got a new barrel coming for my contender pistol

[rugermag]

I have a 44 mag 10 inch barrel coming and need advice on a cast boolit and smokeless load for deer. Figure to use a 240 or 255 grain bullet with either 296 or h110 powder. Whats ur favorite recipe and will I need a gas check? Any info is welcomed.

[lobowolf761]

If it was me I would use the Hornady 225gr FTX with 296. If I was going to use a cast bullet I would try to find a hollow point in that weight range you want in #2 alloy and gas checked loaded on top of a near max load of Blue Dot.

[44man]

Too explosive with a TC, 10".
I would use the 310 Lee and 296 myself. I use 21.5 gr and a Fed 150 primer in my 10" SBH. It has never failed on deer. Sadly it takes a GC and I hate to buy the things.
All my .44 boolits are water dropped WW metal.

[Guesser]

Lyman 429421, cast to about 15 BHN, sized .431 and driven hard has taken 2 elk and several mule deer from the 10" 44 barrel I use today. 10" Bull Barrel, not the tapered octagon, it is too light and hard to handle with heavy loads. My barrel is an older barrel with the silver soldered front sight. Great barrel, got it's twin in 41 Magnum.

[44man]

Another great boolit that I can't dispute.

[Larry Gibson]

If you want a jacketed bullet the Hornady 240 XTP is an excellent choice. Over 24.5 gr H110 or 296 you will run 1550 - 1600 fps and be right at the SAAMI MAP for the 44 Magnum (measured with Oehler M43 in my own Contender barrel). Accuracy is outstanding, terminal effectiveness is excellent and penetration is entirely sufficient.

For a cast bullet I use the Lyman 429460HP "Devastator" cast of 16-1 alloy with weigh 270 gr fully dressed. Loaded over 23 gr of H110 they run will run 1500+ fps out of your Contender. Accuracy is excellent in my Contender (in revolvers too!) with terminal effectiveness and penetration being all that's desired for deer, pigs and even elk.

For top end magnum loads a GC is needed for softer alloys. Otherwise you will have to cast them hard at 15+ BHN (as mentioned) for best accuracy with top end loads. By "top end" loads I mean those reputable max loads in manuals for the 44 Magnum in revolvers staying at or under SAAMI MAP for the cartridge. The 10" barrel with no barrel/cylinder gap of the Contender barrel provides a large ballistic improvement in velocity over revolvers. With air cooled 44-250-K cast of COWWs + 2% tin best accuracy comes when the top end Magnum loads are reduced so the velocity runs 1250 - 1450 fps out of my Contender. I find Unique and 2400 to be excellent powders for those loads. For general fun use 8.5 gr Unique pushes the RCBS Keith bullet or commercial 240 cast at 1100 - 1150 fps. Accuracy is excellent with my own cast 44-250-Ks but with the commercial cast bullets accuracy depends on the quality of of the bullet and the lube used on them.

Larry Gibson

[mdi]

For some reason I don't care for H110/W296. I've used it but there are other powders I prefer like 2400, WC 820, Blue Dot, etc.. Another bullet to look at which is designed for hunting and is very accurate in all my .44s is Ranch Dog's 240 and 265 gr. RNFP w/Gas check. Haven't use any on game personally, but wouldn't hesitate a bit...

[rugermag]

Thanks guys. I asked the question and yall responded giving me some choices!

[Guesser]

I'm also not a hard & fast fan of H-110. I like A#9, 2400, Li'l Gun is very good in the longer barrel like the 10". 4227 can be very good.

[jsizemore]

I'm also not a hard & fast fan of H-110. I like A#9, 2400, Li'l Gun is very good in the longer barrel like the 10". 4227 can be very good.

With a 4th of July fireball when using the 4227. Don't get me wrong, I like it. Warning, May temporarily cause night blindness at dusk and dawn.

[Guesser]

4227--------flash, that's a giant flash!! I agree.

[quilbilly]

You aren't as limited as you think in velocity with Contenders. Most boolits, if properly fitting, can easily be pushed to velocities of 1350 and above without the gas check. A 240 gr PB boolit going 1300 fps at the muzzle is an impressive amount of power for almost any game in North America. Another piece of good news is that loads don't have to be loaded that "hot" to achieve those velocities since, in most of the barrels i own, the slipperiness of the lube plus the single shot barrel will add at least 150 fps (often 300 fps) to the velocity at the muzzle over a revolver of the same caliber. For instance, my light target 210 gr loads in my 41 mag Blackhawk are about 900 fps but that same load in my 14" barrel Contender is almost 1200 fps. That load is 6.6 gr of Bullseye.

[Leadmelter]

Before you shoot it, make sure you have good grips or after ten rounds your hand will feel like you grabbed a 220 line.
Leadmelter
MI

[waco]

Too explosive with a TC, 10".
I would use the 310 Lee and 296 myself. I use 21.5 gr and a Fed 150 primer in my 10" SBH. It has never failed on deer. Sadly it takes a GC and I hate to buy the things.
All my .44 boolits are water dropped WW metal.

Tom at Accurate offers that boolit in a plain base!

[David2011]

I've had good results with the RCBS 44-250-KT. Be aware that with your perfectly sealed 10" tube you will get higher velocities than published for a 7-1/2" revolver that has a cylinder gap. That was an eye opener when I loaded the first batch for my Super 14 .44 Mag barrel. The starting load of 2400 exceeded the published velocity by 350 FPS. (So I stopped at that.) Next batch will be reduced from that.

David

[Lonegun1894]

You're fixing to call me boring, but I use 10.0grs Unique (and considering lowering that load) under either the RCBS 44-250-K (258grs), the RCBS 44-245-SWC (249grs), or the Lyman 429421 (268grs)
, all sized to .430". I'm still trying to figure out which of those boolits I like best, but using the same load in a 10" Contender, a 14" Contender, and a 5.5" SBH. The same load works great on hogs, and has worked great on the handful of deer I have taken with it. Here is the way I see it, and what makes me wonder if I should possibly reduce it a bit or not, this load works great in the 5.5" SBH which has a short barrel and a barrel/cylinder gap, and gets a boost in either the 10" or 14" TC. Now I hunt close, with most of my shots being inside 50 yds, so this may be a consideration for you, but in my experience at these close ranges with deer and hogs, I don't need a 300+ gr bullet loaded to the gills with H110, or even 2400, when a 250-270gr bullet does everything I need and leaves me a little more lead to make a few more bullets per lb of lead.

The weights I listed above are what I get out of range scrap before lubing, and I WD them to avoid having to use a PBGC, which I use with my .44 Mag rifle loads.