Any accurate 4" or 6.5" .44 Special target loads?

[Kaumheimer]

I'm shooting 240 gn swc Oregon trail bullets on a 6.5" 24-3 and a 4" 624. Have tried 6.2 gn Unique with some luck on the 24-3 but am not satisfied.

I'd prefer to keep the load on the light side. (The classic Skeeter load seems a bit on the high side for me with a 240 gn bullet.) I'm just shooting paper.

Looking for accuracy above all.

Am willing to try 200 gn bullets too.

Any ideas?

mahalo

 

[jag312]

My 696 likes this load: 4.5 grains 700-X, 200 grain copper plated bullet by X-treme. The velocity is about 775 fps. My 696 has razor-edge accuracy with just about any load.

 

[michael thornton]

My 4 inch 624 and 3 inch 624 like 7.5 gr of unique with 240 swc, not a real hot load

 

[Snapping Twig]

Try some W231.

 

[valkyriekl]

I asked about AA#5 and a 240gr LSWC here on this forum, and it was recommended that I try 6.3gr AA#5--it works quite well, although it probably isn't the "light load" you're looking for--it feels very much like a full-powered .45ACP 230gr load in a revolver.

I've heard 7.3-7.5gr Unique works well, too.

 

[NE450No2]

I have shot a lot of loads with 44 Special cases in my 44 Mags with 240 gr bullets. Try 3.8 to 4 gr of Bullseye.

For a little more "juice" try 7 to 7.5gr of Unique.

 

[ADQRAZOR]

I have found that most any 200 gr RNFN cast bullet shoots well ( currently working through a box of Silver State cast bullets) With AA#5, 7.8 GR (Little Dandy Rotor #9). Use them in a 696 and Colt SAA. Very accurate and mild, powder meters well and very clean. Approx 700-710 fps

 

[TSQUARED]

I use the 245 gr. LSWC with Trail Boss powder - the minimum listed on the Hodgdon website. Works well in either my S&W 696 or 624.

 

[Mule88]

Im getting one inch groups from my 624 with 215-250 gn CSWC and 7.5 gn. universal clays. This is from a rest at 25 yds. Very accurate and burns cleaner than Unique.

 

[M29since14]

I have always used 6.5-grains (not 7.5) of Unique in the 44 Special with the 250-grain Keith bullet. It works so well I have never changed the powder charge, but will admit I have used other bullets from time to time. I haven't seen any of them improve on accuracy except for the Winchester factory 246-grain round-nose slug, which I was only able to get one time. It was a great shooter.

 

[KSCowboy]

I've used 5 grains of Bullseye for many years for both plinking and SASS shooting with accurate results.

Recently I've been trying 5 grains of Clays with very good results also.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

My standard .44 special load is 7.0gr of Unique under a 240 LSWC with a standard primer. Pleasure load's are 5.2gr of Trail Boss with a Speer LSWC also with a standard primer. Both of these load's are very accurate out of my S&W's and Ruger's.

 

[mtgianni]

5 gr Green Dot w 240 gr cast.

 

[Joed49]

I've always used 7.5 gr of Unique with the 240 gr LSWC from the Lyman mold. The problem if you go lower then this is the case doesn't expand enough and gives a poor seal. If you shoot lower charges you'll notice the cases are blackened.

 

[Marksman]

5.0 gr. Bullseye under a 240 SWC or 200 RNFP has been a favorite .44 Special load of mine since 1975. Accurate and easy shooting, I shoot mostly the 200 RNFP load lately.

 

[mikesb]

215 gr.lswc with 5.5 to 5.8gr of 231 in 44spl brass works very well in my 29-5 with 5in barrel

 

[ChuckS1]

4.7 grains of Bulleye with a 240 grain buulet. My personal favorite is the Lyman 429383 245 grain LRN design.

 

[Kaumheimer]

Looks like I have plenty of homework to do. Appreciate all the help!

mahalo

 

[Kaumheimer]

Range Report

Just wanted to update you all on my activities with the 4" 624 which I shot for the very first time today.

I tested a number of loads but these worked the best:

7.0 gn Unique
6.3 gn AA#5

I used a 240 gn Rainier FP bullet @ 25 yards.

I shot the AA #5 first and indeed it's a very accurate load without a great deal of recoil.

The Unique was a bit hotter and I had to readjust the sight when using it. It shot a bit higher, but once I screwed down the elevation it was right in the bullseye.

I was very pleasantly surprised with the 624 because as you of course know, shooting a gun with a 4 inch barrel at 25 yards is challenging. This was a joy to shoot.

The only glitch was that about 75 rounds into the testing the cylinder started to bind. It was difficult to draw back the hammer and took some effort to snap the cylinder back into place after releasing it. I noted some unburnt powder near the yoke so I assume some must have gotten underneath the extractor or (somewhere!) and gummed up the works. This is a very tight gun that clearly has not been shot too much. I took a cloth and cleaned underneath the extractor and on the surface of the forcing cone and that seemed to do the trick.

Will see if I can figure out how my 6.5" 24-3 works with these loads and report back at a later date.

Thanks all for your help.

 

[dg101win]

I have found that 6.7 of Unique behind a 240 bevel base swc or 250 flat base keith bullet works great. This is with a Wolf primer out of my 4 inch 624 and my Ruger 5 1/2 inch .