.44 mag loads

[HAMMER1DOWN]

Hi,

I recently aquired my old mans Ruger Redhawk with a 4" barrel and all the reloadin equipment for it...
I was looking for a good pactice load for the gas checked 240grn cast bullets that me and him have done and also for some 240 grn and the 300grn XTP hollow points for bear defense.
I will be going to Yellowstone at the end of April and have been shootin the .44 since I was young and am not afraid of recoil at all, but for the cast bullets I would like something a little lighter to work more on my trigger control but still accurate enough to take with me gopher hunting.

thanks, Robert

[Unclenick]

Cast bullet light load, try about 7 grains of Hodgdon Universal Clays. For the 240 grain XTP use 24 grains of either H110 or 296 (their the same powder in differently branded packaging). For the 300 try about 18.5 gains.

[HAMMER1DOWN]

thanx, whats the kind of velocity that I want for the cast bullets? I think I read something about not wanting to push them to fast...

[Unclenick]

It varies with the condition of your gun and bore and how hard the lead alloy is? Most target rounds for handguns are in the 700 to 800 fps range, but even those will lead a rough bore or will lead if revolver chambers aren't at least half a thousandth bigger than the groove diameter of the barrel, or if there is a barrel constriction where it screws into the frame of the revolver (a common problem). A firelapped or otherwise smoothed bore will often let you shoot to magnum velocities with lead or faster. Elmer Keith used 20:1 and 16:1 lead:tin alloy for developing the .44 Magnum. That's softer than typical casting alloys today. Also, often a revolver or a lever gun will shoot better and lead less if the bullets are sized 0.002" over groove diameter rather than the usual 0.001" over groove diameter. That's an empirical result.

[cornbush]

One of my favorites is 22 gr. of IMR 4227 and a 240 gr. LSWC, one of the most accurate I have tried.

[Randy 1911]

I went out and worked up this load today. Recoil was not too bad and very accurate. This was 24 shots at 15 yards.

[AlaskaMike]

For light .44 mag loads with a 240 or 250 grain SWC, I like 7.5 grains of 231. It's very light, very accurate in all my .44s and very economical to load.

For slightly faster, midrange loads with the same bullets I like any of the following:

(slightly in order of preference)
10 grains of Power Pistol
10 grains of Unique
9 grains of 231

I think I shoot the midrange type loads more often than any of my other .44 mag loads.

I cast my own bullets (for the loads above I use the 250 grain RCBS 44-250-K) but I started out using Lasercast 240 grain SWCs. Pretty much any commercial cast bullet is almost going to be too hard except for full power magnum loads. I use simple air-cooled wheel weight alloy for virtually all my handgun bullets and it's much softer than the 22 BHN of Lasercast's bullets and yet still works perfectly in my guns with no real leading to speak of. While I certainly don't consider myself a cast bullet authority, my personal opinion is that bullet fit is much more important in avoiding leading than bullet hardness. With commercial cast bullets, as long as it's not pure lead you'll do just fine.

Mike

Mike

[FullCry]

Hey, do y'all have any 44 mag loads using WSF, WST, Herco, or 800x. I realize these powders are generally for smaller hand loads but was hoping to find a load for the powder that I have on hand. Thanks, FullCry

[Cult .44]

do y'all have any 44 mag loads using WSF, WST, Herco, or 800x

I worked up a moderately powered load that I like with 800x -- 12.5 gr behind a 220 grain Sierra FPJ. I also use the same charge behind a 240 gr Magtech JSP.

[FullCry]

Thanks man, FullCry

[T. O'Heir]

"...would like something a little lighter..." Load your .44 Mag cases to .44 Special velocities.

[Randy 1911]

For bear, you need a lot of penetration. Instead of a hollw point, I would suggest a heavy JSP (Jacketed Soft Point).