgia Arms did. As noted the warm .44spl from Buffalo Bore or Grizzly had similar magnum cased offerings.
The Speer Short Bbl Gold Dot with 200gr had similar recoil. The expansion and penetration properties may or may not meet the desired parameters.
None of the major mfg presently offer a similar round. I haven't researched recently, but when I did look, some of the smaller ammo companies like Georgia Arms did. As noted the warm .44spl from Buffalo Bore or Grizzly had similar magnum cased offerings.
The Speer Short Bbl Gold Dot with 200gr had similar recoil. The expansion and penetration properties may or may not meet the desired parameters.
Buffalo Bore makes a Lower Recoil 44 Mag. Item 4E. 255 Gr. Keith
bullet (1350 FPS). "Unlike our other .44 mag. loads, this load is
designed for and is safe for use in all .44 mag. handguns and rifles."
Buffalo Bore Ammunition | Strictly Big Bore - Strictly Business
bullet (1350 FPS). "Unlike our other .44 mag. loads, this load is
designed for and is safe for use in all .44 mag. handguns and rifles."
Buffalo Bore Ammunition | Strictly Big Bore - Strictly Business
Texas Star
US Veteran
Sounds good, but is a true .44 Magnum load. The Remington stuff inquired about was a 240 grain FN lead bullet at just 1,000 FPS. That's as hot as such a round should be.
OP
Gary1911A1
Guest
Thanks for all the replies. I may just have to buy a S&W 24 to shoot 44Special through for the performance I want with my older hands. Don't reload right now as between moves, but plan to again in the future. Thanks again gentlemen.
muddocktor
Member
Gary, don't turn your nose up at the Freedom Munitions ammo. It's some good quality stuff with good pricing and the brass is good for reloading too, since you plan to reload in the future. I can personally vouch for the 240 grain plated stuff as I have fired it in my 629 Classic with no problems. It's not nearly as snappy as my hotter reloads either. My brother had bought 1000 rounds of it and I shot at least a box of it in my pistol. He's shot a whole bunch of it in his 629 no dash too. And plated means no leading problems too.
BTW, I'm 60 and my brother is 57, so we ain't no young pups either and I know what you are saying about too much recoil on the old hands and wrists. My 44 hot load limit is between 50-100 rounds a session spread out over the trip to the range. Those Freedom loads don't seem to wear me out near as bad as my H110 load stuff.
BTW, I'm 60 and my brother is 57, so we ain't no young pups either and I know what you are saying about too much recoil on the old hands and wrists. My 44 hot load limit is between 50-100 rounds a session spread out over the trip to the range. Those Freedom loads don't seem to wear me out near as bad as my H110 load stuff.
BUFF
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Probably the closest thing to a medium velocity .44 Magnum from the big four ammo companies (W-W, R-P, Federal and Speer) may be Winchester's 225 grain Silvertip JHP. It's pretty mild for a .44 Magnum. Dunno if it is still cataloged, but I saw some for sale a few months ago.
springer99
Member
For a nice, soft 44Mag. range load, maybe give some Cowboy Action loads a try. Here's one that I picked up that is in the range you're looking for. A plus is that they use Starline brass, so it's a great way to stock up on cases for reloading.
HSM Cowboy Action .44 Mag 200 Grain RNFP 50 Round Box - 44M11N - 837306004841
HSM Cowboy Action .44 Mag 200 Grain RNFP 50 Round Box - 44M11N - 837306004841
All true. WW also offered this load with a SWC. It looked just like the full-charge SWC, except the full load had a cannelure on the case and the medium load did not. I recall the medium clocked 900-950 from a 4" bbl.
Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Speer has a short barrel ammo line that is very light. Their 44 Magnum Short Barrel ammo pushes a 200gr GDHP bullet 1075fps at the muzzle. I doubt you will find anything lighter unless you load your own.
muddocktor
Member
Looks like a nice round, but at a buck and a half a round you sure won't be shooting many of those for practice, unless you use them to rob a bank!
Freedom has a 200 grain hard cast lead round (RNFP bullet) shown at 1000 fps for 56 cents a round, which would probably make a good practice analog for the Speer ammo though.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Looks like a nice round, but at a buck and a half a round you sure won't be shooting many of those for practice, unless you use them to rob a bank!
Freedom has a 200 grain hard cast lead round (RNFP bullet) shown at 1000 fps for 56 cents a round, which would probably make a good practice analog for the Speer ammo though.
I buy Speer ammo online in 50 round boxes, not 20 rounds. The price is well under a dollar a round that way. I also reload so I can make all the replica ammo I need for practice. I know everyone doesn't reload but like I said, you can buy the ammo cheaper. I only answered the OPs question as asked, he didn't mention price.
muddocktor
Member
It's all cool, ArchAngelCD. I'm glad you did mention that ammo because I wasn't aware of it myself and it looks like it would make some good defensive ammo for 44 Mag that won't over-penetrate too badly, which is a real problem for that cartridge. That looks to be about the best defensive cartridge for 44 Mag that's readily available. Cor Bon supposedly makes a 165 grain JHP round at 1300 fps for defensive use, but I haven't seen it available for well over a year. I'd bought 500 of the bullets from Midway about 3 years ago (production overrun) and was really impressed with the bullets but never have bought the loaded ammo from Cor Bon. The 165 grain JHP bullets were made for Cor Bon by Sierra.
