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Thread: 44 Magnum rifle. Work up Unique or switch to 2400/296/AA#9...?

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    44 Magnum rifle. Work up Unique or switch to 2400/296/AA#9...?

    I'm having success with 10.5 gr. Unique as an accurate upper end target round. But this is as far as I've loaded 44 Magnum. My SBH and 1894 haven't done much more than punching paper.


    I have found my pet loads of 7.5, 9.2 and 10.5 gr. of Unique under a 245 gr. RNFP.

    But I've been contemplating getting use out of both guns for hunting this fall. Mostly the 1894 as a good deer/hog 100 yard brush rifle. So I've been mulling over what to do with working up a stouter and acceptably accurate round.

    Going to a 2400 would be no big deal. My lgs carries it regularly and I can always go pick some up.

    In my data I've seen that some Unique loadings are not getting much less velocity than 2400 loadings.

    But with Unique how far can I realistically push it and keep good results? And at what point does a switch to a slower powder become necessary? I've heard the saying that 2400 takes up where Unique leaves off. But I'm also curious at what does power and accuracy suffer with upper end Unique loads that are fewer grains and only 50-100 fps slower than a 2400.

    Lyman 2nd Edition Cast Book shows max for 240-250 gr. @ 12 gr. Unique

    Lyman Popular Revolver Book is all over the place but shows max for #429421 over 13 gr. Unique @ 1147fps 4" bbl

    #429421 with 2400 max of 20.6 gr. @ 1248fps 4" bbl

    Would I get a decent hunting round by even trying to build up to 13 gr. of Unique? Or should I just go buy a lbs. of 2400 or No.9?

  2. #2
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    First of all, lots of folks hunt with that lee 310gr boolit. Much heavier, and I like to drive it a bit faster then unique allows... but unique works fine with the 310, as my wife shoots it in my 44 with 10g unique. If your gunna shoot hogzilla, that 310 bullet will work wonders... I use 2400 or H110 for full on 310g loads in rifle. With H110, I am running 22g... and that is a smoking rifle load for me.. 13g of 2400 is a sweet spot as well, but not as fast as the 110, it runs around 1100 FPS...

    Marko
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  3. #3
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    Unique will probably give the best results with the PBd 429421 in the rifle also. That has been my experience with several 44 rifles. Best accuracy at top end has been with GCd bullets over 2400, 4227, Blue Dot or H110. GCd 240 - 275 gr bullets always performed best for me.

    Larry Gibson

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Char-Gar's Avatar
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    Unless you are going after elk, moose or big bear your 10.5/Uniq should do you very well.
    Disclaimer: The above is not holy writ. It is just my opinion based on my experience and knowledge. Your mileage may vary.

  5. #5
    Boolit Mold
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    Thank you for all of the responses.

    Looks like Unique has the consensus.

    I'll work up some Unique loads between 10.5 and 12.5 and see what I get. Might find me another sweet spot.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Your Unique load with #429421 will very closely approximate the performance of Keith's original .44 Special loads he developed with SR80 back in the 1930s, which he writes about in his book Sixguns. I use loads of similar power in my .44 Magnums and in the .44-40, except I use 7.2 grains of Bullseye with the Accurate 43-230G bullet in my Ruger revolvers and Marlin 1894S levergun with Microgroove rifling. I use wheelweights for range work, and 1:30 tin-lead from Roto Metals for hunting loads.

    Side-by-Side comparisons fired same day with .44 Magnum “Medium Velocity” loads
    fired in two Ruger Vaqueros using the same .44 Magnum cylinder, 20" Marlin 1894S for comparison:

    Ammunition assembled in Remington New Factory Primed brass with Remington 2-1/2 primers.

    Load Description_________Ruger 5-1/2"______Ruger 7-1/2"____Marlin 20”__Remarks

    -------------------------------Cyl.Gap 0.008"-------Cyl.Gap 0.008"------Solid barrel

    43-230G 1:30Sn/Pb 7.2BE___978, 18Sd________1044, 21Sd_____1178, 7Sd___1.59” OAL crimped top groove

    Attachment 199448
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Although I do not have a 44 mag, I do have a 444 Marlin which is basically a 44 mag on steroids. I use two Unique loads, one for a plain base 265 gr SWC which is 12.4 gr for 1350 fps and another for the Lee 310 gr GC boolit which is 14.5 gr for 1490 fps.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I might expect Unique and 2400 to give similar performance in a revolver-length barrel, but I would THINK that 2400 might give somewhat better velocities in a rifle-length barrel. I guess superior performance is in the eye of the beholder, but I suspect that switching to 2400 in the longer barrel will gain you 300 f/s or better over a 10.5/Unique/245 load. H110 or 4227 will probably give you max performance, but I find 2400 a lot easier to work with. The 4227 isn't so awful, but I avoid H110 whenever possible.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I'll advise that you test out the 429421 as it has a long nose and is longer than allowable OAL if crimped in the crimp groove. Apparently some guns don't care but some do and mine was one.

