44 Special/mag loads

dreadnaught · January 25, 2001, 08:00 AM

I'm having trouble with leading in my Vaqueros and feeding in my Winchester 94 I use for Cowboy Shooting. The thought occured to me to load with 44 Magnum brass to 44 Special specs to meet CAS rules. Good idea? recipe for disaster?

WESHOOT2 · January 25, 2001, 09:11 AM

First, shoot 10,000 jacketed rounds through the barrel(s) that's leading.

Second, change bullet brands ( http://www.bull-x.com ).

Third, good idea to load 44 Mag cases for 44 Mag gun(s). Try TiteGroup for you Cowboy loads.

sundog · January 25, 2001, 12:57 PM

dreadnaught, I've shot a ton of Lyman 429667s through my Bisley Vaqueros and Rossi 92. No leading! Break in on these guns was about a hunert rounds each with jacket stuff. I used to use super moly lube, but now use home made. I have had excellent results with Unique in the 44 Spl cases and Green Dot in the mag cases-loads are on the Alliant web site, although many other powders would work equally well I am sure.

Hardness does not necessarily equate to no leading. It could be other things causing your problem such as the throat, velocity, or maybe the bullets are TOO hard. Yup, that's right.

btw, the Lyman 429667 is a flat round nose that feeds lever guns like there's no tomorrow. sundog

Hal · January 25, 2001, 05:42 PM

http://recipes.alliantpowder.com/index2.html

Check out the Cowboy data and you'll find loads for the .44Mag that are at the same level as the .44Special in the regular section. I use a modest charge of 2400 under a swaged lead 240 gr Hornady bullet(softer than cast) w/no leading. I had the same leading problems using Unique. My guess was the Unique burned faster/hotter and was melting the base of the bullet. I get more velocity out of the 2400 w/no leading.

big89foot · January 26, 2001, 09:14 AM

Hodgdon.com also has cowboy loads for .44mag They show loads for H-38 (which is the same as Winchester 231) at about half the normal/hunting load, which makes it fall into the .44sp range. I've used this data in my vaqueros with great success in mag brass. 5.8 - 6.0 grains of W231 with 200gr lead is a real mild load and I've had minimal leading with cheap, soft bullets.

dreadnaught · January 26, 2001, 01:24 PM

Type slower! I'm writing all this stuff down!

dreadnaught · January 26, 2001, 01:45 PM

Just got back from Alliant.com. Very educational.

January 25, 2001, 08:00 AM	#1
dreadnaught Member Join Date: November 7, 2000 Posts: 89	I'm having trouble with leading in my Vaqueros and feeding in my Winchester 94 I use for Cowboy Shooting. The thought occured to me to load with 44 Magnum brass to 44 Special specs to meet CAS rules. Good idea? recipe for disaster? __________________ Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things.

January 25, 2001, 09:11 AM	#2
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	First, shoot 10,000 jacketed rounds through the barrel(s) that's leading. Second, change bullet brands ( http://www.bull-x.com ). Third, good idea to load 44 Mag cases for 44 Mag gun(s). Try TiteGroup for you Cowboy loads. __________________ . "all my ammo is mostly retired factory ammo"

January 25, 2001, 12:57 PM	#3
sundog Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 1999 Location: Green Country, OK Posts: 782	dreadnaught, I've shot a ton of Lyman 429667s through my Bisley Vaqueros and Rossi 92. No leading! Break in on these guns was about a hunert rounds each with jacket stuff. I used to use super moly lube, but now use home made. I have had excellent results with Unique in the 44 Spl cases and Green Dot in the mag cases-loads are on the Alliant web site, although many other powders would work equally well I am sure. Hardness does not necessarily equate to no leading. It could be other things causing your problem such as the throat, velocity, or maybe the bullets are TOO hard. Yup, that's right. btw, the Lyman 429667 is a flat round nose that feeds lever guns like there's no tomorrow. sundog __________________ safety first

January 26, 2001, 01:24 PM	#6
dreadnaught Member Join Date: November 7, 2000 Posts: 89	Type slower! I'm writing all this stuff down! __________________ Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things.

January 26, 2001, 01:45 PM	#7
dreadnaught Member Join Date: November 7, 2000 Posts: 89	Just got back from Alliant.com. Very educational. __________________ Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things.

January 25, 2001, 05:42 PM	#4
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	http://recipes.alliantpowder.com/index2.html Check out the Cowboy data and you'll find loads for the .44Mag that are at the same level as the .44Special in the regular section. I use a modest charge of 2400 under a swaged lead 240 gr Hornady bullet(softer than cast) w/no leading. I had the same leading problems using Unique. My guess was the Unique burned faster/hotter and was melting the base of the bullet. I get more velocity out of the 2400 w/no leading.

January 26, 2001, 09:14 AM	#5
big89foot Member Join Date: April 25, 2000 Location: Pensacola, Fl Posts: 54	Hodgdon.com also has cowboy loads for .44mag They show loads for H-38 (which is the same as Winchester 231) at about half the normal/hunting load, which makes it fall into the .44sp range. I've used this data in my vaqueros with great success in mag brass. 5.8 - 6.0 grains of W231 with 200gr lead is a real mild load and I've had minimal leading with cheap, soft bullets.

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