Best Modern Powder for 44 Mag?

[therifleman556]

I think I will pull them apart. I don't want to risk damaging a nice Smith (a 629 that I'm excited to take hunting ) I have a tendency to pick powders that work in multiple rounds for economy's sake; so I picked up some 800X today. Should work well with moderate .44 loads and do well in .45acp also.

[black mamba]

Longshot is excellent in my 6" mod. 629 Classic for midrange loads, and is economical in that it uses only about 60-70% as much powder as the slow burners, but gives 90% of the velocity.

For my max hunting loads I love Accurate 4100. Slower than #9 and 2400, slightly faster than L'il Gun and 110/296, it meters perfectly and shoots super clean and accurate. Enforcer is Ramshot's version of this same powder.

[bobwat]

Ramshot True Blue is a good powder for reduced 44 Mag loads. It is a very versatile powder and it meters extremely well. You can load a 240 grain bullet up to 1320 FPS but can load down to 1188 if you would like.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Another +1 for IMR 4227 & Win 296.

S/S

[buck460XVR]

Originally posted by stevelyn:

Possibly a blown up gun. H-110/W296 needs consistent, progressive pressure to burn properly starting with a heavy crimp and heavy bullets. When the charges are reduced too much you get a poor burn and weird pressure spikes.

Also if you are going to be out in cold weather for long periods of time, H-110/W296 is poor choice as it's cold sensitive. You need to use magnum primers or better yet use a powder like Lil'Gun or 4227 for cold weather heavy hitters.

The risk of downloading H110/W296 too low has nuttin to do with pressure spikes. It has to do with stickin' a bullet in the barrel and puttin' another one down the tube with it still in there. Same as with any powder. H110/W296 may have a narrow parameter, but it works very good in magnum handgun cartridges when used properly within that parameter. Follow the manuals and you won't have a problem. Don't follow the manuals and you will have a problem with any powder.

While H110/W296 may be a tad more temperature sensitive that other powders, I have sat out in -10 for hours and still put a 240gr JSP thru a deer's shoulders. Didn't blow my gun up...didn't go poof. I use magnum primers with it cause that's what the manual says.....not a big deal. They cost no more than standard primers and during the shortage were actually easier to find. In my long pipe revolvers and carbines I prefer IMR4227. It does not give me the extreme velocity of H110/W296, but it is very consistent and very accurate. It's a tad pricier that H110/W296 tho. I quit using Lil' Gun in my revolvers when the word spread of the premature forcing cone erosion it produces. It never gave me the accuracy of the other powders and caused my guns to get extremely hot, extremely fast when shooting them for any length of time at the range.

[chiefr]

I'll stick with 2400 & 296,110. They have been around for more than half a century and really get the job done. Rest can keep the change.

[Old Stony]

24 gr. of 296 with a 240 jacketed bullet is the classic load. I have shot that load for many years...along with 2400 for lead bullets. I see no reason to vary at this point as these 2 powders perform very well.

[therifleman556]

I'm a little excited to try out these loads with 800X/240 gr lswc; the starting load is 11.9 for a supposed 1200 ish fps. Load density is good and the powder metered well for me; looks like just what I am after.

[Rifleman1776]

I have tried and extensively used most of the pistol powders out there. But have settled on H110 as the best all-arounder. IMHO, none others are needed. This in my Redhawk .44 mag.

[Constrictor]

i love me some 2400 in my 44 mag loads. i almost equally like imr 4227 and winchester 296 but always go with 2400 because i slightly prefer it, and its cheaper. I would like to try that VN110 someday.

[Clark]

Burning H110/W296 smells better than burning LIL'GUN.

[Real Gun]

I have no experience but am starting to load and cast for .44 mag and have made what I hope is an informed decision what to buy or backorder in preferred powders, not just making do with what I can find to correspond with miscellaneous published loads.

In lead, I have 7-8 pounds of Bullseye, so I will stick with that as an economical starting point. I have one pounders of other possibilities but don't see any need to commit to any volume purchase at this point.

For jacketed, seriously magnum loads, which I will approach later, it looks to me like IMR4227 is not only a good choice to support my heavy .45 Colt loads as well as .44 Magnum, but one I see as available in larger containers and relatively economical quantities.

For now, I am loading 9.5 grains of Unique with 240 gr Magtech SJSP, and may get to shoot the gun for the first time between rain drops this week. Unique seems like the powder to have around, but I only have one pound bought locally.

My 240 SWC lead bullets are due to arrive today, on which I will be using Bullseye 5.0 and up.

p.s. I already have a supply of magnum primers.

[rclark]

I've settled on 10g of Unique for my general purpose .44Mag load under 240g SWC. I've never used H-110/296 because of its all or nothing range. I've loaded 19g of 2400 under 240g SWC for my 1200fps load. Works well.

I already have a supply of magnum primers.

If you don't know, magnum primers have nothing to do with a 'magnum' cartridge. The primer selection depends on the powder being used. For example H-110 and 4227 like a magnum primer. Unique, Bullseye, etc.... use the standard primers.

[Real Gun]

rclark - If you don't know, magnum primers have nothing to do with a 'magnum' cartridge. The primer selection depends on the powder being used. For example H-110 and 4227 like a magnum primer. Unique, Bullseye, etc.... use the standard primers.

