44 Special or Light loaded 44 Magnum?

[gaspipes]

Do you think it is better to download 44 magnum cases or use 44 special cases for loads at around 900-1000 fps out of a 44 magnum.

Many years ago I would just load up 240r lead semi wad cutters with Unique and shoot them through a Redhawk 7.5" barrel and later a Super Redhawk and a Model 629 with a 5" barrel.

Unique is horrible in a Dillon 550 as far a measuring consistently . So I haven't really loaded any light rounds in a while and don't really shoot the 44's much.

I have a renewed interest in the big bore revolvers and have recently bought one with a 2.75" barrel. It's a magnum but I don't really want to shoot magnum loads.

I was going to buy some 44 S&W Special cases and just load them up but the brass is nowhere to be found. So 44 mag case or 44 special case, does it really matter? I see some loads for Magnum that are 6-8 grains which leaves a ton of room in the case. Talking about Titegroup and 231 etc, even Bullseye. Does this matter?

Anyway I know many here must load 44 and not shoot 23 grains of 296 or 20 grains of 2400 all the time. When I was 21, I could do that all day. At 48 I don't have the desire to get beat up with more than a couple cylinders full of hot magnums. Haha I want to ring that gong with a big bullet, I don't care if it takes a couple seconds for it to get there.

 

[Doubless]

I don't know of a single good thing that comes from shooting 44 Special rounds in a 44 Magnum. As a matter of fact, the "crud ring" that builds up can be a real bear to get out...

I would load 44 Mag brass at medium velocities and let the good times roll. Some of the most fun with a 44 I have ever had was shooting my own full wadcutters at about 850 fps out of my 4" Model 29. It is a hoot, and talk about great big perfectly round holes in paper!

 

[arjay]

I always use 44 mag brass for my milder loads,but I'm doing it with Unique.

 

[gaspipes]

I just found this article on loading the 44 magnum. Lots of good info here:

Reloading the .44 Magnum

Haven't had a chance to read it all yet but one thing jumped out. Author said his new favorite powder for 44 Magnum was Titegroup. Says 5.5 grains Titegroup under 240gr LSWC gives 850fps and plink all day. Doesn't say barrel length but mentions 4" M29 while discussing more light loads a couple paragraphs later.

I'm not going to bother with 44 special cases. Not until I get a 44 special revolver anyway. I have several thousand 44 magnum cases.

 

[STCM(SW)]

I have not tried Trail Boss in the .44 Magnum, but have in the 38-40, 44-40 and 45 Colt.
With a 240 gr LSWC, 7.0 gr of TB is what Hodgdon's has for the .44 Magnum CowBoy load. 900fps.

 

[rwsmith]

The .38 loads that I shoot....

The .38 special loads I shoot in my .357 are in .357 brass.

 

[lebomm]

+1 on using the Mag brass. If you've got lots, and Specials are unobtainium, I don't see a problem. You may have to upload a trifle to reach the Special velocities, but just think how easy to clean !
Happy shooting !

Larry

 

[jbull380]

Much easier to find .44 mag brass anyway.

 

[ironhead7544]

Nothing wrong with a light load. AA#2 goes through a measure well if you have that problem.

I have used Trail Boss with a 200 gr cast RNFP. A max charges goes 950 fps from a 5.5 inch barrel in the Magnum cases. Easy recoil and no leading. 1100 fps from a 20 inch barrel.

 

[SuperMan]

I've never bothered with .44 Special cases in .44 Magnums...if one reloads why would one bother. The little bit of extra airspace over a .44 Special isn't going to make any difference.

.44 Specials are for shooters who don't reload and can't find target velocity type commercial reloads.

As to Unique not metering in a Dillon... I've been shooting just about nothing but Unique in .41, .44 and .38 Super for the last 25 years and can only say the accuracy has always been astounding...

Bob

 

[firebyprolong]

5 gr bullseye behind a lee 200 gr in a mag case is my farm load. it runs about 750 book or so but it's never been clocked. very accurate and pleasant out of my 629. it's a 100 yard load at best and it really takes its time getting there but will kill coyotes stone dead and does everything I ask of it

 

[Davwingman]

Couple weeks ago I came across a couple hundred 44 special brass at a gun show. Loaded them with 6.0 gr. Red Dot & 240 gr. cast lead swc bullets. Shot them out of a model 29-3 4'' gun & accuracy was the best that I had ever gotten outa that gun.

