Alliant 2400 powder & 240 XTP's in a 44 mag/ hunting question

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Dan in NY

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About to load 18.7 grains of Alliant 2400 & 240 gr. XTP's in my Smith 29-5 with 7.5" barrel. Am reading this is a "middle of the road" load, that will be used for primarily whitetail hunting out to 75 yards or so. For anyone who has duplicated & used this load, does the round have enough steam to properly do the job on medium-sized whitetails? I know its a subjective question, but I'm just getting into handgun hunting and just looking for any first hand hunting experience here.

thanks

Dan
 
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The .44 cal., 240 gr. XTP is designed to properly function (as an expanding hollow point) from 900 to 2200 FPS.
I would guestimate you are within that window with the 2400 load you mention.
That said; I use a 250+- gr. cast, WFNGC or a Keith type SWC for hunting (primarily hogs and Whitetail) in .44 mag. caliber.
The cast bullet is not dependent on "opening up" and can be counted on to penetrate deeply.
Shot placement is critical in hunting-with any firearm, but doubly so with a handgun.

The XTP bullet should be entirely adequate for Whitetail hunting.
 
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2400, THE POWDER I LOVE TO HATE / HATE TO LOVE

For hunting yes it is a good powder. It gives excellent/better accuracy & velocity but comes with increased noise & recoil compared to other powders and leaves me a fair amount of unburned powder in shorter barrels. Depending on what manual you are looking at, Lyman # 49 yes it looks like a middle of the road choice with them using a 10"& 14" TC barrel. Hornady #8th edition uses a Redhawk 7 1/2" bbl with charges of 2400 from 17.4 gr - 21.2 gr (max load) with fps @ 1100 - 1350. Being a former NY hunter myself & not knowing your skills, keeping shots under 50 yards shouldn't be hard and I doubt the deer would notice if the fps was 1100 or 1300. I would advise not trying to shoot thru both shoulders, and keep in mind the angle of the shot. Not just where it will hit, but the path it will take and hopefully exit. Short answer, you're good. I do like to test new loads in Rugers though, I'd hate to damage a nice S&W.
 
Have used 18 gr. of 2400 with a 240 XTP in deer and it works fine. My personal preference is the 250 gr. Cast Keith with the same load.
 
You'll be fine with that load although, as others have mentioned, a cast SWC or Keith style bullet works great for your purposes.
 
My pet load it 19.5 grains of 2400 under a 240gr XTP. Shooting out of a 6 inch 629. It is very effective on WI whitetails. Never had a deer run more than a few yards, most fold up where shot. Only complaint is meat damage around wound channel. Be careful not to hit a shoulder bone cause it will really blow things up then.
Don't worry about penetration. I watched two does get put down with one shot with this load. Both shot through the chest standing side by side. Exit wound on the second deer was nearly 3 inches round. Massive internal damage.
 
I've taken several Whitetails with the older 240 gr Hornady JHP and
one with the XTP 240 JHP with my Ruger #3 .44 magnum rifle. The
handload I use drives the 240 gr bullets to just over 1800 fps out of
the rifle. The old style JHPs gave complete penetration with obvious
indicatios of expansion. The XTP bullet came apart in the chest cavity
of the deer and did not exit. I think the XTPs are designed to expand
at handgun velocities and not the best choice for use with rifles.
 
44 mag / 2400 & 240 gr

18 gr to 20 gr of 2400 and a 240 gr bullet will do just about anything you want to do on deer......I have been hunting with the 44 mag since the 70's and have harvested several dozen deer with my S&W's 44's and a Ruger 7.5 SBH during that time. I used to compete with the 240 JHP hornady (not the xtp) in metallic sil...shooting out to 200 yds and knocking down 55lb steel rams to score....ran 20 gr's of 2400 and the JHP for my 200 yd load....ran 18 gr of 2400 for the 150 yd, 100 and 50 yd loads ( used my cast bullets for 50,100 yds).....my deer harvesting load in all of my 44's is my home cast Lyman 429421 driven by 18 of 2400....and I have used the 20 gr load as well(I have also used the older Hornady 240 gr JHP with good results).....both will shoot completely through a large bodied deer on broad side shots within 100 yds, as long as the bullet goes into the lung/heart area....provides a through and through wound channel and meat in the freezer.
 
