Midrange 44mag loads

[lscocoa]

Can anyone tell me if IMR4227 powder would be suitable for use in making mid range loads . My old Lyman book starts at 14.3 grs. in a 44 special case with a 240 gr. cast bullet . I would be loading in 44 mag. cases for my 29's and 629's .

 

[sourdough44]

I don't know much about that powder, besides what I have read. I use H Universal for my mid power 44 mag loads.

 

[fredj338]

Can anyone tell me if IMR4227 powder would be suitable for use in making mid range loads . My old Lyman book starts at 14.3 grs. in a 44 special case with a 240 gr. cast bullet . I would be loading in 44 mag. cases for my 29's and 629's .

Not really. 4227 is more of a full power powder. If you are looking for 240-250gr bullets @ 1000-1100fps, look no further than Unique or sim medium burner. If you want 1100-1200fps loads, 2400 is a good choice & can be used for full power loads too.

 

[Dragon88]

Save 4227 for the full power stuff. I will second the recommendation for Unique. My standard 44 mag plinking load is a 200gr SWC at 1050fps using Unique. Very accurate to 100 yards and low recoil.

 

[mtgianni]

I like green dot @ 7 gr or red dot @ 6.5 gr under a 429421 cast for 1000 fps and great accuracy.

 

[venomballistics]

in a nutshell .. no .. 4227 is too slow for that job. it is intended for full hairy chested he man loads
what your looking for is something in the ballpark of Unique

 

[Skip Sackett]

Unique is the answer for the load you are looking for with HP-38/W231 a close second.

May I ask WHY you want midrange loads? To be honest, any 44Spl load can be put into a 44Mag case and run with safety, but, should you be using loads like that for say, long range deer hunting, it would be a bad idea.

I have a friend that shot a deer with a M629 and 180gr 44Spl factory loads at a moderate distance, 50 yards. The bullet kind of splattered on the deer, didn't come out of the other side and he never retrieved the animal.
So, I guess I said all of that to say/ask this: "Whatcha gonna use them for?"

 

[Tslepebull]

10.0 - 11.0 gr of Unique in .44 mag cases give a load similar to Skeeters 7.5 gr load in .44 special cases. This is a shoot them all day load.

 

[ScottJ]

I've been doing lots of midrange variants as I play around with cast options for my 629 Classic:
Lee Tumble Lube 240gr SWC 8.3gr Unique
6.5" 629 Classic
avg 1025
hi 1057
lo 989
es 68
sd 22
1053, 1053, 1013, 1014, 1044, 1057, 1016, 1020, 1009, 989, 1001, 1035

TL240 9.5gr Unique 7/24/11
6.5" 629 Classic
Avg 1154
Sd 13
Hi 1165
Lo 1127
ES 38
1162, 1162, 1133, 1148, 1162, 1165, 1161, 1127, 1164, 1159

Lee 429-214-SWC
10gr Unique
629 Classic
Avg: 1224
Hi: 1258
Lo: 1184
Es: 74
Sd: 24
1184, 1258, 1232, 1223, 1234, 1216

Lee 429-214-SWC
15.7gr Accurate No. 7
629 Classic
Avg: 1319
Hi: 1354
Lo: 1235
Es: 119
Sd: 33
1293, 1300, 1311, 1336, 1310, 1323, 1235, 1342, 1336, 1346, 1354, 1350

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Like said above, 4227 is more of a full power powder than a mid-range powder. It's also a forgotten powder too and I don't know why since it works very well in the .44 Magnum. BUT, there is load data for both IMR and H4227 in the new Lyman 4th Edition Cast Bullet Handbook using a 240gr cast bullet. If you want to use that powder just to give it a try here is the data:

They use a 4" universal receiver when developing this data.
240gr Lyman #429667 bullet, 1.645" OAL.
IMR4227, 21.5gr 1036 fps 29,000 CUP // 24.0gr 1263 fps 37,800 CUP
H4227, 20.7gr 1032 fps 27,500 CUP // 23.0gr 1248 fps 37,300 CUP

245gr Lyman #429421 bullet, 1.710" OAL.
IMR4227, 20.2gr 938 fps 21,300 CUP // 24.0gr 1196 fps 34,600 CUP
H4227, 21.5gr 1083 fps 29,400 CUP // 23.8gr 1281 fps 38,400 CUP

I gave you both listings because I don't know which bullet profile you have.
You can check the Lyman site to compare your bullet to the bullets listed.
I hope that helps a bit...

