Why did I do that?

[Shuz]

Shooting heavy powerful loads while young, and reducing the loads as we age, brings to mind and old German saying,"Ve git too soon oldt, and too late schmart"!

[GEOMETRIC]

That reminds me of the words I have for these young drivers. "That sorry punk a$$ #@$% kid. He drives just like I did when I was his age!" Ditto for what everybody has said but actually, I have never liked to push anything to it's limit. An engineer friend once said (I'm not an engineer) those (engineers) that like to design with small safety factors are generally those that have never had a failure.
I don't hunt with handguns, they are in case somebody decides they want to beat my brains out with a pipe or the like. I load the ammo. for my .357 just under max. but my .44 mag. Black Hawk gets loaded down a couple 100 fps. That is more than a .44 special & more that enough to stop some crazy crack head attacker. Indeed, it is still way more powerful than a .45 ACP. Likewise, I rarely load my .300 Win. anywhere near max.. Maybe if I get to hunt Alaskan moose or shoot at game far enough away that I will benefit from the improved ballistics I will, but so far the need hasn't materialized.

[500Linebaughbuck]

Shooting heavy powerful loads while young, and reducing the loads as we age, brings to mind and old German saying,"Ve git too soon oldt, and too late schmart"!

yes sir!!!! i reduce everything.

even my tc encore with a 24" barrel and the 500L. i use hs-6 for everything. i don't even know how bad h110/win296 should be. and i don't want to.

[TXGunNut]

I've always heard and read the 44 Mag is a cartridge that is inherently accurate and likes to go fast. I've never enjoyed a hard-recoiling handgun and the one 44 I've owned was used briefly for load development and then almost forgotten until I sold it this year. Awesome round, just not my cup of tea. But yes, if I had one I'd fire it at full power on a regular basis because that's what this cartridge was designed for.

[500Linebaughbuck]

I've always heard and read the 44 Mag is a cartridge that is inherently accurate and likes to go fast. I've never enjoyed a hard-recoiling handgun and the one 44 I've owned was used briefly for load development and then almost forgotten until I sold it this year. Awesome round, just not my cup of tea. But yes, if I had one I'd fire it at full power on a regular basis because that's what this cartridge was designed for.

that is just hype because most guys will believe it. i used to be "one of those guys". i would take my mag to the limits of velocity. 240-300gr jacketed and h110 were it!!! since i am a ruger guy, i would buy ruger sbh/srh with 4 5/8 to 10 1/2" barrels and a keg of h110 religiously. the 44 mag(s) would do 2 - 3" at 100 yards.

now its not about how much speed but how much recoil i can take. using a 250gr keith and unique with 9.0gr of unique(1000+/-fps) and 280gr wfn and 10.0gr unique(1100+/-fps) which recoil doesn't bother me. i use a 44sp case and 250gr keith with 7.5gr of unique and that my load to hunt deer with.

[TXGunNut]

I have a lot of admiration for the 44 Spl but since I have a few revolvers chambered in 45 Colt I have little use for it. In my limited testing of the 44 Mag it seemed the max loads seemed to have a high degree of inherent accuracy but it may have had more to do with the powder and firearm used. I was using WW296 and an 8" Contender for midrange load development.

[500Linebaughbuck]

I have a lot of admiration for the 44 Spl but since I have a few revolvers chambered in 45 Colt I have little use for it. In my limited testing of the 44 Mag it seemed the max loads seemed to have a high degree of inherent accuracy but it may have had more to do with the powder and firearm used. I was using WW296 and an 8" Contender for midrange load development.

my choice was either the 45 colt or 44 mag and i chose the mag. the 45 colt is nothing to sneeze at either. i have used it for many years, but the 44 stole my heart.

[tazman]

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".

The only real answer is "it seemed like a good idea at the time".

[6bg6ga]

The only real answer is "it seemed like a good idea at the time".

Not the first time I've either said or thought that.

[OlDeuce]

When I was younger that's what I did ! Super Blackhawk was the only thing to own in 44mag !! Now that I'm way older my 44 is by my side ! I just
moved up to the Thompson Contender in .444 !!!!!! We just never learn !! Its just so much fun!!! Ol Deuce

[Walks]

I loaded maxed out .44MAG as soon as I got my 1st SBH for IMSHA. Later the .454CASULL . I went through WW296 at about 3lbs a month.

Hottest .44SPL was Skeeter Skelton's 250gr Keith over 7.5grs of Unique. Greatest .44SPL for COLT SAA ever. Now the Casull is long gone. COLT SAA in .45Colt is now LYMAN #454190-255gr over 8.5grs of Unique.

My old hands appreciate the lighter recoil.

I believe my hands would be in better shape today if I had shot light loads in my youth.

[Bill*B]

We all have the urge to hot rod our pistols - but when our hands give up, a light dawns, and we discover moderate loadings.

[trapper9260]

I have not look to see the high end of load my ammo. I let the gun tell me and start on the min. and go from there.I guess that is how I was taught.Why use more powder then you need to.

[gnostic]

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".

I'm in the same boat, I loaded a few hundred 310 grain bullets with a stout load of 296 and now I'm considering pulling the bullets and reloading the cases. The last time I shot this load, I lost the feeling in two fingers of my right hand for a year or so. My thinking was, if I want to shoot 44spl, I'd shoot my 624 rather than my SBH.

[bruce381]

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.

yeah that's what I used to do now all fun loads maybe Jim they were made when you were full of piss and vinegar?

[Rodfac]

Good advice, this.>>>

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.

As a rule, I load to Skelton's 240/7.5 gr Unique standard in Special brass. Given the size of our wily KY white tails, I'd be comfortable with Skelton's load out to just about 50 yds or so, with open sights. I know from experience that load will shoot clean through a 120 KY deer when hit behind the shoulder, and will break two ribs coming and going while doing it.

That same powder load works extremely well with Lyman's 429215 with or without the GC. This latter load is comfortable for all day toting, and quite good as a defense prescription too. I get ~950 fps from my pair of 4-5/8" Ruger BH Flat Tops. I'm also fond of 6.0-6.5 gr of 231 for ~900 fps in Special brass.

Any of the above are far better than I can hold anymore and manageable from a recoil standpoint. For plinking, the Winchester 231 powder at 6.0 gr with Lyman's 429215 without the GC is the cat's meow.

Best Regards, and may I add: take care of your sight, your hearing, and your wrist joints when you're young. Best Regards, Rod (I'll be 72 this May)

[fastdadio]

I'm with you guys all the way and have nothing more to say that hasn't already been said. Except, what the heck should I do with this pound of W296 I got sitting on the bench? Anybody load it in the 30-30?