Powder Choices for .45 Colt & .44 Magnum?

[Freeloader Reloader]

I have a friend who wants me to load some .45 Colt and .44 Magnum target ammo for him. I am already loading .44 Magnum for my mentor who got me infected with this very enjoyable "interest" that is the only thing that keeps me sane since my retirement. For him I load with Blue Dot on a Dillon RL550B progressive press. I really enjoy it and am looking forward to loading more for my friend. I will be looking for powder for him at my very first gunshow next weekend. Went through my books and found 15 powders recommended for .44 Magnum loads and about 10 for .45 Colt. I thought this would be a good question to put out on the forum to take advantage of all the experience available out there. So, how about it? Care to voice an opinion of your favorite powder for these two calibers> I don't have a gun of either caliber so I don't have any opinion other than I just love to reload. I do load 9mm, .38 Special/.357 Magnum and .38 Long Colt. Hope to get a .45ACP one of these days and load some of those Fat Boys too.

[lamarw]

I can only refer to the .45 Colt since I do not own a .44 Magnum. I prefer Unique and as a second choice with a little less umph is Winchester 231. Red dot would be a distant third in these days of powder choices. Although I have a good supply of Unique and 231.

[AlaskaMike]

Powder choice is completely dependent on the type of load you're going for. Midrange? Light plinker? Full house barn burner?

For full power .44 magnum, my first choice is 296/H110. 2400, AA9, & N110 are also very good.

For SAA level .45 Colt loads, Unique is hands down the classic favorite. As Lamarw mentions, 231 is also very good, along with all the other powders on the faster end of the burn rate chart.

[madmo44mag]

Can’t speak to the 45LC but 44 mag my go to powders for mid range and magnum 44 loadings are Alliant 2400 and IMR4227

All info based on a 240gn bullet.
Now 44 mag works best with the case filled so when you start to use faster burning powders and or down loading slower burning powders the accuracy and performance suffers.

For a plinker / range round I load 44 spl on the hot side.
This gives me a nice round in 44 cal without the heavy recoil of a magnum load.
Now that said Alliant Power Pistol loaded at 7.6gn has snappy recoil in 44 spl and does a good job. Lighter recoil than a mag round but heavier than most other powders loaded in 44spl.
7.6 Is listed on the Alliant web site for 44spl.
I bump it up to 8.5 with great results in 44 spl.

I worked a mag load up with Power Pistol and sent that load data to Alliant who gave the thumbs up. That load was 13.5gn under a 240gn plated bullet.

Always work up your loads from light to heavy and never jump more than 0.5gn at a time.

[salvadore]

I use titegroup for my .45 Colt loads. For accuracy I try to match throat size and bullet diameter rather than groove diameter, also a softer lead bullet might give an edge on gas cutting if things aren't exactly right. My Uberti gives best accuracy with .451/2 sized cast bullet which is inaccurate in my Colt. My Colt likes Remington swaged 250s which are soft and has a .455 diameter, perfect for the larger Colt throats.

[Freeloader Reloader]

I knew I was doing the right thing posting that question on the forum. So nice to be able to hear you guys opinion from all over the country. I'm going through all my books and trying to see which powders are more prevalent and for which bullet weight. Then I just have to see what, if any, of those will be available at the gun show. Thanks again for all the info. I really appreciate it.

[Mike Irwin]

I don't have a .44 Magnum, but when I got my .45 Long Colt it was recommended that I try Universal Clays.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with it.

[GeauxTide]

For both, Unique or Power Pistol. 9 grains of Unique or PP in either.

[rclark]

For .44Mag I've settled on Unique for general loads and 2400 for Magnum loads. Now, W296/H-110, while a good powder, has to narrow of usage band for my tastes.

For .45 Colt I've settled on Green Dot for general loads, and HS-6 for more woods load. Unique, Universal, 20/28 work very well too. Unique being the 'standard' .45 Colt powder down through the years... True Blue is another one I like along with 4227. List goes on.... I tested a bunch of powder (and do) so that when things get tight with my favorites, I have other powders I can fall back on.

{edited } .44 Special goto powders are: Unique | Universal | 20/28 .

BTW, you'll get 50 different responses from 50 shooters as we all have different preferences .

[WESHOOT2]

HS6


Okay, this one will provide more velocity than true 'target' loads. So test Titegroup instead.....

[oldpapps]

Simple, 231/HP38 for target level and 2400 for a stiffer level. I hesitate anything for heavys, as I don't know what type of .45 the Colt round is to be used in. H110/296 for the 44s. Using 231/HP38, a 240 grain 44 can be pushed hard. But for target stuff, I would keep it light.

