Why did I do that?

[jimb16]

I went out to the range today to do a little "blasting". I took along a couple of boxes of .44 mags. Granted, they were accurate, but they really hammered my hands. I'm now trying to figure out why on earth I loaded them so heavy. I'm never going to hunt grizzly bear or moose with my Contender so why did I do that? If I load to a decent .44 sp loading, that would be powerful enough for any whitetail that I would encounter around here. I guess I'm really wondering, how many others have ever asked themselves "why did I do that".

[MyFlatline]

Well, because I am more than cheap, I tend to load on accuracy only. Don't like getting beaten up at all. FPS has not had much appeal, just the joy of shooting. I have grown up with a statement and apply it to most everything..If you want to know the truth, follow the money...Yep that's me..I'm cheap.

[country gent]

I have asked myself that several times.
Ohios deer arnt armor plated or wearing kevalar so your right a solid 44 spl load or a little warmer will do the job fine with a well placed shot. Around here our grain feed deer occasionally get pretty decent sized ( Ive seen live weights from 280-300 lbs) but they normally arnt hard to put down.

[arlon]

No idea why, I have a 10" octagon (light) 44 mag. It has never seen more than a special load since I've owned it.

[runfiverun]

cause a 44 can do that.
look at it like this, now you got some empty cases to put some useful loads in.

[Texas by God]

I've been shooting 15grs of 296/158gr JHP in the 4-5/8" Blackhawk. I'm going to tone it down from fireball next session.

[wcp4570]

Been there and done that in my younger days. Now I enjoy shooting much milder loads in my 44 mags. Makes no sense punishing yourself and the guns you like.

wcp4570

[35 shooter]

Cause sometimes it's just fun to unleash a box or two of full power 44 mag. rounds.
I never found them neccesary for deer hunting with my mod.29's(when i had them)though...heavy 44 special type loads were more than good for that for me.

[Thumbcocker]

While I do enjoy a full snort shooting session now and again I shoot lots of .44 specials. As far as I can tell I have not lost a single chest hair from shooting milder loads.

[sghart3578]

In my ammo locker I recently came across some "Linebaugh level" loads that I had worked up for my 45 Colt Vaquero.

I don't know why I did that or what I was thinking.

I noticed that 6 rounds out of the box of 50 were missing. Then I remembered that I had fired 6 in my stock, wooden grip Vaquero and that was enough.

I am now shooting them up in my Blackhawk with Goodyear grips.

After that I will stick with 6.5 gr of Bullseye and plink away.

[flint45]

Sometimes I just need to split logs the fun way.

[dverna]

I read a while ago about one of the famous gun writers who admonished himself for shooting a lot of full power .44 Mag loads in his younger years. The repetitive recoil contributed to crippling up of his hand.

If it hurts, your body is telling you something.

There is a lot of "pride" many take in shooting heavy loads for "fun".

[Motor]

I shoot a 500 S&W. My hottest load is the start load for Lil-gun using a 440gr in the cast bullet data manual. Shooting this thing with full power loads is simply brutal. Shooting it tamed down is down right fun. I even shoot 250gr and 360gr 50cal muzzleloader bullets from it and the already mentioned 440gr all with 12gr Unique.

I think my brother has 3 whitetail kills with the 250gr load. This is why we do this reloading thing.

Motor

[rintinglen]

When I was young and foolish, I loaded everything to the limit and occasionally beyond. I shot a couple of guns into the scrap heap, and laid the ground work for the injuries to my wrists and hands that give me grief today. I now know that such show-off stunts come with a price that is needlessly dear. Better a lighter load that you can shoot well than a heavier load that hurts.

[Jack Stanley]

You probably did it because you could or , you thought you might "need" them for that big hunt someday . Then , you realized that the only thing near you that requires that much penetration has a Peterbuilt or Kenworth emblem on the hood . To top it off the state won't open a season on them no matter how close the interstate is to you

Jack

[jimb16]

Well I can imagine a mount with Peterbuilt horns! *LOL*

[500Linebaughbuck]

i use a 44 spl in a 250gr keith with 7.5gr of unique.

i use a 44 mag in a 280gr wfn gc with 9.0 "whole" grains of unique. i used to use it with a top end load of h110.

i use a 444 marlin in a 280gr wfn gc with 26.0gr of 2400. i used to use it with a over the top of rel 7 or h4198.

i use a 45-70 in a 405gr fn with.............


i could go on and on, but i prefer "lite" loads to "heavy" loads anytime!!! and besides, they no longer make my shoulder hurt!!!

i've been doing "lite" loads for several years now. deer don't complain, so why should i.

[Jedman]

The first 44 MagI owned was a contender and like the idiot I was when I got into handloading I always seemed to start at the top loads first.
I remember shooting 240 gr SWC with 25 grs. of WW 296 starting out and they did give you a beating.
Now I might shoot that load in one of my carbines but out of a handgun a 1000 fps. is just fine.

Jedman

[RKJ]

I shot mine yesterday (cleaning out some old reloads I made and wanted to test them) 18 grains of 2400 and 10 grains of Unique. They weren't bad but enough to let me know I was shooting a 44 mag. BTW, they all shot just fine. I've got to work on my sight picture though. I too used to try to load the snot out of my guns but as I've gotten older I find I don't care for them all that much and have gone to medium charge and light loads. Maybe, maturity & wisdom have found me at last. Nah.

[Murphy]

Just my 2 cent's worth.

I think sometimes we load things on the high end, just because we can. In my early years, I loaded pretty much all of my handgun loads in the mid-range velocity. I figured there wasn't any sense in beating up my gun's or myself trying to prove anything. My real goal was to become a better shot with the guns I had.

One of the greatest things about being a reloader/caster is the versatility we have in deciding what suits our needs best. Just remember, some guns weren't meant to do it all and tote enough gun to do what you intend to do with it.

Murphy