New 44Mag plinking load

To each his/her own; but I shoot full power loads in all my magnum handguns. I can handle those loads and I know where those bullets will hit whether at 25 yards or 200 yards. For plinking, I shoot 22 rimfire! Why own a magnum when you don't use it as such!

I'm not going to try to answer for the OP but I will tell you about a friend. He is on a fixed income and can't afford to buy many guns. He loads ammo for his .44 Magnum at full power for when needed but sometimes you just want to plink with your favorite gun. In those times he loads what amounts to a stiff .44 Special for a fun day of shooting. I don't think you should judge what others do by your circumstances.

BKS, thank you for your post. Good shooting and that load looks good. Well done...
 
7.0 - 7.5 gr of TiteGroup and any 240 gr cast shoots real nice and clean out of my .44Mag. Plenty of thump, and easy on the shooter.
 
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I've been using 8.5 gr of CFE-P under 240 gr LSWC for several years with great accuracy. It's easy on me and the gun and will still knock down a 55 lb steel ram at 200 meters.
Starline cases have been loaded 18 times with just one split and WLP primers. Talk about stretching a dollar...:cool:
 
Loaded some more 231 in the 44 today. I loaded a series of 185gr XTPs, Hornady's start load is 10.0 grs. The top 44spl load is around 7.0, I believe, I loaded some (Mag)at 9.5, 10.0, 10.5grs.
Shot one of the 9.5gr loads today and it is VERY manageable.
I hope to Chrono them tomorrow maybe.

I'm looking for a load to duplicate a 45acp 185gr XTP.
 
Loaded some more 231 in the 44 today. I loaded a series of 185gr XTPs, Hornady's start load is 10.0 grs. The top 44spl load is around 7.0, I believe, I loaded some (Mag)at 9.5, 10.0, 10.5grs.
Shot one of the 9.5gr loads today and it is VERY manageable.
I hope to Chrono them tomorrow maybe.

I'm looking for a load to duplicate a 45acp 185gr XTP.

The discontinued Hornady Custom 180gr XTP in 44 Special was rated at 1,000 fps.

The 45acp 185gr Hornady XTP in either their American Gunner or Black lines are under 1,000 fps: that 9.5gr of 231 should be way in excess of 1,200 fps with an 180gr XTP...:eek:

Nice to hear that it is manageable: ENJOY!

Cheers!
 
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So I chronographed the loads today.
3" Model 629-6
51 Degrees
20ft to Chrono

9.5grs of W231 w/ 180gr XTP
Average of 10 Shots 996fps
ES 48 fps
SD 15fps

10grs of W231 w/ 180gr XTP
Average of 10 shots 1074 fps
ES 90fps
SD 27fps

10.5grs of W231 w/180gr XTP
Average of 10 shots 1079fps
ES 42fps
SD 14fps

I shot through the chronograph into a target at 15yards, with 3 different powder charges they all went into one large hole about 2-2 1/2".

Shot another 38 rounds at a 25 yards target. Recoil is not bad, you know you are touching off something. My 3" Ahrend's combat grips on it. No fireball, all cases ejected smoothly. All ammo loaded at the same time, same machine, new brass, Remington 2 1/2 primers. etc.

Someone please help me with the ES/SD.
The 10.0 / 10.5 loads are really close but in the 10.5gr load the spreads are narrower. Does that make it a better load? Does it mean that in this situation, the powder has reached its "useable" loading?

Next will be to test expansion, but it will be a few days, cold weather coming.
 
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To each his/her own; but I shoot full power loads in all my magnum handguns. I can handle those loads and I know where those bullets will hit whether at 25 yards or 200 yards. For plinking, I shoot 22 rimfire! Why own a magnum when you don't use it as such!

Believe it or not, you'll get old one day and appreciate the advantages of handloading down.
In the '80's we used to shoot nukes all day long in .44's, 45's and .454 Casull. Dick (Casull) gave us a load that pushed a 260gr bullet at 2000fps. He actually went up to 2200fps. I can appreciate the preference for power as we hunted with these loads. I still have those revolvers and routinely load them down to more comfortable levels. That way I can still appreciate a finely made machine without the power I once preferred.
 
