powder recommendation for .44mag plinking

[the_ursus]

I've just got back into casting bullets and need a powder recommendation for plinking. The mold is for 265 SWC without gas checks. I have a partial can of Bullseye but thought there might be something better that could help reduce lead fouling. In case it matters, I'm shooting a .44mag Super Redhawk.

[sundog]

Green Dot.

[Heavy lead]

Unique is my favorite, the new stuff really is clean, but I have used Universal Clays, Herco, Red Dot, and even Bullseye (I say even because it is so fast) had good luck with all, but I like Unique because it is accurate, cheap and most important it is so fluffy that you can really tell when and if (have not so far) get a double charge.
But there are a lot of good ones, but that is my .02.
Welcome Aboard

[lunicy]

use both bullseye and unique in my .44 loads. Both work great.

[MtGun44]

For very light loads, W231 is great, for moderate to medium loads, I have had
a lot of good results with Unique.

Bill

[timkelley]

Unique or Universal Clays.

[Four0what]

I've used 6.5 of Unique with a cast 240 SWC for years. Accurate, & plesant to shoot.

[the_ursus]

Thanks for the advice guys, looks like I need to get a can of Unique.

[missionary5155]

Greetings and Welcome Ursus...
You mentioned LEAD Fouling ? Bullseye sould not be causing that.
I totally agree with using Unique. I think I have used Unique in every caliber I shoot.
But if you have LEAD deposits in you barrel that is another critter to be fixing.
Are your cylinder throats larger than the barrel diameter (hopefully) . Are your boolits fat enough to fill those chamber throats ? What are you casting these 265 grainers from for plinking ?

[S.R.Custom]

Unique is good, but I've found Herco to be slightly more accurate in the heavy bullet revolver cartridges. Which makes sense, as Herco is a little slower and a bit less dense.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi, Welcome to the forum. A couple of good loadings for the 44 are with Unique starting with 5 grains and working up to 6 or 6.5 depending on your grouping and how much bang you want. Another good load is 9 grains of IMR 4756. LLS

[JesterGrin_1]

For about a 900 to 950FPS load with a 240Gr boolit with 5.5Gr of TightGroup and standard Large Pistol Primer CCI. Shoots well and burns clean. :)

[EDK]

In honor of Mr. Obama's election, I am buying primers and powder. So far, 8 pounds each of TITEGROUP and HP 38 (231) plus a 4 pound can of HERCO to add to the inventory. All good choices for mid range loads in 357 and 44 pistols.

Next week the wife goes to visit her sister again and drives past GRAFS in Mexico MO. An 8 pound can of UNIQUE and more primers for this visits purchase. Primer prices are dropping slightly and there is more availability locally.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[leadeye]

I use 8 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain cast as my regular shooting load in 44 mag. The same in 45LC behind a 250.

[the_ursus]

Greetings and Welcome Ursus...
You mentioned LEAD Fouling ? Bullseye sould not be causing that.
I totally agree with using Unique. I think I have used Unique in every caliber I shoot.
But if you have LEAD deposits in you barrel that is another critter to be fixing.
Are your cylinder throats larger than the barrel diameter (hopefully) . Are your boolits fat enough to fill those chamber throats ? What are you casting these 265 grainers from for plinking ?

Well, first off, I should mention that I'm not really comparing apples to apples here. I've experienced bad fouling with some Speer 240 SWC that I purchased a while back using 7 grains of Bullseye. At the time, they were the only plinking loads I had put through it and had nothing to compare them to. I've since dug out all my dad's old casting equipment and started the learning process. I'm now using a Lee 2 cavity 265 SWC mold without gas checks. I don't know how tight these are fitting in the barrel since I don't know the exact diameter of the bullets or the bore (forgive me, this is new). I know these are coming out harder than the Speer 240's I bought but not sure how much harder (got a tester on the list for Christmas). I shot a dozen of them at the range with 17 grains of 2400 and there appeared to be no significant leading, granted it was only 12 shots. The first cleaning patch came out dirty but looked like burnt grease then the patches came out clean with no sign of leading (that's a first!). The 17 grains of 2400 had more recoil and powder consumption than I was looking for in a plinking load so I thought I'd get on this site and see what you all thought.

[MtGun44]

Yes, 17 of 2400 is a reasonably stout load with a 265 gr boolit. The fact
that you got no leading with that is a good sign of good fit and decent
match of hardness to the need. 10 Unique will run around 1000 fps and
usually is very accurate, but also is usually hotter than most folks want for
a plinking load.

