Last week I received my early birthday present-a 4" 629-1 in excellent condition. The only .44mag ammo I have on hand is full power stuff. I stopped by Sportsman's Warehouse and found some HSM .44mag 200gr Cowboy loads. Now I no longer enjoy shooting .357mag ammo in those revolvers so chambered but I like using the full length cases rather than specials in either .357 or .44 so I grabbed a box.

It is pricey but as I discovered on my first outing it is really fun to shoot. The recoil is more mild than some .44spl ammo I have tried and it's accurate enough to enjoy. The target below shows the first 6 rounds rounds at 10 yards, where I typically start with a new gun, all double action. After that I played around with various distances from 5 yards to 25 and in-between. I then finished up with some full power 240gr jhp. Thrilled with the pistol and the ammo lol. I also use HSM's cowboy loads in my Cimarron Arms .45 Colt saa clone and that is also a really pleasant load.

Thanks for reading.

Cowboy loads are great, for the whole family.

I roll my own and have two bottles of Trail Boss for all my revolvers
for that type of load.

However, there is a little smoke with lead bullets, but not too bad.

In my "Silver" years, I am also shooting more, lower fps ammo, at the range
that lets me shoot more and be happy at the end of the session.

You should start reloading. You can load three to four boxes compared to one store bought box of revolver ammunition. Especially in the .44 and .45 calibers.

I started reloading 40+ years ago because I knew shooting was going to be a lifelong hobby.

I will second the handloading suggestion. there is a cost to entry, as you would need to purchase the press, dies etc. but, if you are a volume shooter, I would imagine you would make it up in a year or 2.

I have been handloading for 25 years now and havent bought factory ammo (other than .22) in all that time. Well, I do have one box of the old Zombie-Max ammo from Hornady from back when Zombies were all the rage. you know, for just in case...

Definitely handload , if you are using WW 231 you’ll get close to 1000 rounds out of a pound of powder
Powder -$70 /lb
Primers-120/ 1000
Lead - 200 /1000
Finished ctg $390/1000 = 19.50 / box of 50
Prices are approximate and probably high compared to what you may find in your neighbourhood.
Gives you an idea anyway :-)

__________________
the rules? there are no rules

I have been shooting a "cowboy load" in my .44 revolvers for many years. 7.5gr. Unique with a 200gr. RNFP bullet, my current .44 Magnum is a 629 no dash 4" that's been Magna-ported. This load is very pleasant to shoot.

Ditto. I love .44’s-I do NOT enjoy full boat Magnums, but the light magnum handloads are great I “can” shoot magnums, but it’s not something I’d call “fun”. Lite loads -you bet. Fired 150 of them last Monday. Brass is in the tumbler getting a “bath” as this is written. Just opened my last brick of $21.95 CCI Large Pistol primers😏

The hobby aspect is one that shooters miss of the shooting experience.

Some will read what you say and...

But startup is sooo expensive...

Or components are unavailable...

Or I don't have space...

Or This ammo shortage won't last long

Or The wife says...

Or, or, or...

Those who haven't "gotten" the message by now won't.