Load data for 3-inch .44 Magnum?

[Pantera Mike]

Hi—for years I have been shooting a Model 29 .44 Magnum with an 8 3/8 inch barrel using 24 gr of WW296 behind 240 gr JHP. I now have a 3-inch 629 and I suspect 296 really isn’t appropriate for anything but producing large fireballs due to the slow burn rate.

Does anybody have ideas for a load using a powder optimized for the shorter barrel? I normally use WW231 or Blue Dot in other calibers, and have plenty of both on hand but am not opposed to trying something else if it would be more suitable?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you can provide.....

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have a 2 5/8" 44 mag I picked up 3 or 4 weeks ago. In looking through my piles of reloads from 8 3/8'sand Super 14" days I found 300 215 grain Truncated Flat Points over 8 grains of Unique. Turns out to be a pretty nice load. In the daytime it has no noticeable flash, mild recoil, and shoots better than I do! At night, I think any round for a 44 mag, in less than 6", is going to put on a light show! I think Blue Dot will make very good flash gun!

I think you should look into a loading manual or Hodgdon's reloading website. They show loads for 8 to 11 grains of WW 231, but I think they will be a little "bright" if you use close to max loads.

Ivan

 

[Regaj]

Well, there are a few truisms at play here.

If you're looking for maximum performance out of any magnum caliber you're going to end up with lots of lots of pressure and lots of flash. That's just the way it is. It's what makes a magnum a magnum.

And there's no getting around that you're going to get less velocity out of your new short barrel revolver than your old 8 3/8" hog leg. There's no canister powder that's going to give you the higher pressures needed for maximum velocity, but has that pressure falling off just at the moment your bullet leaves that short barrel.

And, finally, W296 is a fine powder for both your .44 magnums.

You can experiment with a slightly faster powder, of course. Something like 2400 or Blue Dot will give you good results. But you're not going to find anything that gives you the "magnum" without the light show.

I have .44's in 2.75, 4, 5.5, 6, and 7.5 inches. My own inclination - especially with the shorter barrels - is to load down to .44 Special territory. For that, it's hard to beat W231 or Unique.

 

[shocker]

Here's some factory data for Accurate No. 2. I like this powder for short barrels as it is very clean burning and flash suppressed. Plus, being a ball powder it meters accurately.
This if for cast bullets.

Caliber: .44 Remington Magnum.
Barrel length: 8” (for Rifle barrels 20-24” add ca +18% to velocities indicated below)
Powder: Accurate – No 2®.
Bullet weight: 185 grains. WC - Target
Low load: 5.5 grains (ca 950 Fps)
Intermediate load: 8.0 (ca 1200 Fps).
Bullet weight: 180-185 grains. SWC
Low load: 6.5 grains (ca 975 Fps)
Intermediate load: 9.2 (ca 1225 Fps).
Maximum load: 12.3 grains (ca 1450 Fps) LD ca 60%.
Bullet weight: 200 grains.
Low load: 5.7 grains (ca 900 Fps)
Intermediate load: 6.5 (ca 1050 Fps).
Maximum load: 10.0 grains (ca 1275 Fps).
Bullet weight: 240 grains.
Low load: 6.0 grains (ca 850 Fps)
Intermediate load: 7.5 (ca 1025 Fps).
Maximum load: 9.0 grains (ca 1200 Fps).
Bullet weight: 265 grains Cast Lead.
Low load: 7.2 grains (ca 1000 Fps)
Maximum load: 8.5 grains (ca 1140 Fps).
Bullet weight: 300 grains.
Low load: 5.0 grains (ca 750 Fps)
Intermediate load: 6.3 (ca 875 Fps).
Maximum load: 7.5 grains (ca 1000 Fps).

 

[cowboy4evr]

It depends on the level of performance you are looking for ? If you still want full magnum performance , then the slower powders still produce the highest velocity . With the short barrel they also produce the largest fireball .
In your case with the short barrel I would look at a powder that is " flash suppressed " . Alliant introduced a powder several yrs ago that is between Unique and power pistol called , " BE-86 " . I have shot it in my 44's and was happy with it's performance . It's a flake powder so it ignites easily and yet it meters very well in my LEE Perfect Powder Measure . Power Pistol is a fine powder but is not " flash suppressed " , produces a huge flame . So in your search , I would definitely choose Bulls Eye 86 (BE-86) . Regards, Paul

 

[dr. mordo]

You might try Longshot, CFE Pistol, or even 800x though people say it meters horribly.

All will get a 240gr slug up to ~1400fps at max loads, but burn faster than the classic 'magnum powders' so should perform better out of a shorter barrel.

The Hodgdon website has all the load data you need for them.

 

[Skeet 028]

I happened to own 2 29-3 3 inch round butt guns and found that the better loads are high end 44 sp loads....esp in a round butt gun.Full mag loads are not in the least pleasant. With a 215 gr or 240 gr SWC I used 9 gr od Unique or 10.5 gr of Herco for pleasant(er) shooting load... And as stated full mag loads will still give you the most velocity. I also had a 3 inch RB 629 and it was just as nasty with full mag loads even with the rubber grips that it came with. I think a mid range load with AA No 5 would be ok too. The 3 inch RB guns are easier to carry but still too heavy for CC in my opinion

 

[Bosquebass]

I own a 3" round butt 629 too and I also prefer to shoot 44 special loads. I use "around" 8 grains of Unique under a 240 gn LSWC in a magnum case. This load is much more pleasant to shoot in that little beast than any full house magnum load.
I will however freely admit that at times six rounds loaded with 296 and fired for effect at the public range will grab some attention.

