reloading 44mag with Bullseye

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The Handgunner

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Hi, I 'm going to reload my 44mag's for the first time.

bullets: Remington 240 grain Semi jacketed Soft Point ( flat Nose)
or similar of another brand.

Primers : CCI 350 Large Pistol Primers for Magnum Loads .

I bought Bullseye Gunpowder.

I want a Magnum load. ( that 's why it a Magnum Caliber...)

My gun is a S&W 29DX 6 3/4 inch .

my question: what load(s) do you guys recommend ? :rolleyes:

Thanks, and greetings from Belgium
 
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Greetings from the Low Country of South Carolina. Your choice of Bullseye powder is not optimum for magnum loads in .44 Mag. It is a very fast burning powder which can be used in light loads with standard primers, but absolutely can not be used for heavy loads. Better choices are n-105, 296, 2400, Accurate #9, etc.
 
Umm..ummm..Well I am certain that the 44 mag can be loaded with bullseye..it is certainly NOT a magnum load powder. If you have a reloading manual(and you should)..look up some loads in the manual near what you want as far as velocity and find a SUITABLE powder for that range of velocity. There will be more than one I am certain. Belgium?? I was there once or twice. Nice place to visit..but too many people...But I was in Bozeman Mt the other day..and I can say the same for it..too many people
 
To the OP, buy a reloading manual and study it thoroughly before proceeding. The Lyman, 59th Ed. is a good place to start, and has an excellent tutorial section.

Bullseye is a fast powder for very light loads, typically .38 SPL or .44 SPL with swaged wadcutters, loaded to less than 800 fps (at which point lead will strip off the bullet like Christmas tinsel).

Bullseye is a funky, double-based powder with a high percentage of nitroglycerine. It is prone to pressure spiking, and I would never consider using a magnum primer with it. A pinch of powder (e.g., < 4 grains) in an oversize cartridge is a prescription for inconsistent ignition.

The alternative is to learn to write with your left hand before going to the range with overheated Bullseye loads.
 
The Handgunner said:
Hi, I 'm going to reload my 44mag's for the first time.

bullets: Remington 240 grain Semi jacketed Soft Point ( flat Nose)
or similar of another brand.

Primers : CCI 350 Large Pistol Primers for Magnum Loads .

I bought Bullseye Gunpowder.

I want a Magnum load. ( that 's why it a Magnum Caliber...)

My gun is a S&W 29DX 6 3/4 inch .

my question: what load(s) do you guys recommend ? :rolleyes:

Thanks, and greetings from Belgium
Click to expand...
6.5gr will get you about 850fps - squarely in 44wussy range.
 
bullseye kinda sucks in 44 mag unless we are loading full wad cutters.
the canonical mild load is 8 grains of Unique.
Of late, Id amend that to include power pistol as being an excellent powder in this role as well.

but you want full thunder magnum loads ....
you have the wrong powder for this task.
that will be H110, 296, 2400, lilgun, or 300MP.
 
Thanks for the advice. But there was not much choise in the gunshop at the time I bought the Bullseye. 44mag was in the catalogue, so I bought it.
Can I use it for .44/40 Winchester cowboy-loads instead.
I'll buy a suitable powder for the Mag loads . in another shop.

Thank you very much
 
Just looked in my Lyman 48th that I keep here on my desk. No loads for Bullseye in .44 Magnum for any weight jacketed bullet. I know some of my older manuals have Bullseye because I did it way back when , but not for Magnum loads. Like mentioned above Bullseye is a pretty fast powder and not suitable for large capacity Magnum cartridges other than "pip-squeek" type loads. For reloading my .44 Magnums I have several more appropriate powders; Unique. Universal, Blue Dot, True Blue, 2400 and WC820.

You may find some .44 Special load data using Bullseye in your manuals that you could try in Magnum brass (very carefully and with starting/light loads)
 
Last edited:
I can't believe what I just read...well, yes I can.

Data from Alliant powders reloading guides, 2004 and 2005...

.44 mag. 240 JSP bullets, Max. load of Bullseye is 8.9 grains. Advertised velocity is 1,215 fps, advertised pressure is 34,700 psi.

Reduce these loads by 10% and carefully work your way up. Bullseye is a nitro based powder and doesn't need magnum primers to ignite it. If you do use yours, you might want to reduce a little more than 10% and stop below the max. charge listed above. Remember, their velocity and pressure doesn't really mean your load will perform the same, never exceed their maximum charge.
 
Last edited:
Jellybean said:
I can't believe what I just read...well, yes I can.

Data from Alliant powders reloading guides, 2004 and 2005...

.44 mag. 240 JSP bullets, Max. load of Bullseye is 8.9 grains. Advertised velocity is 1,215 fps, advertised pressure is 34,700 psi.

Reduce these loads by 10% and carefully work your way up. Bullseye is a nitro based powder and doesn't need magnum primers to ignite it. If you do use yours, you might want to reduce a little more than 10% and stop below the max. charge listed above. Remember, their velocity and pressure doesn't really mean your load will perform the same, never exceed their maximum charge.
Click to expand...
What barrel length?
 
Sir, personally I would never use Bullseye for either .44 Magnum or
.44-40. Shop hard for 2400. It is IMHO the best propellant for both cartridges.
Good luck
Jim
 
jimbo728 said:
Sir, personally I would never use Bullseye for either .44 Magnum or
.44-40. Shop hard for 2400. It is IMHO the best propellant for both cartridges.
Good luck
Jim
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say never. Just manage your expectations. In a world short of pistol powder, I tend to buy whatever I can and use it in which ever way works best. Bullseye in a .44 Magnum case will produce .44 SPL ballistics. Just realize that's all your going to get out of it. It'll be fine for target shooting.
 
bwxmas said:
Hence the word.
Caution!

Alliant Manuals
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, no worries. I was just shocked as to how different their data is then vs now. I used Hodgdons data for W231 for 200gr in a 44 Mag case. Their max load barely got the bullet out of the barrel. Unburned powder everywhere. Went back a few decades to the older info, and problem solved.
 
The Handgunner said:
Thanks for the advice. But there was not much choise in the gunshop at the time I bought the Bullseye. 44mag was in the catalogue, so I bought it.
Can I use it for .44/40 Winchester cowboy-loads instead.
I'll buy a suitable powder for the Mag loads . in another shop.

Thank you very much
Click to expand...

Yes, Bullseye works very well in light 44-40 Winchester loads. You did not list the bullet weight you intend to use, or if it is lead or jacketed. You can send me a PM with that information, and I will send you that data. What kind of 44-40 do you have? I have an Uberti Colt SAA copy.

Bullseye will work for light 44 Magnum loads, preferably with a lead bullet.
 
SLT223 said:
Yeah, yeah, no worries. I was just shocked as to how different their data is then vs now. I used Hodgdons data for W231 for 200gr in a 44 Mag case. Their max load barely got the bullet out of the barrel. Unburned powder everywhere. Went back a few decades to the older info, and problem solved.
Click to expand...

The only real difference now is......
The lawyers have gotten involved in reloading.
 
Saw a Model 29 blown up with a double charge of BE years ago, much better powders for the .44 as mentioned above, 2400,296/H110, Unique...
 
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