.44 mag ammo questions

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I have been shooting my 3" 629 Talo and loving it. I have shot mostly magnum loads through it. The mag loads I have been shooting are the Hornady 240g. XTP's. These sure are a handful in this gun. I have shot .44 Specials through it and there simply seems to be NO recoil with those.

My question is...are there any suggestions on ammo that is a mild magnum vs. a full house mag load? When I want to shoot a hundred rounds...I think a bit less "hot" of a round would be nice. I have shot that many of those Hornady's mags...but its a workout on my hand...and toward the end, I am not having as much fun as i did when I started;).

I plan on reloading soon...been collecting my brass (and others). Then I will be able to custom load what I want, but was curious as to what some others may suggest for factory Ammo.
 
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No point killing yourself with hot round after round.

On my 357 I use 125gr and then 158gr when I want a good kick.

When I tire of recoil I use 38 specials.

Have you tried 44 special instead?
 
Probably not going to find a "factory" midrange load. If you still are intent on shooting the magnums try going to a lighter bullet. lighter bullet=less recoil. Once you start reloading you can tailor make a comfortable midrange load. I use 9 grs Unique over a 240 gr Magnus cast SWC.
 
Barnes is making their own ammo now, they make a copper round that's available at Midway that's a middle of the road round. It's what I carry in my 3" .44's.
 
continued high volume use of full house magnums will be detrimental to the health of any gun, until you start rolling your own check out a midrange load from someone like Buffalo Bore
 
Factory ammo seems to be standardized to around 1200 FPS for 240 gr JHPs. I'd suggest looking around for a custom loader that will give you what you're looking for, if you're not reloading yourself. I don't recommend buying from somebody who's not in a position to guarantee their reloads, like the old "friend of a friend", or "my uncles, cousins, uncles brother". Once you start looking, you'll be surprised at how many custom ammunition manufacturers there are. Your request is not uncommon, so you should be able to find somebody really quickly.
 
Full power is never a lot of fun in a short barrel, for me, anyway.
I stick to .38 specials in my 66. way better and easy to shoot.
You might be way ahead with .44 specials. Or a 6" or + barrel.
 
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I am fairly new to revolvers...but I would hate to think that shooting lots of rounds the gun was made for is a bad thing. I am not shooting thousands of rounds at a time through it. If the gun can't hold up to 100 full house mag rounds every month or so...I would be very disappointed....and perhaps that is the case.

A reloader is in my near future...so I may just not worry about factory ammo and shoot Specials through it unless I want the mag loads. Then I can work up my own load as I want it. I will look into the suggestions made above though. Thanks...
 
.44mag ammo questions

arjay said:
8-10 gr of unique with a 240 gr lswc is a nice midrange load.
Click to expand...

I am new to gun lingo. The information you provide above seems to be useful to me. I just don't understand most of the words, i.e., ". . . of unique," and "lswc???"

I posted my questions yesterday and after 180 views, no one replied. Here with my first, straight forward, innocent post on this site, no one replies. i am beginning to take the hint but i still don't seem to have a clue????

I have posted the question above, I hope someone will take a moment to reply.

I am re-posting my questions from yesterday:
I am pretty new to the gun world. I have shot the 629 and am comfortable with it. I would like to keep the pistol loaded with the recognized best defensive round available. I realize there may be some discussion on that so I will settle on the top three. After all there are six places for shells.

First question: What is the best defensive round realizing I would likely be making the shot from my bed toward any intruder standing in the door-way 20-30 feet away?

My second question is what is the hottest round that should ever be shoot in this pistol?

I would like that round described in grains, and/or psi. There may be more appropriate terminology but I can sorta understand these two units of measure; of course, I would appreciate a more precise information if necessary.

Thank you,
Steve

These questions must certainly reveal my ignorance. I am still hoping someone will reply appropriately, thanks, steve
 
Ah old reloader shorthand :-) 44 magnum case ,anywhere from 8 to 10 grains of unique gunpowder (always double check this free advice in a couple of different reloading manuals) with a 240 grain lead semi-wadcutter bullet is what I use for most of my 44 magnum shooting.
As far as factory loads, a standard magnum round with a 240 grain bullet is as I hot as I go.You can buy ammunition with heavier bullets but it does increase wear on the gun.
For plinking,44 special ammunition is nice,but expensive.
Reloading is a good way to go if you plan on doing much shooting, as factory ammo costs add up quickly and it's an interesting hobby too.
 
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KLYDE said:
Probably not going to find a "factory" midrange load. If you still are intent on shooting the magnums try going to a lighter bullet. lighter bullet=less recoil. Once you start reloading you can tailor make a comfortable midrange load. I use 9 grs Unique over a 240 gr Magnus cast SWC.
Click to expand...

I am a long way from getting into re-loading so I will be happy to purchase high power self defense loads-if I only knew what came highly recommended from this group.