For a pretty mild load, try 5.5gr W231 or 4.8 TG for around 900 fps. Clays
is ultra clean burning, but I haven't worked up a good plinking load for the
.44s in Clays yet, on my to do list. You can go down to around 700 safely,
but much lower may stick a boolit in the bore. TG & 231 are super easy to
light, so will be pretty position insensitive - no significant vel change with
powder at the rear or at the front when fired. Some powders are very
position sensitive, so are less useful in large cases for very light loads.

Bill

[JesterGrin_1]

Just something to think about. Even though we are talking about down loading the .44 Mag even with these easy to handle loads they are as effective if not more so than a factory .45 ACP load. My target load and field carry load as mentioned with a 240Gr SWC with 5.5Gr of TightGroup and a standard primer is still at or above 900FPS. So this load will have more knockdown power than a 230Gr ACP load which moves around 800FPS. And I know from experience in my 6in S&W 629 it is a mild and fun load to shoot and very accurate.

Hodgdon Powder Company
Cartridge Load Recipe Report - 11/29/2008
data.hodgdon.com 44 Remington Magnum
Load Type: Pistol Powder: Titegroup
BW: 240

Cartridge Information
Case: Winchester Barrel Length: 8.275"
Twist: 1:20" Trim Length: 1.280"
Primer: REMINGTON 2 1/2

44 Remington Magnum
Cartridge Load Data Starting Loads

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum Loads

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bullet Weight (Gr.) Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
240 GR. LSWC CAST Titegroup .430" 1.620" 4.7 801 11,100 CUP 10.0 1288 38,400 CUP
240 GR. NOS JHP Titegroup .429" 1.600" 9.0 1219 33,500 CUP 10.0 1292 37,700 CUP

NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

Hodgdon Powder Company
Cartridge Load Recipe Report - 11/29/2008
data.hodgdon.com 44 Remington Magnum
Load Type: Pistol Powder: Titegroup
BW: 270

Cartridge Information
Case: Winchester Barrel Length: 8.275"
Twist: 1:20" Trim Length: 1.280"
Primer: REMINGTON 2 1/2

44 Remington Magnum
Cartridge Load Data Starting Loads

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum Loads

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bullet Weight (Gr.) Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure
270 GR. SPR GDSP Titegroup .429" 1.600" 8.6 1100 33,100 CUP 9.6 1175 37,700 CUP

NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

For your Lead 265Gr I would start at the 5.5Gr Mentioned and work up slow if you wish. But as I said work up slow as this powder tends to build pressure fast. I know from my Laser Cast 240Gr SWC I did not get but within a grain or so before the brass was sticky to remove along with other pressure signs and it was not as accurate. But as said before I think this powder is not meant for high end loads. It is for low to mid range only. As the powder just burns way too fast to start pushing it. If you decide to go to heavy loads stick with the old time stuff like 2400 or H-110/ W-296. :)

I like W-296 but you may wish to try both H-110 and W-296 as I have found some like one over the other do not ask me why lol.

[the_ursus]

Thanks for all the good info Jester. Until recently, every load I've put through my Super Redhawk has been with H-110 and jacketed bullets at top end. This is my first time experimenting with lower end loads so I appreciate all the great advise. I'll take your tip and start out with 5.5 grains of Unique with the 265's after I do a little cross referencing to ease my nerves. I'm always a little leery out starting out with a new load. Roughly how heavy a charge might I get to before running into pressure signs with this powder and bullet weight?

On another note, I just got back from the range and after about 40 rounds of 265's loaded with 17 grns of 2400 I managed to build up a good amount of lead. The lead cleaned up easy enough but I don't think I'll be using that charge again unless I get my bullets harder. Which raised another question, where might I look for lead hardening additives locally?

[Bret4207]

Try a GC on those boolits and you can probably get rid of the leading. If that mould is meant for a GC you're doing good already!

[cohutt]

The Titegroup and Unique loads mentioned - +1

I always take one of my 44s to the range with some plinker loads that push my relatively soft 240g swcs out between 800 and 900 fps. These are always a favorite with new shooters given the substantial weight of my SBH and 629- something nice about a big "dirty harry" wheelgun that makes a big bang but doesn't snap as hard as a full powered glock load.

I've dabbled some with Trailboss too and am finding some decent loads using it as well. More of a curiousity thing; I won't migrate from Titegroup and Unique for this type of thing.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Hello Ursus. I have used Accurate # 5 for quite awhile with a variety of weights in the 44. Speer lead bullets are extruded lead wire that is pretty soft. I have no idea what their lube is, if any. I actually bought a box of their lead slugs only once. It was for my 38 spcl. After 100 rounds fired with only 3.3 gr. of HP-38 powder, I literally had a smooth bore with a "crown" of lead at the muzzle. Took me 2 nights of hard work to find the rifleing. If you must buy lead bullets, buy Hornady. Never have heard of a problem of leading from using them. :castmine: Robert