cant find load data for 44 mag 200 grain lrn flat point

[fishbones]

I was given a box of 500 200 grain lead round nose. The fun part my manual shows nothing on a 200 grain cast bullet for the 44 rem mag. I normally use alliant powders and they have nothing listed on their site either for start, stop and oal on this bullet. On another note ive always loaded jacketed bullets for 44 mag. Where can i find the information or what loads are you guys brewing up for a 200 grain lrn and what is the seating depth on it? Im interested in loading lead because its cheaper but i cant find the information im looking for. Thanks for the help/advice in advance.

[Kraschenbirn]

What are you planning to shoot those in? What kind of velocity are you wanting to achieve? Unless you're looking for factory load ballistics, just use the data for .44-40 WCF. My favorite plinking/informal target load for both my 1894 Marlin carbine and my OM Vaquero is the Lee 429-200-RF and Blue Dot, loaded into .44 Mag cases.

Bill

[Tracy]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (3rd ed.) lists a 200 grain conical point cast bullet with a starting load of 11.0 Unique for 1004 fps (4" barrel) and max 13.2 Unique for 1265 fps. Also Herco at 11.4 (1035 fps) to 13.8 ( 1245 fps) grains. This is a gaschecked design, but at those velocities the gascheck shouldn't be necessary.
My Lee manual shows a jacketed 200 grain bullet with 10.1 to 11.0 grains of Bullseye, or 8.7 to 9.7 grains of Red Dot. Jacketed bullets offer more resistance and hence pressure (all other factors equal) than lead bullets, so those should be safe. From personal experience though, I would probably start with 7 grains of either Red Dot or Bullseye for a nice plinking load. YMMV, no responsibility, etc.

[canyon-ghost]

Kraschenbirn has it right. Your 44 magnum is the grandchild of the 44-40, son of 44 Special. You can start at 44 Special loads and increase by 1/10th grain increments to find a good load.

With Unique powder, a 44 special will shoot 200 grain lead anywhere around 7.5 grains to 8.0 grains. The brass case for 44 magnum is only ~ .030" longer. In common terms, the brass is 1/8" longer, that's the only difference between 44 magnum and the older 44 Special and 44-40 rounds.

Good Luck,
Ron

[fishbones]

Thank you for the replies. I will try some of this and after quite alot of searching i have also read that alot of guys use anywhere from 9 to 12 grains of unique also. I didn't think you were supposed to use jacketed info in loading a cast boolit. If you can i will definitely refer to it in the future when i get stuck on something again. I use the modern reloading 2nd addition by lee. I now have a few things to try though. Im shooting a Taurus raging bull 7 inch barrel and a Winchester 94 in 44 mag. Im going to be shooting mostly targets or an occasional hog that wanders out.

[Larry Gibson]

For mostly "target work I would suggest working up the accuracy load in the rifle, that load will then shoot fine in the revolver. Your best accuracy is going to be in the 1100 - 1200 fps range in the rifle and will probably be 900 - 1000 fps in the revolver. I use Bullseye for such a load in my revolver (Ruger) and M94 rifle. I suggest starting at 7 gr and work up to 9 gr in the rifle until accuracy goes south.

That velocity in the rifle and revolver are original 44-40 velocities BTW.

Larry Gibson

[fishbones]

For mostly "target work I would suggest working up the accuracy load in the rifle, that load will then shoot fine in the revolver. Your best accuracy is going to be in the 1100 - 1200 fps range in the rifle and will probably be 900 - 1000 fps in the revolver. I use Bullseye for such a load in my revolver (Ruger) and M94 rifle. I suggest starting at 7 gr and work up to 9 gr in the rifle until accuracy goes south.

That velocity in the rifle and revolver are original 44-40 velocities BTW.

Larry Gibson

Great information thank you. I like to use Bullseye alot because it meters very well. However all i have right now is unique so im going to try that one out and see. I was also given some tight group i may try that out as well.

[GabbyM]

I really like the 200 grain 44 mag loads.
They will work especially well in your rifle where the shorter bearing surface compared to 240 grain bullets isn’t a drawback. In the revolvers the short bearing surface suffers with spanning the cylinder gap. I can’t shoot a revolver anymore well enough to tell the difference. I load the Saeco 200 gr rnfp and Lyman 429215 gas check with 20.0 grains of AA#9. I can tolerate the recoil for a while. For deer hunting I have an RCBS 240 gr GC bullet of BHN #9 over the same powder charge. It will expand a bit then go right through. Shot from my 6 inch barrel. Recoil is far heavier than the 200 grain bullets. There is a big difference even between the 220 grain 429215 and the 204 grain Saeco bullet. If you don’t need the four feet of penetration of the 240’s it’s a little silly to shoot the slower more recoiling bullet.

In Lyman 4th edition 11.8 gr of Unique under the Saeco #420 is the start laod. 4" barrel yields 1205 fps. that's comparable to balck powder 44-40 rifle weight and velocity. From your 44 mag rifle you'd be way out front of the old 44-40 BP rilfes. Pressure is listed at 33,200 cup which is like a 9mm which for me burns clean with Unique. If you don't think those free bullets are up to snuff start and end with 10.0 grains of Unique. If they are hard lubed you may want to tumble lube them to make them work.

[big dale]

You can worry yourself to death about some of this stuff, but as you get used to working with the 44 you will realize that most of the fun is figuring out what works best in your guns for what you want to do with them. A friend has been teaching his 9 year old grandson to shoot his Ruger Redhawk this summer by starting with a 6 grain of Bullsye load with a 200 grain boolit. The kid gets a great thrill out of another of the "Zombie Dog" targets whenever he puts another shot between the dog's eyes. Those mouse fart loads are a lot of fun. Pick up a bottle of unique and another of Herco and work up a good mid-range load with either of those powders by starting around 10 grains of powder and wqrking up. I'm betting your gun will like about 1000 fps loads very well and they will take care of any deer or hog you are likely to find and the revolver is much easier to shoot well with those loads that with the full magnum loads.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[fishbones]

i love to reload and spend more time and money on it then what most think its worth. You guys are right on how you can match every gun you have with a particular load and make them all tack drivers. I have played with the jacketed bullets for years now that metals have gone through the roof its time to go to cast boolits for sure. Im sure i have alot of learning to do with it but thats part of the fun.

[Moonie]

I load the Lee 429 200gr rf in my sons 2 1/2" 44mag with about 12.5gr Unique, stout but not as bad as factory loads.

[fishbones]

Im going to make a few rounds in weights from 9grains to 13 grains and see what my gun likes best then try to fine tune from there. I really appreciate all of the input it has helped alot.

[fishbones]

Ok here is an update. I made several rounds 20 of each using Unique powder starting at 8 grains 9 grains 10 grains 11 grains. The bullets that shot best in my Raging Bull and the Winchester 94 was 10 grains. I did get some minor leading on both guns near the breech/forcing cone. Nothing that a little chore boy didnt fix. Now to go up and down some from the 10 grains and try to fine tune the load.