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Old October 3, 2012, 08:09 AM   #1
cw308
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S&W Mod.29 44 Mag. target load

Revolver has a 8 3/8" brl., scoped, I reload. Do not shoot 44 Spl. leaves a burn mark in the cylinder. Looking for a light safe load for the 44 Mag. indoor shooting range.
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Old October 3, 2012, 09:12 AM   #2
Slamfire
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I shot a 240 L with 8.5 grains Unique in my M629-5 Classic with a five inch barrel. My revolver is tight and the load clocks just at 1000 fps, not a plinking in my opinion. It was an accurate and powerful load.

I believe the load could be cut to 7.5 grains, maybe 7.0 grains Unique with a lead bullet and that might get the velocity down to 44 Spl levels.

I have not tried Bullseye in the 44 Mag, I have shot 240's with Bullseye in the 44 Spl, those moved around 750 fps, and it was a mild but accurate load.
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Old October 3, 2012, 09:29 AM   #3
chiefr
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I have been loading 14.5 gr of 2400 behind lead SWCs between 240-255gr. This is a mild load. I have shot 1" groups with an 8,3/8 model 29.
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Old October 3, 2012, 10:40 AM   #4
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lighter bullets + faster powder = less recoil which is what target loads are all about.

There are bullets as light as 180 gr. for the cartridge.
The worry about using faster powders is that it is possible to get distracted while loading and double charge the case.

I like N-340 with the 180 gr. bullet but use mostly Lil Gun which fills the case better and does not produce unreasonable recoil--but I don't mind recoil as much as a lot of other people I know.

I stopped buying magnum primers for this cartridge some time ago and have not noticed any difference in accuracy--which may be a commentary on how accurately I shoot a handgun .............or not
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Old October 3, 2012, 07:47 PM   #5
fishbones182
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punching paper with a 44 mag try 6.5 to 7 grains of unique. If you want a little stouter round you could go to 9 grains that packs plenty of punch for what ever you would want to do.
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Old October 3, 2012, 08:07 PM   #6
Mr.RevolverGuy
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8.5gr of Hodgdon Universal is very accurate this is a middle of the road load according to the paper back 2012 hodgdon manual which shows a max load of 10.2gr.
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Old October 4, 2012, 09:36 AM   #7
Slamfire
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Looking at my July issue of Handloader, pg 33, with a load of 7.0 grains Unique and an RCBS 44-250-KT mold, the author got 737 fps in a 5.5 inch barrel 44 Mag. Group size was 1.52 inches at 25 yards, which makes it the best with that bullet.

Max load with Unique was 10 grains at 1,089 fps.

In a scoped 8 3/8" barreled revolver, the first load would have hardly any recoil.
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Old October 4, 2012, 10:04 AM   #8
Edward429451
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8.0 gr of Unique and almost any 240 gr lead boolit shoots very well in multiple different 44 Mags for me including my RH, SBH and two different 29-2s. This is a light load and very accurate. This load clocks at 953 fps (7.5" RH), and 975 fps (7.5" SBH) I use the 245 gr Lyman Keith boolit for these as a rule, but have used a few different 240s of different make with almost the same results.
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Old October 4, 2012, 04:22 PM   #9
testuser
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I've had good luck with 5.4 grains of Bullseye under a 240 grain plated bullet in a .44 magnum case. The load is directly from Alliant's website (6.0 grains max)

733 FPS from a 4 inch barrel and an extreme spread of 27 fps.
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Old October 4, 2012, 05:54 PM   #10
fishbones182
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Quote:
Max load with Unique was 10 grains at 1,089 fps
I have gone as high as 11 grains of Unique with no negitive results. I mostly stick to 7.4 or 8 grain loads of Unique and am happy with those results.
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Old October 4, 2012, 05:57 PM   #11
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I have a load that my 5, 8 and 10 years old granddaughters like (I've been loading it for 37 years now).
Loaded in mag length brass, 5.6gr of 231, standard primers and 240 grain cast lead bullets. Gives 650 to 700 FPS at 10 feet from the muzzle, depending upon the weapon I'm using.
Soft enough to shoot all day, enough authority to keep things interesting for old men and girls 8-)

Be safe,

OSOK
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Old October 4, 2012, 07:08 PM   #12
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185 gr DBBWC over Trailboss powder. Cuts a nice hole and very mild. I use them in 44 mag brass in the magnum and special brass in the special. Nice. May not be able to shoot lead in an indoor range tho.
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Old October 4, 2012, 07:26 PM   #13
GeauxTide
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I've used 8.0gr of Unique under 240s for longer than I can remember in 44M and 44SPL. Hits whatever I'm pointing at.
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