44 Special light load results today

[71vette]

In my continuing quest to burn up this solitary pound of 700x I have, I am making a 500 round batch of 200gr RNFP coated 44 Specials. I loaded up 10 rounds last weekend using the same charge as my 230 grain 45acp load. I broke out the 624 4 inch and the 3 inch 24-3. I also brought a bunch of my old 210gr BNWC HP-38 loads.

Anyway, here’s my results from today:

200gr Acme RNFP
4.6gr 700X, 1.46” COAL, LPP

4” 624: 770fps
3” 24-3: 725fps


210gr BNWC
5gr HP-38, 1.274” COAL, LPP

4” 624: 820fps
3” 24-3: 780fps

Here’s my two 44 specials before cleaning:

 

[tennexplorer]

Is your 210 grain BNWC home cast?

 

[71vette]

Is your 210 grain BNWC home cast?

No, they were purchased probably 30 years ago. My father bought either 500 or 1k of them. He had probably 400 left and I loaded most of them up. They are relatively soft but shoot pretty well out of both guns.

 

[gwpercle]

Awesome !

700X is an excellent target powder , especially for large bores .
Back in the day 700X was the darling powder in NRA Bullseye Target 45 acp loads ... and does great in 44 Special and 41 Special with cast lead bullets .

Keep On Keeping On !
Gary

 

[Marksman]

Light .44 Special load.............

For a light load I shoot 3.5gr. or 5.0gr. Bullseye and a 200gr. RNFP Cowboy bullet, been shooting this load for 45-50 years now. It's useful for introducing youth and ladies to big bore revolver shooting.

 

[71vette]

Loaded up the first part of this 500 round batch today.

 

['79 Magnum GT]

I've been loading up soft cast 250 KT Semi wadcutters with 5gr. of W-W 231 for my Charter Arms Boomer in 44 Spl. for a few years now. It approximates to the Hornady 165 gr. Critical defense load and W-W 200 gr. Silver Tip that I carry for self-defense. I don't have a chronograph to check the fps but the recoil is similar. Good for practice in the 8 to 10 ft. range.

Rick

 

[Toxophilus]

RE: Light 44spcl Loads

Dialed in the Bear Creek BNHBWC load for my Blackhawk 44 Special, 4.3grs of TiteGroup will get the boolit where it needs to go (it was pretty windy the day I tested these), loading up a gaggle (technical term), of these now, before I know it, I'll be placing another order with Bear Creek Supply!

For reference I used data from the 2018 Handloader Magazine Wadcutter article to find what my revolver prefers, I like that they have other loads listed for different calibers/bullet types...

 

[Claymore33]

I like 900 FPS out of both 41 and 44. Not to much recoil but plenty of knock down power.

 

[Tony Tiger]

In my continuing quest to burn up this solitary pound of 700x I have, I am making a 500 round batch of 200gr RNFP coated 44 Specials. I loaded up 10 rounds last weekend using the same charge as my 230 grain 45acp load. I broke out the 624 4 inch and the 3 inch 24-3. I also brought a bunch of my old 210gr BNWC HP-38 loads.

Anyway, here’s my results from today:

200gr Acme RNFP
4.6gr 700X, 1.46” COAL, LPP

4” 624: 770fps
3” 24-3: 725fps


210gr BNWC
5gr HP-38, 1.274” COAL, LPP

4” 624: 820fps
3” 24-3: 780fps

Here’s my two 44 specials before cleaning:

Looks pretty clean after shooting! I bought 4 lbs of 700X at the first powder shortage, (about only one available) and never opened it yet, but looks like it will for my 44 specials.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I love 700x. I was given several #s of it by an old skeet shooter and have gotten a lot of mileage out of it. Love it in .45 ACP and .38 Special. I haven't tried it in .44 Special but this thread has me planning to do just that, with the new-ish Lee mold i got that throws a SWC of about 218 grains with my alloy.

 

[71vette]

Looks pretty clean after shooting! I bought 4 lbs of 700X at the first powder shortage, (about only one available) and never opened it yet, but looks like it will for my 44 specials.

I was pretty happy with my results using it with 45acp as well. Only real downside is it doesn’t meter well in my Dillon.

 

[71vette]

Finished up the run today. Somehow I ended up with the exact number of primed cases to bullets. Can’t argue with that! Still had a little powder left as well. I honestly have no idea how many rounds I loaded as I had primed cases. The bullets and cases were both supposed to be 500, but Acme (bullets) and CDVS (primed cases) always ship more.

When done the run filled a 50 cal can about half way. That ought to hold me for a while!

 

[Zeke38]

That's a very useful load. Thanks for the write up and pics. Here's a pic of my 624. Will consider using your utility load.

 

[71vette]

Here they are:

 

[Tony Tiger]

I was pretty happy with my results using it with 45acp as well. Only real downside is it doesn’t meter well in my Dillon.

I have a couple of 45ACPs I need to try in. One is a officer sized Citadel, other is Ruger Commander size. 44 SPcL IS A Rossi 720. Have 44 mags to try in also.

 

[Tony Tiger]