    I got poor feeding with the 429421 due to length which was sort of solved by crimping over the front driving band but the SWC nose also had feeding issues. I have worked on the carrier and now have the gun feeding the H&G #503 pretty well. I do not use my 429421 in this gun as it casts undersize for Marlins which have fat bores (SAAMI spec for rifle is larger than for handgun). I also modified the cartridge stop to handle longer OAL which also worked well.

    My gun likes and always liked RNFP designs and feeds the Mihec 434640 (Lyman 429640 clone) very well.

    As for powder, the Unique load may suit your needs but I started with Unique then tried H110 then IMR4227. My go to powder for the .44 Marlin is IMR4227. I got a lot better performance than with Unique though maybe more than you need, top end loads do kick a bit in that light little gun. I have not used 2400 so can't compare there.

    Different strokes.

    Longbow

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    If Unique is hard to obtain in your area, you may wanna try Green Dot with your 429421. 8.6g behind my 429421HP at 235g, gets 1084 fps from a 5" S&W Classic DX, with an SD of 18. On a day when this old phart "found an acorn", I shot a .703" 5 shot group with this load from a bench rest. Distance was 25 yards. Oh, and the revolver wears a 4X Leupold EER.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Bub
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    Sounds like lots of good answers. I couldn't get anything but H110 for weeks so that is what I stuck with for load development. I got holes touching holes at 50yds and very respectable "hair over MOA" at 100yds. Nothing I've shot with the 300gn GC'd Wide Flat Nose goes far.

    When I finally get some 2400....

  12. #12
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    I like AA9 for the 44 top end loads. Not much difference between any of them but it shoots very well for me.
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  13. #13
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    In my Marlin CB, 2400 was more accurate than Unique. 18.5 grains was the accuracy champ with a ,432 boollit--429-421.
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    I found that I get better accuracy in my pistols and rifle with 2400 or W296/H110 than with Unique. Less muzzle blast with 2400 than W296. So I use 2400 in my hunting ammo, Unique in my plinking loads and W296 in my .300 Blackout.

    YMMV

  15. #15
    Boolit Master Jack Stanley's Avatar
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    Actually 10.5 of Unique is my standard .44 magnum load with two hundred forty grain bullets . It gives about a thousand fifty feet per second in the four inch revolver a bit more in the six and just over thirteen hundred out of my twenty inch carbine . It is comfortable and accurate to use even loaning the carbine to the kids for deer season . Bullets leave an entrance an exit on any critter shot so far and none have made it past twenty yards yet .

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    Quote Originally Posted by SquidBilly View Post
    Thank you for all of the responses.

    Looks like Unique has the consensus.

    I'll work up some Unique loads between 10.5 and 12.5 and see what I get. Might find me another sweet spot.
    You may find yourself WAY BEYOND the pressure ceiling for Unique in the 44 Magnum!

    Unique is NOT a magnum powder to be used with heavy boolits. Above 10.0gr in 45 Colt it can become spiky and unpredictable, and the 44 mag case is even smaller? NO.

    Time to switch to a slower burning magnum powder like 2400, LilGun, AA#9 for slightly less than max loads, and H110 for full house magnum loads.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master waco's Avatar
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    ^^^^^^I tend to agree^^^^^^
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  18. #18
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    Given recent history I would want to have a couple powders in line. Both Unique and 2400 were unobtainium for quite a while. Now they are back on the shelves, but to have another option might be nice.
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  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    My standard WW296/H110 44 Magnum load with the Keith 250 gr 44 bullet goes over 1700 fps from a 20" carbine. This bullet feeds perfectly at 1.70 in my 1894 Marlin.

    If you are happy with the velocity and accuracy of your Unique load, then I see no problem using it. I use a 200 gr RNFP with Unique at 1330 fps for practice. This about duplicates the original 44-40 load. The original 44-40 load has killed a lot of game, so your load should work, too.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    In big cases, I like to use 2400 with a 240gr, partly because it's bulkier and fills the case better. Max loads are close to 100% load density. If I need to get more power yet, I use LilGun.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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GC Gas Check