Think I am gonna load about 6.5 gr. Red Dot in some mag brass & give that a try. Both loads should be about 900 fps & very pleasant to shoot.

 

[fredj338]

I've never seen the point of using special brass, in 38/357 or 44/44mag. Especially if going back & forth between mags & spec. you have to clean the cly often to prevent carbon build up. I just load everything in magnum brass.

 

[federali]

Agree with You Guys

I'm downloading my .44 Magnum using 8 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain lead semi-wadcutter. It's both pleasant and fun to shoot.

Now that I no longer care about shaving fractions of an inch from group sizes, shooting has become so much more enjoyable as I don't have to invest in buying canisters of powder for testing.
"Minute-of-soda-can" is accurate enough for me.

Also, I've not had any problems metering out Unique powder.

 

[drummer007]

For revolvers that are going to be used for self defense or IDPA type competition, the shorter case can make sense because they more reliably eject when reloading. I have had 357 mag cases hang during ejection and had to pull them out individually before being able to reload. Particularly easy to have the longer case hang when using a short barreled revolver with a short ejector rod. I have moved to using 38 special cases because of this and they don't hang up when reloading the revolver. I would think the same is true of 44 Special/44 Mag brass.

 

[venomballistics]

Im partial to using magnum brass.
it avoids the dreaded chamber ring and can go nearly as low as 44 special.

 

[m657]

My own tests on 44 special/44 mag have produced a couple observations:

1) while rarely do I have use for '44 MAG' loads, it's nice to have some on hand;

2) while I no longer have a '44 special ONLY' revolver, I have ample brass that yearns to be used;

3) my personal accuracy suffers the farther over 1250 fps my loads go;

4) Using same recipe powder charge, and matched 200 or 240 g SWC at loads up to about 1200 fps, it's hard to see much difference between special & mag brass loads.

The overall accuracy tips toward my 44 special loads though, and the single most accurate load I've ever had in a cowboy SAA was 44 special....got a 5 shots in one jagged pinkie-sized hole multiple times. Stupidly I let a buddy entice me with mere stacks o'green stuff in return for that Colt.

Overlooking my own results of the range of platforms, boolits, brass, powders, recipes, phase of the moon, etc.....I believe anywhere between 850~1200 fps my accuracy is pretty much the same.

The best match results I had this year, was bowling pins, shooting a 44 special 1100 fps 200 gr SWC load out of a 8 3/8" 629-1.

YMMV

 

[Coaltminer]

I'm in the minority here, I use 44 Special brass in my 29 with 240 grain plated bullets over 5 grains of Bullesye or 231. Very light plinker load, fun and doesn't put a hurting on you, even with a short barrel and wood grips. I also use 38 Special in my 357 revolvers with plated bullets, don't have a problem using magnums, but I clean regularly.

 

[scattershot]

Well, if you are going to load 1000 fps, it's a pretty stout load in a .44 Special, and a light one in the .44 mag. Since you have a .44 magnum pistol, most of the advantages of the .44 special are lost, anyway, and you avoid the buildup in the cylinder from shooting the shorter brass. 7.5/8.0 grains of Unique will get you there, and I haven't had any notable problems with it in my Dillon.

Good luck!

 

[mikld]

I got my first .44 Magnum revolver in '87, a 629 w/6" bbl.. I since have accumulated four more and all shoot lead bullets, and I have used .44 Special ammo in every one of my .44 magnums with no problems (not even the dreaded "crud ring"). I have reloaded everything from 123 gr. round lead balls to 265 gr RNFP T-Rex killers using powders from Bullseye to H110 in both Special and Magnum brass. I clean my guns after each range session, so I have no worry about short cartridges fouling a longer cylinder. I don't use many (prolly none) Special cases anymore because they are getting hard to find and I'm lazy and just use Special loads in Magnum brass when I want to shoot "light"...

Actually Specials in Magnum guns is quite common, just like 38/357. No worries!