Thanks. I believe I am pretty well informed on that point and stocked accordingly, small and large. My "lack of experience" is with my .44 Mag and .44 Special loading (and shooting).

[RC20]

2400 always provided the best results in 44 and 41 magnum for me.

I had (still do!) H110 and I disliked it. It never shot as good as the 2400 and it felt nastier recoil wise at same load (velocity) levels.

I quit using the H110. Others swear by it but I did not like it at all.

Maybe other powders are better these days but I doubt it, just different.

I got 1 1/4 inch 6 shot group out of the 41 with full loads a while back and that was with my old eyes not so good anymore for sight picture.

I just don't think there is any powder that beats that. Maybe equals but not beats. Also these days it may be what you can get though. I have enough 2400 to last me past the current shortage.

[GeauxTide]

Alliant Power Pro 300-MP is getting good reviews from Brian Pearce in 44mag and 45LC.

[madmo44mag]

I have been loading this round for 30 years now and tried them all and always come back to 2400 for mag loads.
I will say for light mag loads there are many that work well but for full bore magnum loads 2400 is my recommendation.
For lighter loads I prefer IMR 4227.
With a 240 grain jacketed bullet and 22.0 grains of 2400 the powder is less than 0.100 below the base of the bullet.
The gran size lends itself to a good even burn and with a good crimp complete ignition will occur.
A magnum primer is not require on a pistol with a 6 inch or longer barrel but under 6 inches a mag primer is a must.
Now with that said new loading manuals do not list 22.0 grains as a recommended load; at least no manuals I've seen in a while. Most are at the 20.0 grain limit.
Older manuals show up too almost 23.0 and in a Ruger I have never had a problem but I can't say that for the S&W 29 or 629.
I've blown 2 S&W up with the same loads I run in my Rugers.

And for those who load 357 mag if you never tried IMR 4227 @ 15.2 grain under a 158 grain bullet you should try it.
I have found it to be the most accurate shooting powder of any I have tried in 30 years in a 357 mag.

[Nick_C_S]

I've been using W296 (H110) for my hot 44 rounds for decades.

Sierra 240g JHP w/ 22.7g W296. Great round for my 8 3/8" S&W 629. I used to run it at 24.7, but backed it down 2 grains because I'm getting older and wiser. It's still plenty hot.

Another winner is Sierra 210g JHP w/ 25.0g W296. Backed down from 25.5, and still plenty hot.

(CCI 350 primers - always)

[wncchester]

Unique and 2400 work well for down loaded ammo but H-110 is the choice for full power loads.

[rclark]

Ramshot True Blue is a good powder for reduced 44 Mag loads. It is a very versatile powder and it meters extremely well. You can load a 240 grain bullet up to 1320 FPS but can load down to 1188 if you would like.

FYI, actually 1188 isn't the low end... I just finished testing True Blue from 9.0g (976fps) up to 12g (1225fps) under 240g SWC. The powder does meter extremely well and is consistent (ES only exceeded 30fps in one test) . I wish the powder was more 'common' on the store shelves.

[Real Gun]

I shot my .44 Mag for the first time today. Went great, and I love this gun and caliber. I shot my down loaded reloads of 9.5 g Unique but moved right on to two kinds of purchased ammo, more like REAL .44 Magnum.

I am confident now and ready to load some medium performance rounds. Fiirst off will be Bullseye with 240 g SWC, 5.0g, 6.0, and 7.0 respectively. I am waiting for extra primer trays for the magnum primers, so I can start with the Bullseye in the meantime using LPP.

I have 200 and 240 g XTP, for which I will load Power Pro 300-MP and IMR4227.

[iraiam]

+1 on the H110 for the 44 mag, although I have been out of it and unable to find more.

I did find 4 pounds of WC820 milsurp powder, I was told to use H110 loading data by the seller. I worked up my favorite 240 grain bullet load with the WC820 and got to the same powder charge with no signs of pressure, I haven't chronograph-ed it yet, but judging from recoil, velocity should be very similar.

[57K]

For medium velocity to loads just short of full magnum, I doubt that True Blue can be beat and many reloaders, even the very experienced haven't gotten around to trying it. It's very small in physical size while being very dense, you're not likely to find a powder that will meter better. I've been using it since 2001.

[Rifleman1776]

I was told to use H110 loading data

That is a very dangerous practice. The "I was told" source of information is often incorrect. People get numbers mixed up and their opinions may, or may not, be safe.
Only using a modern reloading manual can give proper starting loads.
I never try to memorize loads. Before every loading session, even though I have done the same load many times before, I go to the book or my notebook for the load to use.
For the same reason I never post loading data here when asked. My memory is no better than someone elses.

[iraiam]

That is a very dangerous practice. The "I was told" source of information is often incorrect. People get numbers mixed up and their opinions may, or may not, be safe.
Only using a modern reloading manual can give proper starting loads.

I purchased this surplus powder from a reputable dealer who supplied me with the exact burn rate of the powder and starting load recipes. Perhaps I should have been more clear on "I was told".

You are correct though, I have heard there are some lots of WC820 that burn faster than H110, in which case the supplied data would be different. I do have published data for many milsurp powders, but it also has different recipes for the same powders, based on the burn rate.