 

[StakeOut]

I shoot a 3" 629-4 Backpacker and I shoot it mostly for paper target shooting at an indoor range out to about 50'.

44 Magnum case Light Load:
240gr LSWC hard cast bullet
5.0gr Bullseye
Standard LPP
1.600" OAL

44 Magnum case Medium Load:
240gr hard cast LSWC
8.5gr of Unique
Standard LPP
1.600" OAL

When the Backpacker is used as my nightstand weapon I load it with the medium 8.5gr of Unique loads.

 

[Skeet 028]

I will however freely admit that at times six rounds loaded with 296 and fired for effect at the public range will grab some attention.

Yeah..those loads always got my attention too. I sold one of the 29-3s and the 629 also They didn't make too many of the 29-3 3 inch roundbutt guns so I had to keep one.

 

[bigedp51]

The No.14 Speer reloading manual has loads for short barrels in many calibers including the .44 magnum.

The powders listed are Bullseye, 231, Titegroup, Red Dot, 700-X, American Select, Unique, and H. Universal.

I have a Smith & Wesson Model 29-5 with a 5 inch barrel and most of my loads use 231 at .44 Special velocities.

I also have Quickload software and it shows that my load of 231 is 100% burnt in less the two inches of barrel length.

Meaning I do not have to worry about 296 powder scorch marks on my targets at the shorter practice ranges.

P.S. Even Dirty Harry downloaded his .44 magnum loads.

 

[OKFC05]

Your 231 is fine for making loads that chrono midway between 44 spl and 44 mag "full house" or even lighter down to 44 spl. More fun to shoot.

 

[bigedp51]

Your 231 is fine for making loads that chrono midway between 44 spl and 44 mag "full house" or even lighter down to 44 spl. More fun to shoot.

I ran several powders through Quickload checking the percent of powder burned for my 5 inch barrel

What is funny is even with a 20 inch barrel and 296 powder Quickload will not show you 100% of the powder burned.

My son sold me this S&W 29 and he does not reload. I think he sold it because he didn't like the recoil of factory ammo. I let him shoot some of my reduced loads with 231 and he wanted the .44 magnum back.

I told him to buy a Ruger GP100 in .44 Special with a 3 inch barrel and stop crying.

 

[fredj338]

You will still get max vel using slow powders but the blast is fierce. I mostly load medium burners like Unique in mine. A 250-270gr bullet @ 1100fps is about all I want in the snub. BTW, BD is just as bad as H110/W296.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The OP said nothing about producing lighter or middle range loads, he was asking about powder.

As a general rule the powder that will generate the highest velocity in a 6" barrel will do so in a 3" barrel too. As long as your current load is proven to be accurate in your new revolver I would change nothing.

 

[Joe4d]

Id go with the Blue dot.. If I was buying a new type Id go for the BE96,, close burn rates and about what you are looking for. You'll get near the velocity you get with the 296 in that short a barrel but with less flash and recoil. I use 2400 for full power stuff in my 5.5" 44.
I do have some full power 180 gr loads loaded with somewheres of about 28 grains of H110... Second shot blew my sandbag apart from the cylinder blast.

 

[bigedp51]

Hi—for years I have been shooting a Model 29 .44 Magnum with an 8 3/8 inch barrel using 24 gr of WW296 behind 240 gr JHP. I now have a 3-inch 629 and I suspect 296 really isn’t appropriate for anything but producing large fireballs due to the slow burn rate.

Does anybody have ideas for a load using a powder optimized for the shorter barrel? I normally use WW231 or Blue Dot in other calibers, and have plenty of both on hand but am not opposed to trying something else if it would be more suitable?

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you can provide.....

The OP said nothing about producing lighter or middle range loads, he was asking about powder.

As a general rule the powder that will generate the highest velocity in a 6" barrel will do so in a 3" barrel too. As long as your current load is proven to be accurate in your new revolver I would change nothing.

This is where having Quickload is nice to have and why the Speer manual list loads for short barreled handguns. And the slower powders are not used in the short barrel Speer loads. If you notice Unique was one of the slowest powders used in the Speer manual for a short barreled .44 magnum I posted in my first post.

Normally you would use a lighter bullet with a faster burning powder and avoid the recoil and blast of using 296. So again having Quickload helps greatly in choosing the most efficient powder. Or follow the recommended short barrel loads in the manuals.

 

[Pantera Mike]

Thanks everybody. All my reloading data is 25+ years old. Based on the great recommendations here I put a crowbar in my wallet and arranged to buy a Speer #14 manual (used on EBay of course). I’m looking forward to learning what they have to say about short-barrel loads.

I will probably load to .44 Special +P levels rather than full honk .44 Mag. But I will probably also shoot a handful of 296-based rounds intended for my 8 3/8 version, just for the light show

 

[Benchrest1]

I would still use H110 in a short barrel. My second choice is Unique.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I will probably load to .44 Special +P levels rather than full honk .44 Mag. But I will probably also shoot a handful of 296-based rounds intended for my 8 3/8 version, just for the light show

If you want a moderate load that groups good, with no flash, you might try CFE-P. It's a moderate speed powder & is flash suppressed. 10.0 & 10.5grs with Xtreme's 240gr P-TCFP shot well for me.

13.0gr/Bluedot (~1075fps) grouped well in my snubby M69 & M629. 15.0gr is max (HDY #8). Reduced loads of BD tend to leave some partially burnt flakes behind, but you probably know that already.

A near max load of Unique under a 240gr JHP shot great in snubby M69 too.

W296/H110 is pretty much an all or nothing powder with no meaningful downloading capabilities & I seldom us it.

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69 Combat Magnum - , w/Pachmayr grips, Nosler-Unique target

(-01b)

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