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People advocating cast forget to mention that a cast bullet, (unless it is very soft), drills a 1/2" hole clean through and sometimes animals act like they're not hit. Use the XTP with confidence- - it is a better mousetrap. Approx 1200fps impact velocity seems best - much more and it will open too fast.
 
I don't shoot as much as I used to, so I stopped using lead a few years ago...Jacketed and plated for me only now....

Thanks guys for all your input with this. I'm gonna make up some loads and try them tomorrow.

regards

Dan
 
Yes, your load is mid-level or little above; you can go up to 20 grains of 2400 or a bit more (depending on which manual you're consulting). My hunting load for several years was the Nosler 240 gr. HP and 20 grains 2400; this in a 6.5" Model 29-2. Many have stated that today's 2400 may be a little hotter (faster) than it was years ago, so some of the old recommended loads have been revised down a bit (like the old 22 grs 2400 with 250 grain cast bullet).
 
My experience with 2400 dates to the mid '70s w/ the .357, .41, and .44 Magnums, as well as the 10mm. I have found that 2400 burns best, is most consistent, and most accurate at near maximum loads. It remains my favorite magnum handgun powder. It lights easily (no magnum primers required), has as soft a report as any and lighter than most.

It is definitely true that 2400 has become a little faster in recent years, as my old .44 load - Elmer Keith's load - of 22 grains/2400/Lyman 429421 hard cast bullet is now too hot (and probably was a bit too hot even back then). This load gave wonderful accuracy in my Model 29-2, which I literally wore out with these loads. And BTW, if anybody sees this gun - 6 1/2" blue, #403663, I'd love to buy it back and get it refurb'ed.
 
With any loading, check accuracy in your revolver. I find the XTP bullet very accurate. I have also found 2400 to work better at near top end charges.
 
Excellent combo for deer. Used 20gr and a 240gr in Ruger SRH, 629's, Ruger Carbines and Marlin levers. 296 is my favorite powder, but 2400 is very close. Very accurate in any of them with AMPLE power to take a whitetail at moderate ranges. Good Luck
 
elpac3 said:
Have used 18 gr. of 2400 with a 240 XTP in deer and it works fine. My personal preference is the 250 gr. Cast Keith with the same load.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I sometimes bump it up to 20.0 when I am hunting black bear. There is not a ton of difference between the 20.0 grain load and the 18.0 as far as how it feels to shoot. For some reason, maybe it's just me, I feel what seems like more recoil when I go all the way to 21.5. Accuracy is excellent with all of them. I have a 8 3/8" full under lug barrel on my 629. Bottom line, what you are asking about will more than do the job just fine. It's a very good and also very accurate load.
 
240 XTP with H110 gives me 1330 fps. out of my 629 classic with 6 1/2'' barrel. Loaded just under max. I was so pleased with the accuracy with this load I never tried anything else. Downed a very nice buck that caught me off guard a few years ago. That was 1 of my most memorable hunting experiences. Nothing like taking game with a hand gun.
 
The subject of 2400 being " hotter " is a subject of some controversary . I read , from time to time that very statement yet they never provide proof to back that statement up . They will say something like " I read it in a magazine , somewhere " , or " well I just know that it is " .
But WHERE is the proof ? Truthfully , for them it doesn't exist . I decided to settle the myth so I called ATK , the receptionist asked " What division please " ? I answered ," powder division " . I was connected to vp , I don't recall his name at the moment , but rest assured this call did take place . I asked him simply , " is the newer 2400 hotter than old 2400" ?
He answered , " not to my knowledge " . He then went on to explain that gun powder manufacturing is tightly controlled by the gov't and you can't just start playing around with the burn rate on a whim . If you do change the burn rate on 2400 they could NO longer call it 2400 , instead it would have to be " 2500 " or " 2300 " etc .
He said that reformulation doesn't mean changing the burn rate . They had done that to several powders to simply get them to burn cleaner , unique , red dot , 2400 etc .
A very knowledgeable gentleman on another forum went to Washington State , to a test facility using very sophisticated equipment to test " Old 2400 " vs " New 2400 " . I haven't gotten his permission to list his name so we will just refer to him as " He , or His " . He tested them for both pressure and velocity on a test barrel . His results showed that the " newer " 2400 was actually a trace SLOWER in burn rate than the old bottle . His velocities were actually just a tad lower , consistently using different loads .
This could be accounted for as there is a very small margin in burn rate allowed in the production of powder . If the bottle of the older powder was just a touch faster and his new powder , just a tad slower but both still within the allowable margin then it is reasonable to assume slightly different pressure and velocity between the " old " and the " new " .
I despise internet myths . I pursue the facts , hence the reason I called Alliant to get the real truth . You can make up your own mind as you please on this subject . I have made up mine .
 
