The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 12, 2012, 10:38 AM   #1
bird_dog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 26, 2004
Posts: 225
44mag Unique Powder Light Loads

Good morning...

I've been a fan of Unique for as long as I've been reloading. My typical hunting load with the .44mag (Taurus M44 and Ruger Super Redhawk) is 10.9gr of Unique pushing a 240 grain jacketed soft point. I've killed lots of deer and targets with this load.

I have a lighter trail gun coming down the pike, and would like to stick with Unique and the 240 gr JSP's, without breaking my wrist. Any suggestions on a nice plinking / anti-coyote round. 8.5 grains of Unique? Any reason not to go even lighter than that?

I want to avoid using Special cases, as I have a massive supply of the magnums from years of shooting.

I welcome any suggestions. Thanks.
bird_dog is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 11:06 AM   #2
Wallyl
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2011
Posts: 255
.44 Mag Light loads w/Unique powder

8.8 grains will do just fine..you can use as little as 8.0 grains.

For my light loads I use 8.0 of Promo with a 214 Lee SWC or the Lyman 215 SWC-GC bullet. I shoot a Model 29 and a Ruger Superblackhawk, both with long barrels. I prefer Promo as it is bulkier and a bit more consistent, but there is nothing wrong with using Unique.
Wallyl is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 11:21 AM   #3
bird_dog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 26, 2004
Posts: 225
Thanks Wally. I tried throwing a few charges from my Lee Auto Disk last night, and one of the apertures gives me a nice, consistent 8.3 grains.

I may try that and work up to 8.8.
bird_dog is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 11:38 AM   #4
jmortimer
Junior member
 
Join Date: January 24, 2010
Location: South West Riverside County California
Posts: 2,763
10 grains and a 250 grain Keith SWC
jmortimer is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 11:40 AM   #5
bird_dog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 26, 2004
Posts: 225
I'd like to stick with the 240gr JSP's, since I'm stocked up on them.
bird_dog is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 12:06 PM   #6
rclark
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2009
Location: Butte, MT
Posts: 2,614
8.0g to 10.0g of Unique should get you where you want to be.... Somewhere in there should be an accurate load. I personally don't shoot jacketed bullets in any of my revolvers, so no specific loads for you from any of my tests....
__________________
A clinger and deplorable, MAGA, and life NRA member. When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Single Action .45 Colt (Sometimes colloquially referred to by its alias as the .45 'Long' Colt or .45LC). Don't leave home without it. That said, the .44Spec is right up their too... but the .45 Colt is still the king.
rclark is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 01:08 PM   #7
twobit
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 25, 2010
Location: Coyote Creak, SW Texas
Posts: 597
In my 45 colt revolver and my 92 rifle I use Unique for hunting (close to maximum loads) and use Trailboss powder for plinking / target loads. You might want to try some Trailboss in your 44 magnum as a less than maximum load option.
__________________
Twobit,
Strive to live up to the opinion that your dog has of you.
twobit is offline  
Old December 12, 2012, 04:09 PM   #8
Axelwik
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 12, 2012
Location: Land of Enchantment
Posts: 436
Quote:
10 grains and a 250 grain Keith SWC
^^That's my general purpose/plinking load. Keith/Lyman 429421 with 10 grains Unique.
Axelwik is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 06:51 AM   #9
Salmoneye
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 31, 2011
Location: Vermont
Posts: 2,076
Page 43/44 should help OP:

https://glarp.atk.com/2004/2004Catal...ntPowderSM.pdf
Salmoneye is offline  
Old December 13, 2012, 09:19 AM   #10
Rifleman1776
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 25, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 3,309
For light loads in my Redhawk .44 mag. I use 180 gr. or 210 gr. hard cast SWCs and Win. 231 powder. Might be considered 'light' for a .44 mag. but still a killer load.
Rifleman1776 is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 06:23 PM   #11
Ozzieman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 14, 2004
Location: Northern Indiana
Posts: 6,117
Alliant has good loads for 240’s with Unique, one for lead is 800 FPS which is an equivalent 44 special load.
http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/index.aspx
__________________
It was a sad day when I discovered my universal remote control did not in fact control the universe.

Did you hear about the latest study.....5 out of 6 liberals say that Russian Roulette is safe.
Ozzieman is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 07:04 PM   #12
Powderman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 7, 2001
Location: Washington State
Posts: 2,166
Two suggestions for you:

1. Start casting your own! I cast the 250 grain Keith type LSWC, out of straight wheelweights; sized to .430, and lubed with Javelina Alox. Those bullets shoot wonderfully on top of 8.5 of Unique, and are very, very accurate.

2. I'd also recommend a short barrel (4-6") for these loads. Recoil is actually not too bad, but in a longer barrel (like my 8 3/8" Model 29) there's some serious in-barrel time that will cause them to shoot quite high if the charge is too low.

For a really good, accurate fun load, you could use the 200 grain JHP on the same charge. More velocity and flatter trajectory.
__________________
Hiding in plain sight...
Powderman is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 08:10 PM   #13
Beginner 1960
Member
 
Join Date: March 11, 2012
Location: East TN
Posts: 47
I saw on another thread that u can use 38sp data to load lite 357 target loads, is the same true with the 44sp and the 44 mag?
Beginner 1960 is offline  
Old December 14, 2012, 11:14 PM   #14
totaldla
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 10, 2009
Location: SW Idaho
Posts: 1,280
Why don't you just buy a .22lr pistol? Or carry a 45acp semi-auto?
totaldla is offline  
Old December 15, 2012, 02:35 PM   #15
Powderman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 7, 2001
Location: Washington State
Posts: 2,166
Beginner, that is true. However, if you use that in .357 cases you might want to consider a faster powder, such as Bullseye, HP38/W231 or the like.

As someone mentioned above, I have heard lots of good stuff about Trail Boss powder.
__________________
Hiding in plain sight...
Powderman is offline  
Old December 15, 2012, 09:38 PM   #16
GeauxTide
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 20, 2009
Location: Helena, AL
Posts: 4,415
I've used 8-10 gr of Unique in 41, 44spl, 44mag, and 45 Colt under cast bullets. Very pleasant and accurate.
GeauxTide is offline  
Old December 16, 2012, 01:06 AM   #17
justsoIcanupvotethis
Member
 
Join Date: June 11, 2012
Posts: 29
I'm not sure if I should say anything or not. I use 10 grains of Unique with Missouri Bullet 240 grain Elmer K lead swc. I pretty much thought of that as my "light" load. I load Nosler 240 grain JSPs with 21.0 of 2400. The 10 grain Unique loads are bunnyphart compared to the 2400 loads.
justsoIcanupvotethis is offline  
Old December 16, 2012, 12:04 PM   #18
reloader28
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 13, 2009
Location: nw wyoming
Posts: 1,061
My light loads are 5-5.5gr Bullseye and 250gr cast boolit in a 44mag case.
Shoot good and kick like a 22 pistol.
reloader28 is offline  
Old December 17, 2012, 07:37 AM   #19
bird_dog
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 26, 2004
Posts: 225
Quote:
Why don't you just buy a .22lr pistol? Or carry a 45acp semi-auto?
I have both, and carry them quite frequently...

I'm just looking for some input on light Unique loads, using a JSP...I think the intent of my original post was pretty much overlooked!
bird_dog is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:35 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.09301 seconds with 10 queries