44 mag--limit?

[flat top]

Merry Christmas Coffeeman!!! You know, I have seen a lot of folks gripe about Unique being dirty, but I have never considered it to be so....to me Bullseye is dirty. I have always used Unique and have had excellent success with it, so I am not about to change now.....and besides, I dont care what kind of powder you shoot in a gun, the darn thing is eventually going to need a good cleaning...and, I hate cleaning guns!!!!

 

[canoe on the yukon]

Warning.....I'm going to rant for a moment....

In all the years I've been a handloader,it has never once occured to me that any powder I used was "dirty".My guns get cleaned....period.....It was only after reading posts on internet forums that I learned that certain powders were "dirty".

 

[Skip Sackett]

I think I'll join the rant..................................


I have used Bullseye for years and years. Started with it, made one hole groups with it over and over and over again. Guess what else I bought a long time ago? Even before I started handloading! A CLEANING KIT! I've used it ever since I got it too!

All joking aside, there are clean and dirty powders. Dirty powders usually show up when they are attempted to be downloaded. Dirty = unburnt powder. Any of the "Magnum" handgun powders get like that when used at the bottom of their respective data, period.

Unique is one of them that HATES too light of loads. If you want smoke and soot and nasties all over your firearm, just load it at the bottom of the newest data you can find.

I shot plates against a guy once that used Unique and 158gr LRNFP bullets and kicked my rump. I said: "Ain't it hard shooting through all that smoke using Unique for your powder?" He said: "Let me tell you a secret. If I load any less in the case than what I do, I get all the stuff others talk about. I use what I use and have none of that!"

The load he used is within most specs but some manuals have listed it in the +P area so I am hesitant to post it.

At any rate, the point of my post is simply this, use the powder for the intent that it was designed. There is no "one size fits all" and few "one size fits most" but each discipline/preference can have a solution. I handload 'cause I like to find that spot!

So, dirty powders? Yes, especially if they are used incorrectly. Clean powders? Yes, the same ones (most times) used correctly.

p.s. When an explosion (read fast burning situation) goes off in your cartridge there is going to be soot to some extent, especially if you use a lead bullet and it's lubed, so get a cleaning kit to take care of it!

 

[bmcgilvray]

Warning.....I'm going to rant for a moment....

In all the years I've been a handloader,it has never once occured to me that any powder I used was "dirty".My guns get cleaned....period.....It was only after reading posts on internet forums that I learned that certain powders were "dirty".

Me too. I was happy before the internet told me that Unique and other propellants were dirty. I blissfully thought it was the lube.

Despite all, my guns are still happy. They are cleaned after each use anyway. I'm still happily benefiting from the use of ol' "dirty" powders in my favorite handloads and enjoying that I don't have to chase after ever cleaner propellants.

My Model 29-2 digested many loads of 24.2 grains of H110 over a 240 grain Sierra bullet when I used it for silhouette shooting. It hung together for most of 4 seasons of such use and is still fine.

 

[dennis40x]

Crud and corruption yep it happens. There is no perfect propellant but there are propellants that have a broad application range. Back when I belonged to the iron chicken, pig, and goat shooting society. I saw M-29's beat to death in order to knock over silhouette animal shapes at "X" distance. Yep the endurance package, full lugged barrels, and un-fluted cylinders. My thoughts were in the practical sense we're asking a bit much of the design in consideration of the N –frame design origin date. Fast forward to this day all the 44 & 41Magnums are gone except for one 44Mag M629-Dash what ever it is Mountain Gun. No can't say I feel the necessity of ear splitting loud boomer concussive signature of yesterdays past. If it can't be done with a 245Gr cast bullet at between 850-900 fps MV I'm not doing it.