A good .44 Magnum Medium load

[Wally]

Have been using a Lee 210 Grain RNF CB (# 90285) in my .44 Magnum guns and found a great medium load that is economical & very accurate. I used a Wolf Std Large Pistol primer and 8.0 grains of Bullseye powder. Bullet was from pure WW and sized to .431"; quenched straight from the mold. The stats are:

Ruger SBH w/ 7.5" barrel 1,150 FPS Muzzle Velocity
S & W 29 w/8.3/8" barrel) 1,100 " " "
Mo94 crabine 1,350 " " "

Std Deviations were 11/23/7 FPS respectively---

The load was very accurate and the recoil was mild for a .44 Magnum

I do caution one to check each case for double-overcharges as this can be easy to do when using Bullseye powder in a large .44 Magnum cartridge case. [/B]I fill mine with powder and then place in a loading block and then insepect them using a flashlight to see that they are all at the same load level. I had been using 9.0 grains of W-231 but find that this load is better (and uses less powder).

Good shooting!

[dwtim]

Isn't that funny. A couple of weeks ago I put together a 44 Mag load to burn off my excess AA#2 faster, and I arrived at a similar formula. I was going to buy that Lee mould--or the 214 SWC--but decided to just cast some 429215GCs from softer "oops" alloy I had sitting around.

And I shot mine from an Old Model SBH 7.5". This gun has some dimensional problems, so it usually leads like crazy if the load isn't just right. At 8.7 grains AAC2, it was just right.

Can't explain why I never tried this before. My brother has been shooting 44 plinker loads with W231 for years. I should have just posted here before I started testing. I could have had the right formula without even trying.

[runfiverun]

titegroup and red dot will get you there also.
i like up to 8 gr tite and 7 dot.
8gr 800-x is pretty good also but it doesn't meter very well.

[MakeMineA10mm]

I loaded and shot some with 7.5grs W231 today. (210gr RNFP Big Lube)

Light and moderate loads with the faster powders work well. It's hard to find a bad load with 44s, it seems. Fast, Medium, and Slow powders all work well in that bore size...

[Maven]

I've had excellent results with Unique (9grs.), Blue Dot (12grs.) and even the original formulation of Hodgdon's Clays (no more than 6grs.!)* with the usual assortment of Keith-type CB's in my Ruger SBH. With its 10.5" bbl., velocity tends to be higher than published data. Curiously even though I use WC 820 (AA #9 burning rate) for everything else, I've not yet tried it in the .44mag.

*Very clean burning compared to Bullseye or Unique

[crowbeaner]

I used to use 8.0 of Red Dot and the RCBS 44-245-KT. I also used 11.0 of SR 4756 with the same boolit.

[Shuz]

I've used 8g of Green Dot as an equivalent to 9g of Unique for many years in the .44 mag. with a 250g 429421. Slightly more "bang for the buck", and accuracy is great too. An Alliant rep, back in the Hercules days, told me that Green Dot is a "best kept secret" for use in the .44 mag. I've sure been happy with it.

[buck1]

15 through 20 gr of 2400 under a 240gr bullet. Will shoot well in any Ruger 44mag handgun.

[JesterGrin_1]

.44 Mag, 240Gr SWC with 5.5Gr TightGroup and a standard primer has been my go to as far as a good light load that will shoot well from my S&W 629 Classic and my Marlin 1894 . From what I remember they were right at 850FPS or so. Which to me means that even though it is a light load. It is still the same or a bit better than a .45 ACP factory round. And we all know what a .45ACP can do lol.

[hylander]

15 through 20 gr of 2400 under a 240gr bullet. Will shoot well in any Ruger 44mag handgun.

Not Mine

[jack19512]

Not Mine

+1

Not mine either. But then I haven't had anything shoot well in mine yet.

[REDTAIL]

question anyone have experience with Hornady's lead swagged bullets for use in the 44 special or magmum loads any load data for these bullets will be appreciated, these bullets list as 240 gr in solid & hp

[dwtim]

No, but I've used them in the 38 Special and got excellent accuracy with no leading. I'm sure they need a right-sized chamber throat and appropriate pressure, just like any other lead projectile.

On the original topic: I loaded up some (alleged) 429421s over 8.5 grains of AA#2 and shot them today. They shot well. Man, did I miss the boat on light 44s. Look at this thread, it's like a little loading manual.

[JesterGrin_1]

Actually this is better than a reloading manual since these are loads that work lol. You do not have to fish with a bunch of different loads to find one that works. With all this information you can narrow it down to just a few.

[jahela]

Another two loads, bullet is 240 gr keith:
8,8 gr VV N320 or 10 gr VV 3N37. both are about 340 m/s (1110 fps)

[jimxv700]

Try 10.0 gr of Herco with a 240 to 250 gr cast bullet.
Very accurate and mild.
Also try 6.5 gr of Herco with a Lee 214 gr SWC,sized .429 in 44 Special cases.
Both loads work well in a 4" S&W 629.

[Boerrancher]

One of the best shooting loads out of my Redhawk 44, is 8.5 gr of Unique. It is a moderate load behind my 200 gr RF boolit. I can't get a light, med, or heavy load of 2400 to shoot out of my revolver. I know that my load is a top end load for the 44-40, but I figure if I need anything more than that I need a rifle.

Best Wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[MakeMineA10mm]

Tried the same 7.5grs of W231 with 250gr Keith-Type boolits this weekend, and even in the rain, they shot very well out of all three of my current 44s (2 Smiths and a Ruger).

Think that will be my standard 44 powder measure setting: 7.5grs W231. Works with either the light (210gr RNFP) or Keith boolits and the fine-grained ball powder feeds smooth through the powder measure...

[VTDW]

Another two loads, bullet is 240 gr keith:
8,8 gr VV N320 or 10 gr VV 3N37. both are about 340 m/s (1110 fps)

16 gr VV N-110, 280 gr RD boolit = 1,100 fps for a nice and mild load and much less chance of a double charge.

Dave

[Kraschenbirn]

Try 10.0 gr of Herco with a 240 to 250 gr cast bullet.
Very accurate and mild....

+1 on the Herco with CB. Chrono'd some plain-based 245 gr RN (Lyman 429383) over 9.5 gr Herco in my 4 5/8" OM Vaquero this afternoon. Avg. Vel.= 1038 fps with SD of 22. Was shooting with elbows braced on the bench and sandbags under my wrists; 12 round string went into 4 1/2" @ 50 yds. Not exactly "tack driver" accuracy but not too shabby for a short-barrelled, fixed-sight sixgun, either.

Bill