2400 is good for loading actual .357 and .44 mag, as opposed to the castrated, hot specials the ammo factories churn out these days.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

I have used 2400 for the last 30 years and my dad who taught me the art when I was in my teens used it from the early sixtys.i have usedit alot for 222 rem which was deadly on ground hogs and cuyotes. We foud it to be our go to power for 357 mags and 44 mags with the heavier bullets. 15.5 grs over 158gr jacketed hollow pts is aheavy load in my m27.I takena very big buck 8 pt field dressed over 230 lbs with one shot bang flop at 75 yards. My 44 mag hunting load is300grn ftx with 16.5 is avery accurate load and dropped a300 lbs hog in south texas laast year. After thebang you hear a big wack.He ran about 20 paces before dropping.needless to say I'm a big fan of 2400.It was the old mans go to.He was the best shot with a pistol that I ever saw

Just looking and comparing notes between today's manuals and those of yesteryear I think I have a good combination of possible loads for the bullet weights and calibers mentioned with 2400. 8 grains for the 158 grain 38 special. 18 grains for the 240 grain 44 magnum and last: 13 grains for the brass cased 280 grain 410. 280 grains is just a grain or two more than 1/2 an ounce. And if I get one more pellet in there it would be 350 grains which is a tenth of an ounce more than the 11/16 ounce loads mentioned in the loading manuals. It looks like I'll be in the four pellet mode with these 2.5" casings though. All of these charges are all listed as sub maximum charges, but I will still be crunching numbers to make sure I'm not going to blow myself up in the process. A question though: In the 410 with sufficient wad pressure it won't be a problem, but in the 38 and 44 is this a bulky enough powder so as not to have unreliable ignition? In other words a powder and load that might come from bullseye would have a small amount of powder laying on the bottom side of the case with the primer possibly igniting the center of the powder rather than the breech side of the powder charge. I've heard that reduced loads or in the bullseye example that this is a bad thing. Ie. you don't want to burn powder from the center out or have too much air space in the cartridge. Is that the case with 2400 and the suggested loads? If so I might have to rethink this. Smithy P.S. Thanks a lot for coming back to this old thread on my behalf.

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Jesus Christ Saves!

Very interesting reading, thanks to the OP and all contributors.! Just wanting to know if 2400 can produce effective 357 mag loads that are safe enough for use in Model 19. Thanks to all!

357 mag
41 mag
44 mag
30 carbine
22 hornet
218 bee

I'm sure there are others, but this might give you some idea of things 2400 is suited for.

2400 is great for 38/44 loads also,Try 11.2gr to 11.5gr under a 158gr plated or LSWC.Of course do not shoot this load in anything but .357 magnums or 38/44's.

I used to reload a number of cartridges with 2400: 43 Danish, 45-70, 44-77 Sharps bottleneck, 38-40, and even 25-21. We used it as a substitute for black powder but kept pressure low. I know this goes against what today's manuals say, but that was back in the 70's when things were different. Today, I have it for 38/44 and 357.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

I use 13.5gr. of 2400, 158gr. LSWC with a standard primer and good crimp. I forget what manual but it is supposed to run around 1150fps out of I forget what barrel length. I can shoot them all day with my 6" 686. They are very accurate, clean but with enough punch to keep your attention. Should be nice for a M19.

Kind of funny: It seems folks are scared of letting loose of any information that once was common knowledge. Ballistic Products (my latest contact) said that 2400 was NOT suitable for 410 since Alaint no longer shows it being used in the 410. Nor their new powder 410 being useful in metallic cartridge loading. I may be a liability issue, or the powder company's realize that they make more money if they sell a different powder for each and every different cartridge that is loadid. Long gone are the days of Unique (or others) being the end all beat all powder for all your guns needs. Much like black powder was just prior to the invention of smokeless powder's. Smithy.

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Jesus Christ Saves!

Dave Sinko;
I remember the "Make Anything Go Bang" article, and like you, I recall neither the venue nor authorship. Pretty sure I remember the Magic Charge being 15.0 gr tho, because that's what I was loading in my .357 Rossi Puma carbine, and was amazed that the same charge could be appropriate for so many different-shaped cartridges.

Larry

As noted a great choice for the magnum handgun rounds & heavy 45colt loads. It can alos be used in small rifle like the Hornet & 300BAC. nIT gves up very little to H110/W296, about 50fps, but has more range & stands downloading a bit better.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Some other .410 powders would be........
Alliant 410
Winchester 296
Hodgdon 110, 4227
along with the 2400 powder.
Reloading the .410 to 16 Ga. can save a shooter BIG BUCKS!
Good luck.

[QUOTE=GypsmJim;1282515]I enjoyed the Bullseye and Unique threads and agreed with all of the comments. Now, how about 2400?QUOTE]

It's superb for large capacity magnum cases using top charges.

2400 was the powder Elmer Keith used when he worked up his heavy .44 spl handloads into what eventually became the .44 Magnum. Elmer would load 18.5 grains of 2400 under a cast 240 grain in the .44 SPECIAL and when Remington officially introduced the .44 Magnum he established what for decades was a known standard - 22 grains of 2400 under a Keith style semi-wadcutter.

2400 is toward the "slow" end of burn rate for handgun powders which means it works better in longer barrels and will do so with a more gradual pressure curve. It's probably slightly behind AA9, but being a flake powder tends to load "bulky" which is good in big cases.

These days with nearly everything having short barrels, 2400 has lost ground to faster burning powder.

Obviously 2400 will give good account in 41 Magnum, .45 Colt (Ruger-ish) loads, and even the .454 Casull.

I'm wanting to make a "list" of powders to ask for when calling local suppliers. I prefer Unique and Bullseye, but if they don't have those I want to ask: "What kind of powder(s) do you have on the shelf today?", and have a list handy that ranks my preferences for 38 sp and 357. I typically shoot 125 gr and 158 gr cast bullets. That way, hopefully, I can pick one they have and get a couple of pounds.

Unfortunately I'm the opposite as I'd like to have a fixed powder choice with the fewer the better and my ultimate choice would be for a single powder to do my three needed tasks. And that is loading 38 special, 44 magnum, and defensive 410 brass hulls with four pellets of #000 buck. But with the exception of the 410 (a circuit judge), all of my guns have short barrels. 5.5" the longest followed by 3.75", 3" 2.75", 2.5", and finally 2.25". so I'm kind of a snub nose collector. I don't really have to have to best go get um rounds for each of the three. I'm perfectly willing to accept adequate rounds for some or all of the rounds to be able to load with just one powder.

I mentioned before that I always use to load with just one powder and it was FFF black powder (even called for in some 12 gauge brass recipes). So now it sounds like 2400 would not be my best choice? How about 410 powder or Lil-gun, or Unique? What are my other options? I'd like to make a selection soon as some of my reloading setup requires knowledge of the type of powder I'll be using. Smithy.

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Jesus Christ Saves!

It was what Elmer Kieth and Skeeter Skelton used, if it was good enough for them it's more than good enough for me, used it about 40 years now..

I suggest you take a look at Hodgdon Longshot if you want one
versatile powder.