I'm hoping someone here can offer a little help with loading 200gr DEWC in either .44 special or magnum cases. I can't find any load data for this exact bullet. The bullets are from Rimrock and have a BHN of 15 and sized .430. Seating depth is nearly identical to the 240gr bullets I normally load. I'm looking for a light recoiling round with excellent accuracy. I will be shooting these out of a 629-3 with a 6" barrel. I would like around 750-800 fps, but don't mind pushing a little harder if accuracy would improve. I have trail boss, bullseye, AA#2, unique and W231 to work with. So hopefully someone here has used this round and can recommend a powder and starting load. Thank you guys and I look forward to hearing some suggestions and trying these suckers at the range!

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SWCA #2777

Not exactly the same bullet, but very close.
I load the SAECO #944 200 grain wadcutter over 6.6 grains of 231.
Start at about 6 grains and work up.
That's in magnum cases.
Chronos 982 FPS from my 6" 629-4. SD is 12.56
Nice, accurate load with just a bit of punch.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Thanks Taroman. I'll try some 231 in magnum cases. I used trail boss' formula for finding loads, fill case to bottom of seated bullet and multiply by .7 and that's the starting load. I did this in .44 special cases and came up with a 3.4gr starting point and 4.9 as max. I've used TB in .357 and .38s and have found that starting loads weren't that accurate for me. So I loaded some with 3.7, 4, 4.3grs. Hopefully I will be able to test these at range tomorrow night. I'm also going to try the 231 and BE in both magnum and special cases. I'll post my results as I test the loads.

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SWCA #2777

Wasn't on your list, but I've also had great luck with Green Dot in this type of loads.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I just started playing with that exact bullet, and I've had good success so far. My load has been that bullet in a magnum case, with 6.5 grains of 800x. I do all my accuracy testing at 10 yards offhand, I have found I shoot the same size groups that way as I do from a rest at 25. I loaded these for my 10" Contender w/ open sights, to use just for low recoil target practice. My average, for 6 groups, measured center to center, was 1.05". I haven't tried Bullseye yet, but I'm so pleased with this load, I'm not sure I will now. I also got the 148 gr. DEWC to shoot in my .38's, and will definitely use B'eye for that one, but haven't loaded those yet.

I have 210gr DEWC's in 44.
I use 7.0gr Unique in a magnum case, seated flush with the case mouth. This shoots very well from my 5" 629. It averages 928 fps with a SD of 26. Those were "clocked" back when I had a powder drop that didn't really like Unique. I now use a different drop and suspect that the SD has since lowered. They still shoot real well.

In a 44spl case, I found that 5.5gr of Universal (real close to Unique in many loadings) is better yet. I have not run these over a chrono yet.

(Please verify and use this info at your own risk. I am not responsible for your hand loads.)

I was able to test out the trail boss loads last night with excellent results. The 4.0gr load in .44 special case worked best for me and my gun. Light recoil and zero leading.

This was my target from those loads. Target was at 50ft and these were shot one handed in double action. Few fliers from my jittery hands but once I found the correct hold my group came together nicely. I'm sure others could shoot way better than me, but I was quite pleased with the results.

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As I get a chance to test other powders and loads I will continue to post my results. But for now, I'm sticking with Trail Boss

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SWCA #2777

I use to have a short barrel Ruger SBH and I shot the Lee 208 WC in it with 6.0 gr. of Red Dot. That load was very accurate and it was my "go to" light load in that revolver for years.