The other thing I would like to know is what is the high end of "store bought" loads that I should shoot through my 629-1 .44 mag.

I read about guys who shot heavy load in their guns and destroy them.

I what to know what the high end of the spectrum is that I can shoot through the 629 and not do any damage after prolonged use.
 
Don't go higher than a 240 grain bullet for most of your shooting and your gun will last a very long time.As far as self defense,I carry a load with 300 gr bullets,but that's for the bears hanging around where I fish.For home defense, I would stick with 44 special.A 44 magnum in an urban environment just seems like over kill imho.
 
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.44 Mag is my favorite cartridge, the one I load the most for and the one I shoot the most of. Relatively speaking, I am shooting 750 rounds per month, give or take a hundred or so.
I don't shoot factory ammo.
I can reload 50 rounds of .44 Mag for $7.50. Compare at the large box stores for $37.50.

You are asking great questions.
Grains(grns.) is a unit of measure applied to reloading components, among other things.
Unique, 2400, and so forth are powders.

2400 and .44 magnum go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Unique has been around for a hundred years and is a versatile powder used in MANY cartridges.

The hottest load I shoot is 21.5grns. of 2400 over a hardcast (Oregon Trail) 240grn. semi wadcutter. I shoot this out of my 629 4'' and 5''.
The 629 will take 22 grains, probably a bit more, but, like I said, 21.5 is as hot as I go.

My most common load is:
8.5 grns. of Unique over the exact same bullet mentioned above. This is my bread and butter load. It will give the same point of impact, at 25 yards, as 17.5grns. of 2400.

My next load is:
17.5grns of 2400 over the same bullet.

For a near factory load I go with 19.7 grns. of 2400 over the 240grn semi wad.

I don't shoot many at 21.5grns.

The heaviest bullet I shoot out of my 629s is a 325grn, lead, GC Bullet over 2400. I have only shot a few of these but they are very accurate and hit very hard.

I believe heavier than that is only recommended for Rugers, of which I know nothing about.

I don't know about defensive rounds, per say. I do carry a 3'' 629 and it is loaded with 240grn semi wadcutters over 9 grains of Unique, another load I shoot a ton of but failed to mention above.

I will also say that after every five hundred to a thousand rounds or so I feel more proficient with this platform, the 629 that is, have more natural aim and just feel more like it is an extension of my arm, rather than a gun in my hand.
So, no matter what you do, I can say that the more you do it the better you will become, whether it be defending yourself or just putting holes right where you want them.

One other thing, don't be discouraged by the number of views per response ratio, it is just part of the forum experience.
 
I recommend Lymans Reloading Handbook for anyone starting reloading. It has a section at the beginning of the book on how to reload. The rest of the book is load information for numerous calibers.

As far as self defense ammo in a .44 mag, about anything you buy will get the job done. Hornady makes different SD loads that look pretty decent. Shooting a short barrel .44 magnum with full power loads in an enclosed structure will take a heavy toll on your hearing!!!
 
For shooting until you can reload, I suggest the Blazer 44 special ammo:

CCI Blazer Ammo 44 Special 200 Grain Speer Gold Dot Jacketed Hollow

It isn't outrageously expensive for store bought 44 ammo, and is a joy to shoot. If I ever start reloading - something I REALLY need to do - then I'd look for a 240 grain bullet moving around 950-1000 fps. I've shot some reloaded ammo like that, and it has enough oomph to feel like you are shooting, but is easy on the hand. It also is pretty darn effective for anything under 1000 lbs.

If you look here:

Cartridge Loads - Hodgdon Reloading Data Center - data.hodgdon.com

you can get an idea of how various weight bullets at various speeds create different pressures. I think full power 44 mag loads are overkill for most purposes. However, I also figure that if I ever shoot enough to loosen up my model 29, to the point S&W can't fix it, then I'll have spent so much on ammo that I DESERVE a new gun! And maybe a new wrist and hand, as well...:eek:

Edit: Here is a link for ammo I haven't tried yet, but looks pretty good to me:

http://www.underwoodammo.com/44special240grainfullmetaljacketboxof50.aspx
 
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If you don't reload. Georgia Arms has a 44 mag load at 1000 ft/sec. It's full metal jacket flat point. I would think it would be a good range round.
 
The best low-power alternative to .44 Magnum is .44 Special. That way you can standardize on loads for practice and those for effect, and not get them mixed up. Stick with recipes in reloading manuals, along with the usual caveats about working up to a load, and don't depend on loads others suggest on line. They're probably OK, but it's just as easy to make a big mistake as a little one when typing.

Since .44 Special is generally 800 fps or slower, you can use lead bullets for a fraction of the price of jacketed. I use hard cast "Keith" type semi-wadcutters, which can actually be loaded up to nearly 1200 fps. They punch nice clean holes in paper too - no hanging or dimpled chads.

Hornady 240 gr XTPs cost about $22/100. Hard cast lead is about 1/3 that cost in bulk (500 or more).
 
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