Two SLOW loads...

[tube_ee]

And I mean really slow.

.45 Colt: 4.4 grains Clays, 230 grain LRN, Federal magnum primer (that's what we had)

Hodgdon says 734 fps.

Chrony says... ~500 out of a 7" Uberti Schofield replica.

.44 Special: 3.5 grains Clays, 200 grain LRNFP, Fed. mag primer.

Hodgdon says 748 fps.

Chrony says... ~550 from a 5 1/2" Old Model Super Blackhawk.

Now, I expect a load to shoot a bit slower out of a real gun than from a test fixture, but 1/3 slower? That's a lot. The only thing we could think of is that the magnum primers started the bullets moving a bit faster than a standard cap would, thus expanding the effective case volume at the moment of ignition and driving pressures down... but that's a logic chain I've got no way to verify.

Any idears??

--Shannon

[1911 Shooter]

did you run the chrono on a cloudy day ?? chronos like sunlight.

[Nnobby45]

did you run the chrono on a cloudy day ?? chronos like sunlight.

Nope. Chrono's are at their best on a cloudy day. The hoods create diffused light to immitate clouds. That's why they're called diffuser hoods. On cloudy days, you're good (I mean solid clouds--not broken)---use the rods for reference. Leave off the hoods.
Any waterfowler knows that ducks show up well on cloudy days and hard to see on blue sky. Same for the sensors in the chrono.

On sunny days, the chrono can be placed in the shade (solid shade only--otherwise leave it in the open).

On sunny days, I tilt my chrono toward the sun, which I don't want behind me. For late risers like me, that means to the right in the afternoon. Sun in front is ok. Behind you isn't good.



.44 Special vel. in the 750 fps range sounds on the money for target loads. If your extreme spread and SD's are good, then I'm betting your chrono was accurate.
I've noticed with .44 Spec., shooting my M21, a clean gun produces lower vel. than than after a couple cylinders have been shot thru it.

[tube_ee]

screens in place. Chrony is not in doubt, as it has been used many times before and worked well.

Note that the ~750 velocities are what Hodgdon's data showed. The chrony told a different story, about 200 fps slower.

The .45 Colts were the slowest, with a couple of rounds under 500 fps. .44 Specials were running about 30-50 fps faster, despite less barrel. Both were around 30% under the book velocity. That's a lot, hence the wondering why.

Lack of speed aside, me likey Clays. Metered like a champ out of a Lee Perfect, burned clean. The only thing I don't like is the 14 oz "pound". That by itself is enough to keep me using Green Dot for shotgun and light wheelgun loads. Dad doesn't like any "dot" powder, and we were loading for his guns, so Clays was the choice.

Needless to say, both loads were absolute pussycats. A joy to shoot. My wife darned near monopolized the Blackhawk. She even shot some midrange (Unique) .44 Magnum loads... and liked it. She shot them, enjoyed it, and didn't go any farther than she was comfortable with. That's key, guys. Don't try to push the envelope, and don't lie about recoil. "These kick a lot more, would you like to try them?" is about as far as you should go.

--Shannon

[Nnobby45]

.44 S&W Special
S&W M21 Thunder Ranch 4"

240 gr. Oregon Trail SWC
4.5 gr. Titegroup, WLP

Chrono: Competition Electronics Pro Digital
H----------743
L----------729
A----------736
ES--------14
SD------- 4

Accurate, pleasant to shoot.
---------------------------------------
Berry 200 gr. FP (plated)
5.8 Titegroup, WLP

H 843
L 791
A 824
ES 52
SD 21

Snappy, not bad, feels like a .44.

Google up .44 Special Handloads, or something similar, and you'll find quite of few sites listing loads for .44 Special with different powders and bullet weights.

[1911 Shooter]

thanks for the heads up nnoby, I have recieved bad intell