Load with care and enjoy,

OSOK

[Ozzieman]

30+ years ago I was turned on to Herco for 44 special. Grant you its made for shotgun but it works very well in big bore guns. It gives the best accuracy in my single action 45’s and 44 mags. It also dose a nice job filling the case even with light loads. It does not work well in the 44 mag rifle.
Other than that W231 which I use a lot.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/powder/herco.aspx

[zxcvbob]

Another vote for Herco.

[Gster]

Can't help with the .44, but for .45 Colt I use Tite Group with jacketed bullets and for lead I've become very fond of Trail Boss.

[lamarw]

When I stated powder choices, it was meant as dry powder humor. This is why I listed three. I see fellow forum members expanded upon the list. We pretty much have to work with what we have on hand or can find.

I am fortunate to have stocked up on the three I mentioned before the shortage. My current go to powder for .45 Colt is Unique.

[black mamba]

HP38 (or Win 231) has been the best for me in both calibers, with both cast and jacketed bullets, for mild to medium power loads. It does become more clean burning the hotter you load it, but accuracy is great across the spectrum.

[buck460XVR]

My suggestion is to show your friend how to reload, how to use the manuals, then let him pick his powder and projectiles and roll his own.

Any suggestions given here need to be verified by a manual anyway. However a combo performs in another's firearm does not guarantee it will work well in your friends gun. Common knowledge tells us that the only way to make a good load for any firearm is by trial and error and making adjustments, even with the best of suggestions. First stop along the way to any good load and it's development is your manuals.

[BigJimP]

I won't recommend you load for anyone else either...friend or otherwise...its not a good idea in my view...( liability, etc )...

For .44 Mag....primarily I use TiteGroup ..with Jacketed bullets / not plated. I have tested Hodgdon Universal as well...with good results too.

TiteGroup is too fast for plated bullets...so I would use Universal with plated bullets like Xtreme or Rainier. For a true jacketed bullet, like Montana Gold, pushing them above 1200 fps is ok ...so TiteGroup is what I use.

[Freeloader Reloader]

I want to thank all of you guys for all the information and opinions. It has been very helpful. I understand what you are saying about the liability issues of loading ammo for a friend. I understand that and have thought about it as well. I won't be loading a huge quantity of this ammo and it will all be for target shooting only. I am sure I won't be using any maximum pressure loads and nothing for hunting or self defense either. I already load .44 mags for the guy who got me started in this field and I always check with him whenever I come up with a load and, if I can borrow my friend's guns or make a trip to the range with him, will surely test fire all loads that I work up. I have a number of different loading manuals and always try to crosscheck my loads from more than one source. I am pretty diligent when it comes to reloading, bordering almost on anal-retentive. I love record keeping and I love production work...don't ask me why. He will be getting into reloading when he retires and I will be more than glad to infect him with the "disease" the same way I was infected. Look forward to all of your comments and helpful information. A virtual goldmine!

[twobit]

For 45 colt I use Unique and Trailboss for target rounds. For hunting/defensive rounds I use Unique to push Gold Dot Deep Curl bullets.

All the above is assuming I can find those powders and bullets in stock. Hard to do now days!

[Webleymkv]

Never owned or loaded for .45 Long Colt, so I can't help you there. I do, however, own and load for .44 Magnum. My .44 Magnum loads, however, are not what I would consider to be mild "target" loads as that's what .44 Special is for in my mind. My favorite "general purpose" .44 Magnum load is 20 gr of Alliant 2400, Winchester primer, and a Lyman 429421 hardcast bullet (the classic Keith bullet). A word of caution though, while this is slightly under the book maximum according to my manuals, it does flatten the primers slightly in my revolver so you'd be well served to back down to 18 gr or so and work up slowly.

[RC20]

2400 was my chocie for the 44 magnum when I had it.

H110 was the other go to in those days, I did not like it, but others feel its good so would defer on that one.

I also used Unique in the 44 special loads (which I still have).

May well need some choices as what you want vs whats available

[Wrangler5]

If I had to load for someone else, I would only agree to do it with Trail Boss. As long as you don't compress it, even if you fill the case won't blow up a gun.

[Crankylove]

I use Herco, Red Dot, and Tite Group for my .45 Colt loads, depends on which one I have on hand, or is closest on the shelf.

[sourdough44]

I would load modest loads with a medium speed powder, since it's for another and all.

I'd look for powder in the AA-5, Unique, H Universal range. They would do fine.