New Loads for the 44 - Love em!

[radtuck]

So, I finally found my go-to plinking round for my 629-3 classic. I loaded 7 grains of Universal under a 240 gr. Xtreme plated RNFP. I have to say that I LOVE this load. I shot 2 groups: 1 at 30 yards and one at 25 yards. Both groups were good; although, the 25 yard groups were much better (obviously). I have to say that the clean-up was the fastest I've ever had, as well. No leading...minimal residue on the pistol. One swipe with the rod and Hoppe's, then 3 dry swabs and it was done! When I got home, I loaded 50 rounds for next time!

 

[Vortec MAX]

Sounds like a great plinking load. Any idea what velocity? I have been using 10.0 grains of Unique with a magnum primer under a 240 gr plated bullet for my plinkers. My guess is mine are a bit hotter than your load. I might need to try a lighter load of Unique. I have never actually seen a bottle of Universal since I started reloading a few years ago. I am not convinced they exist

Mike

 

[radtuck]

I was lucky enough to grab a pound a couple of weeks ago at a local store. I don't know the velocity, but I'm guessing in the 900 fps range. The recoil is similar to my previous load of 8.5 gr. Unique with a 240 gr. LSWC. I got tired of how poorly Unique meters, and was extremely tired of the clean-up after shooting LSWC bullets. I like the Universal/plated bullet combo very much!

 

[Nick B]

I can help with the velocity question somewhat .
From my chronograph notes :

S&W 629 Classic 6 1/2"
240 grain Xtreme plated
8.0 UNV. Clays
Average Velocity : 870 fps .

8.5 grain UNV. Clays
Average Velocity : 940 fps .

 

[S&WIowegan]

Universal Clays is often suggested as a substitute for Unique on a 1:1 basis. Universal is also a flake powder but it does meter better than Unique and is also much cleaner. Even the new improved Unique is dirty.

In defense of Unique, even with an extreme spread of as much as 100 fps accuracy doesn't really suffer

 

[Nemo288]

Yep Yep!
6.5 in the special case, 7 in the magnum case with many bullets
(matched to the cylinder throats) will usually be a good load.
I get velocities in the 700's.

===
Nemo

 

[Vortec MAX]

My 10.0 gr of Unique was hitting 1,120 FPS from a 5" barrel. I bet yours are more fun to shoot.

Mike

 

[Magload]

Yep Yep!
6.5 in the special case, 7 in the magnum case with many bullets
(matched to the cylinder throats) will usually be a good load.
I get velocities in the 700's.

===
Nemo

Are those groups shot at 50 foot? Groups don't mean much if the distance they were shot at is not given. They are nice groups and there is no powder burns on the paper.

Don

 

[Nemo288]

I wish
If you look real closely at my teensy print I marked 30' on a couple of them.
My eyes are 66 years old and shooting at 50' without a scope is problematic these days.
That gun does seem to shoot just about everything very nicely though.

===
Nemo

 

[Vortec MAX]

I wish My eyes are 66 years old and shooting at 50' without a scope is problematic these days.

I hear you. I am only 45, but my eyes force me to shoot closer with iron sights as well. I also shoot 30'. At that range I can focus on the front sight and still make out what I am shooting at. At 50' the target is pretty blurry for me.

I sight my AR rifles in at 50 yards. That is a real challenge for me. I have to use a 3" bright orange dot at that distance to even have a chance at seeing the target.

I miss the days when I could shoot dime sized groups all day long at 25 yards with iron sights.

Mike

 

[bigsteve113]

I've been using 8.5 of Unique with a 240 LSWC for quite a while. Great shooter, pleasant recoil, accurate. I haven't got around to chronographing it yet but the book says 900 fps in a 6" barrel.

 

[Magload]

I wish
If you look real closely at my teensy print I marked 30' on a couple of them.
My eyes are 66 years old and shooting at 50' without a scope is problematic these days.
That gun does seem to shoot just about everything very nicely though.

===
Nemo

Ha my eyes are older then yours and I couldn't read the print. I have the same problem at the range. At least we can only shoot 20yds. Part of my right eye isn't even mime but who ever had it before me must of not been able to shoot with it either.
Don

 

[Nemo288]

If you click on the picture it should open in a new window or tab and then click on it again and it should blow up to full size.
This behaviour will depend on the browser you are using.

===
Nemo

 

[John P.]

I loaded 10 grains of Unique with a 240 LSWC for many years. I was down to my last pound of Unique, and I cannot seem to find any. I ended up picking up 10 pound of HP38, and I have been working up mid-range .44 Magnum loads. I have settled at about 9.2 grains of HP38 with a 240 LSWC. It is a nice accurate load. Didn't chronograph, but it seems a bit lighter than my Unique load.

 

[md66948]

What do you think about substituting a 240 grainer plated bullet with a coated one?

I have a S&W 629 Classic DX and I am going to look for a good plinking load using coated bullets.

Dane

 

[SLT223]

Yep, the Hodgdon Clays line of powder in .44 is unbeatable for plinking loads in my research. My favorite is 5.0gr of Clays (not universal, not international) under a 200gr Xtreme. This load makes me look like a trick shot with my 3" 629-1. Super accurate, and it takes about 1 minute to clean the gun after 100 rounds...because there's virtually nothing on it. Clean up is basically a wipe down. I've been loading some Maxam CSB1 (shotgun flake) powder which is a touch faster than Universal. I have 7.0gr loaded under 200gr Xtreme, which I haven't tried yet. I'll report back after I send them down range.

 

[SLT223]

What do you think about substituting a 240 grainer plated bullet with a coated one?

I have a S&W 629 Classic DX and I am going to look for a good plinking load using coated bullets.

Dane

For plinking south of 1000fps I would just go with which ever is the best deal. I've loaded both Bayou Bullets Hi-Tek coated in 215 and 240gr as well as Xtreme 200 and 240 gr. Right now Xtreme has free shipping which makes them the better deal. North of 1000fps I would stick to the coated hard cast slugs. Don't know about other plated brands, but Xtreme claims their's are good up to 1200fps. I notice the groups are a bit sloppier approaching that advertised max velocity. From my experience the Bayou coated slugs do the same thing from 850fps out of 29's / 629's to 1800fps out of my Winchester 1892.

 

[md66948]

Thank You SLT223

 

[shil]

Unique and Universal = Sasquatch. Do they really exist?

 

[Fishinfool]

If anyone is having a hard time finding the traditional handgun powders, take a look at Red Dot for plinking / range loads. Many years ago, I was out of Bullseye, so I tried Red Dot in a couple .44 mags.

To this day Red Dot is my go to powder for target loads in this caliber. For some reason, 6.0 to 6.5 grains of Red Dot over a 240 grn. cast / plated bullet (850 - 925fps) seems to be the most consistently accurate target load thru all my .44's. The key word being "consistent" thru a large variety of revolvers. It shoots darn well in all of them, and makes load development a lot easier.

Larry