 

[Nick B]

8.0 grains of Unique behind a 245 cast SWC clocked at 940fps over the chrono .

 

[Skip Sackett]

8.0 grains of Unique behind a 245 cast SWC clocked at 940fps over the chrono .

That just seems like a nice shoot them all day long load!

 

[Nick B]

That just seems like a nice shoot them all day long load!

Oops, just rechecked my chronograph notes . Correction. It was 8.5 grains of Unique for an average of 940fps . I've been shooting this load for 20 years .
Here are some others that I ran across the chronograph using a 6 1/2" Smith 629 in 44 mag using a 245-250 grain cast bullet.
Bullet mould : Lyman 429421 and also a RCBS 250 grain Keith SWC .
250 grn cast
8.0 gr. of Universal Clays
905 fps average.
8.5 grns gave 980 fps .

245 cast SWC
10.0 grns of Unique
1080 fps average from a 5" S&W 629
Hope this helps .

 

[venomballistics]

That just seems like a nice shoot them all day long load!

240ish grains at 950 ... yeah its a good handfull of fun without the battering.
Ive traded some of the weight for speed in my favorite shoot all day special
223 grain HP at 1100 - 1200

 

[lscocoa]

I chose the IMR 4227because it was given to me and I saw it listed as load for 44 specials .my wrist has a lot of arthritis and shooting alot of my deer loads of 22.5 grs. of 296 is getting somewhat discomforting .I shoot 5 grs. of trail boss in my 629-5 mountain gun for a fun plinking round , but I am looking for load that is less than full magnum and I thought the load of 14 grs. of IMR4227 for a 44 special could be used in my 44 mag. cases as practice loads at ranges of 50 to 75 yards . These loads are for my 29-3 w/ 10 5/8 and 629-4 with 8 3/8' barrels , which I like shooting more than most of my other guns . I'll give unique a try what do you think of the special loads in mag cases?

 

[Sebago Son]

This is 7.8 Grns of Unique under a Tennessee Valley Bullet Company 240 Grn. RNFP. Gun is a .44 Magnum converted S&W Model 58. I use Magnum cases to eliminate lead build up.

Range was 20-odd paces.

The fixed sights of the gun determined the velocity which I estimate to be about 900 fps, maybe a little less. Happily, this is a very pleasant load to shoot all day.

 

[fredj338]

This is 7.8 Grns of Unique under a Tennessee Valley Bullet Company 240 Grn. RNFP. Gun is a .44 Magnum converted S&W Model 58. I use Magnum cases to eliminate lead build up.

Range was 20-odd paces.

The fixed sights of the gun determined the velocity which I estimate to be about 900 fps, maybe a little less. Happily, this is a very pleasant load to shoot all day.

Nice converison. I am not sure how you estimate vel using the sights, the gun prints where it prints & the vel is what it is. One thing I have learned over the years chronographing 100s of revolver loads, is few guns yield identical vel even made by the same manuf w/ same bbl length. That load could be 900fps, but in a 4" bbl, probably closer to 800fps.

 

[Sebago Son]

To clarify....

I traded for this gun after it had already been converted.

The front blade height is the origional for the .41 Magnum.

To find a load that would shoot to the sights I started at 9.0 Unique and reduced in .2 grain increments until the elevation was where I wanted it to be.

I really don't care much what velocity it is... but I suspect you may be correct.

Drew

 

[Bluelou]

I use blue dot for midrange 44 loads and they are sweet . Look in your manual for load data.

 

[alwslate]

I have tried Unique and W231 for midrange loads in my 4" S&W 29-2
and my 4 5/8" Ruger and I much prefer W231.