For full house 44mag loads, I go with 21gr of 2400 over a 240gr XTP. That is what I carry in the mountain hiking if I have my 44mag.

As for whitetail hunting, a 44mag is a little too much power in my opinion, not to mention the added frame size and weight to go along with the larger caliber revolver.

If just for whitetail, I use 357mag. A smaller sized and lesser weight gun, with more controllable recoil which helps accuracy and shot placement.
 
cowboy4evr said:
The subject of 2400 being " hotter " is a subject of some controversary . I read , from time to time that very statement yet they never provide proof to back that statement up . They will say something like " I read it in a magazine , somewhere " , or " well I just know that it is " .
But WHERE is the proof ? Truthfully , for them it doesn't exist . I decided to settle the myth so I called ATK , the receptionist asked " What division please " ? I answered ," powder division " . I was connected to vp , I don't recall his name at the moment , but rest assured this call did take place . I asked him simply , " is the newer 2400 hotter than old 2400" ?
He answered , " not to my knowledge " . He then went on to explain that gun powder manufacturing is tightly controlled by the gov't and you can't just start playing around with the burn rate on a whim . If you do change the burn rate on 2400 they could NO longer call it 2400 , instead it would have to be " 2500 " or " 2300 " etc .
He said that reformulation doesn't mean changing the burn rate . They had done that to several powders to simply get them to burn cleaner , unique , red dot , 2400 etc .
A very knowledgeable gentleman on another forum went to Washington State , to a test facility using very sophisticated equipment to test " Old 2400 " vs " New 2400 " . I haven't gotten his permission to list his name so we will just refer to him as " He , or His " . He tested them for both pressure and velocity on a test barrel . His results showed that the " newer " 2400 was actually a trace SLOWER in burn rate than the old bottle . His velocities were actually just a tad lower , consistently using different loads .
This could be accounted for as there is a very small margin in burn rate allowed in the production of powder . If the bottle of the older powder was just a touch faster and his new powder , just a tad slower but both still within the allowable margin then it is reasonable to assume slightly different pressure and velocity between the " old " and the " new " .
I despise internet myths . I pursue the facts , hence the reason I called Alliant to get the real truth . You can make up your own mind as you please on this subject . I have made up mine .
Click to expand...

Well,your arguments make a lotta sense.But I have been working under a few VPs that were...well let me be polite here,experts at boasting a CV and selling their product..I don't intend to mean that the VP you spoke to was such but one is always better to have cross references.

I 100% agree with you that you cannot test 2400(or any other powder)from one lot to the other without finding a difference(one folk said up to 8% but I doubt if that much).But on the other hand,we cannot go against what thousands and more reloaders have found that the sacrosaint load of Mr Keith (please do not read any disrespect in this toward Mr.Keith)in the '50s and '60s being 22gr of 2400 under a 240gr in a .44Mag is hotter than it used to be in the '90's.I've experienced it in the late '70s and in the 21st century and I must say that the brass doesn't get out as easily as it did way back then(same gun ).
Please just be assured that while I notice recoil,I am not recoilshy(to some extent)and can still shoot 265gr bullets at 1350fps outta my .44s regularly;not bragging but just reporting facts.
Please do not take this as a personnal distrust but as so many hundreds of reloaders(didn't count them,maybe thousands?)have found the reason of your questionning,maybe that,even if we do not take for granted whatever is being written on the net,those reloaders might have something after all.
Qc Pistolero
 
The burning rate of "new" 2400 is faster than the original?

Not hardly! Can you spell product liability? With all of the loading data in circulation new and old, making any significant change to the burning characteristic would present a massive liability exposure to the manufacturer. It never happened for reasons which should be obvious to anybody who actually thinks about it.

Bruce
 
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