44 HE Ammo ?

[PackN]

Had a 2nd Model .44 Hand Ejector follow me home this weekend that I am going to enjoy shooting!! Since it was born(1923) before the Heat Treated Frames,what kind of reload(Bullet and Powder Charge) should I use?? All valued advice will be DEEPLY APPRECIATED ! I do not want to harm this Gourgeous Lady! Accuracy is of the most importance .

Thanks!
PackN

 

[perrazi]

245 grain bullet at around 700 fps should be great in this gun. will be easy on both of you. nice gun btw.

 

[PackN]

Perrazi

What kind of Powder and about how much?

PackN

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

In Handloader #236, there's an excellent article by Brian Pearce on loading the .44 Special to different levels for different strength guns. You can buy back issues from wolfe Publishing.

He shows loads on page 37 that would be appropriate for your gun. HE worked these up in a New Century Triple lock that is even older than your gun.

200 gr RCBS-200-FN cast
5.5 gr Red Dot- 922 fps 16 es
8.0 gr Universal Clays- 1,055 fps 29 es

240 Hornady lead swc
5.0 gr Bullseye- 802 fps 18 es
5.0 gr Red Dot- 816 fps 16 es
5.5 gr 231- 804 fps 21 es

250 Lyman 429421 cast swc
7.5 SR-4756- 856 fps 25 es
8.0 " " 932 fps 27 es
7.5 Power Pistol- 921 fps 18 es
8.0 " " 978 fps 14 es
8.5 gr AAC-5- 859 fps 26 es
9.3 " " 929 fps 28 es
6.0 gr Universal Clays- 779 fps 23 es
6.7 gr " " " 875 fps 21 es
6.0 gr Unique- 788 fps 26 es
6.9 " " 918 fps 23 es
5.5 gr 231- 760 fps 16 es
6.0 " " 829 fps 20 es


There were other loads listed too, but these should give you a guidleline to start with.

 

[BUFF]

The .44 Special is my favorite handgun cartridge. I have loaded it since about 1975 or 1976 and have shot more of it than anything else except for .38 Special and .45 ACP.

I can see absolutely no reason to hot-rod fine old guns like yours. They are old, valuable and repair parts (like barrels and cylinders) for them are practically non-existant. It is also likely that all I will be shooting with them is paper targets and those don't need a whole lot of killing power!

I have a Triple Lock and a Second Model that I limit ammo I shoot through them to either lead bullet factory ammo, usually W-W, or handloads that try to duplicate that.

I most often shoot a home-cast SWC bullet of about 250 grains, usually the Lyman 429421. The swaged lead Speer 240 grain SWC is also good at low velocities but leads badly if pushed very fast. I avoid cast bullets with gas checks at this velocity as the little copper cups have been known to come off and stick in the bore if shot at low pressure and velocity. I don't shoot jacketed bullets at low speeds either, for the same reason, that the jacket and lead core may separate and the jacket stick in the bore. I also get much better accuracy with flat base cast bullets as opposed to bevel base ones.

Powder charges of either 4.1 grains of Bullseye or 5.5 grains of Unique are good for about 700 fps, depending on the barrel length of the gun. Both charges were within spitting distance of factory ammo for both velocity and point-of-impact at 25 yards and seem as gentle as the costly, Winchester-made 246 grain RNL cartridges.

The Bullseye load is probably the most accurate of the two in my guns, but honestly the difference is so small it may be in my head.

You are going to enjoy shooting your new gun!

 

[Marksman]

I had a TL for a while and have had several M/1950 Target Models, my load of choice when shooting these valuable older S&W's is 5.0 gr. Bullseye under either a 200 gr. RNFP or a 240 gr. SWC. The RNFP is a very accurate load at least in my guns. I hope you enjoy shooting your vintage classic as much as I do.