BKS: Well, the Hodgdons estimated fps was from an 8+" barrel: your original post indicated barrels longer than the 3" you chrono'ed (spelling?)... That's what my "excess of 1,200 fps" comment was based upon.

Wonder what the velocities from the 8 3/8 & 6.5" barrels might be?

Cheers!
 
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Yes Sir. I thought they would be faster too.

No sweat.

I just put those on this post instead of making another. I will run them through a 5" gun when it returns from the gunsmith. I sold my 8 3/8" and am having the 6.5" gun fitted with a 5" barrel to match my 625.

I may go up a 1/4 to 1/2 grain more and test it. Be about the limit of what I want to shoot out of that 3" gun with the wood grips. I shot just over a 100rds today without a problem.

I may just stay with my 5.5-6.0 load and a 240swc. I may also get some full wadcutters to try also.
 
Actually your right where you should be velocity wise with those 180gr xtp"s.

A link to the lyman 48th reloading manual (free download), on page #352 lyman has load data for the 44mag/ww231 using a 4" barrel.
http://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Man...ding Handbook - 48th Edition - 2002 - ocr.pdf

The 44cal's (44mag/44spl) are fantastic cartridges. Unfortunately they are also the most misunderstood/mis-used cartridges for the last 40+ years. Dirty harry and full house loads are the modern 44mag. The 44spl has been tossed to the wayside since the 60's.

The 44spl/mag has always been known for their accuracy. What most shooters don't realize is just how easy to control the lighter 44mag loads are. What light loads like your 5.5gr/ww231/240gr bullet bring to the table is a target load that can be shot 1 handed (nra style bullseye) that has a power factor in the +/- 190 range.

Duster340 is a member on this website that had a nice collection of 44cal wc molds. Perhaps you could do a search and see if he listed any good/bad loads/testing. I've owned a lot of 44cal wc molds over the years, this is the last batch I owned.
iMopAGs.jpg


Of those wc's/hbwc's pictured above, I sold 3 of them off and still own the 200gr and 220gr molds. The 200gr wc pictured above is a type III wc that was cast from an old cramer nose pour mold. The 220gr cast wc is actually a 220gr hbwc.

6.0gr to 6.5gr of clays and any 180gr to 250gr cast bullet in 44mag cases produce extremely accurate loads. That 200gr nose pour wc (perfect bullet bases every cast bullet) is a type III style wc that has a tapered nose that excellent for bullet/forcing cone alignment. 25yd 6-shot test group
Odat3uD.jpg


Low pressure loads and cast bullets in the 44mag (16,000psi or less):
Typically you want to look for bullets that are made with low bhn alloys. You also want small bottom drive bands/bullet bases and square lube grooved bullets if you can find them. The short bullet base/bottom drive band will collapse/seal faster than it's larger counterpart increasing velocity. Same with a soft alloy VS hard alloy along with a square lube groove will collapse at less pressure than a rounded lube groove.

Both these bullets are cast with 8/9bhn alloy and then pc'd. The red bullet is a 245gr Keith style swc hp. The green bullet is the cramer 200gr wc.
wf9hieh.jpg


I used those 2 bullets to do a little testing with a 2 1/2" bbl'd charter arms bulldog/44spl. I used 8.0gr of power pistol with both bullets which is a standard pressure 15,000psi load. I wanted to see if these loads would hit to the poa @ 25ft using a 6-oclock hold on the small white inner circle of the target.
ld6RTZd.jpg


While 5 shots aren't definitive by any means, that target pictured above was very telling.

Both bullets used the same load. The swc is heavier and seats deeper in the case (less case volume ='s more pressure). Yet the 200gr wc had a higher velocity. This is because of the smaller bottom drive band/bullet base being more efficient sealing faster/better so less gas/pressure escaped with the short start pressure of the load.

The other thing that target told me it was defiantly time to get rid of the wood grips. The heavier longer bodied bullet had more twist/grabbed the rifling better. My grip/hands aren't what they used to be and the revolver was twisting in my hand (low right group).

Anyway something to think about. Low pressure loads ='s small bases with lube grooves that collapse easily and soft alloys.
 
Does anyone use IMR4227 or H110 for their 44Mag rifle loads? Looking at all my reloading manuals, these powder show up frequently. And, maybe just as important, I've got a couple of pounds on hand. :)
 
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