44 special rifle

[captn larry]

does anyone have load data for 44 special for rifle?

[Wayne Smith]

And here I thought you had come up with a new cartridge. OH, wait, Glock did that, didn't they?

[45-70 Chevroner]

Just use the loads for 44 special handgun. You will get on average about 200 FPS faster velocity. I have never seen any loadings specifically for 44 special in rifle. In the Lyman 49th. edition it shows a 44 mag load of 10 gr. of unique at 937 FPS for a 4" barrel and in a 20" rifle using the same load it shows 1332 FPS, thats almost 400 FPS difference. I don't think you will be dissatified with the results.

[Harter66]

11th ed Lyman cast bullet handbook shows 6 Boolits w Unique 6.0-7.7 for 200 gn 4.5-6.5 up to 255s in pistols just magazine loads for rifles. As we know magazine loads in special cases blow things up.

[captn larry]

sorry---typo on the 45. using mid ranged load data, 5 out of five keyholed the target at 25 yards. going to try nudging the load up. Shooting a henry 44.

[45-70 Chevroner]

What boolit are you using? What are you sizing them to. Have you slugged the barrel? Your results sounds like they are undersized. Or the boolit could be too long or too short for the twist rate. Also what load are you using, ie type of powder and powder weight.

[captn larry]

hey, 240 gr. lswc with 4.6 g. bullseye- light load. I'd test new load but it's -2 with 25 mph wind; if upper load doesn/t help, I'll have to drop to a lighter bullet as the 240 is a bit long. Barrel's right on. thanks.

[runfiverun]

i have gone to 4.2 grs of titegroup with a 240 lee swc in special cases in my leverguns with no ill effects.
i used that load to shoot cowboy lever silhouette with good results.
my "normal" 44 special load is 7.2 grs unique with a 429241 boolit.
if your twist rate is something other than the 1-18/1-20, like 1-38 the 44-40 uses then a 200 would be more appropriate.

[captn larry]

yah, 1/38 microgroove! Why take a traditional rifle and screw up the barrel? Guess I'll shelve the 240 and order a 200 g.lee mold. going to slug the barrel so I get the right sizer.
On another note, using wheel weights, I noticed a drop in the bhn. Saw othr people had this problem too. Figured it out; I dropped the temp to keep zinc out but I think that also keeps the antimony from melting. Think I'll try low temp to melt lead, remove zinc weights then increase temp to alloy the antimony. good summer project.

[45-70 Chevroner]

larry: I have a new Rossi single shot rifle in 44 mag. with a 1" in 30" I haven't had a chance to take it out yet but I think I am going to have to go with a lighter boolit than the standard 240 gr. I have heard that it will stabilize boolits up to 300 gr. boolit but that is to be seen.

[jlchucker]

I would think that 44 special would make a nice little walk-around rifle, maybe in the style of a single-shot hi- or lo- wall, or scaled-down rolling block. Maybe with a lightweight octagon barrel, about 22 inches long. Just daydreaming.

[DLCTEX]

I went the other way looking for 22-250 loads for a Savage Stryker. The loads I located were the same as rifle loads (jacketed).