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Thread: 44 Magnum Silhouette Load Boolits and Data

  1. #1
    I'm A Honcho!
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    44 Magnum Silhouette Load Boolits and Data

    Gents,

    I started honchoing to see if I could get the most accurate 44 Magnum Boolits. The quest continues. Please share winning or proven 44 Magnum pistol and or rifle loads that are accurate enough to neck shoot a deer at 100 yards reliably.

    I know to work up slowly and I accept all responsibility for ME using the data you post here. If I choose to use it.

    Im primarily looking to see if ther NEI or SSK 265 Bore riding boolit is a winning design. Or the Saeco #432 265 grain. I think that will be my next honchoing accuracy quest.

    Bluejay
    Last edited by bluejay75; 05-29-2019 at 08:22 PM.
    You never know how you rank amongst men 'til you have seen what will break another man.
    The original "Bluejay" US Army/ US Navy 1945-1970.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    I don’t have the confidence in my shooting with my mod. 29 to try a neck shot at a 100 yards.
    If I had a bench and sand bags and a scope on it maybe but I am going to go for the heart lungs under the best of field conditions I have hunted in.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    Data is probably rather 'dated'...author has been dead for 25 years...but you might look around for a copy of Elgin Gates' "Reloading Guide for Handgun Accuracy". Warning: some of Gates' loads are w-a-a-y outside the data published in current reloading manuals. Back in my day, the rallying cry of IHMSA revolver class was "More powder, bigger bullets".
    "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."

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    "Scarlet Begonias"

  4. #4
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    My pet load which I shoot in my Rossi R92 ain't a pedal to the metal factory type load, but in my area 100 yards is long range; so I load 7 grains of Unique with an Oregon Trail .431" laser cast 240 grain SWC in a Starline 44 Magnum case. It chronographs at 1150 fps, and it is quite accurate. I think of it as a giant 22 Long Rifle. But it will take care of bidness here in Arkansas. Even in the little 5 pound Rossi I can shoot it all day.

  5. #5
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    I got a decent load WW mag primers 20 grs 2400 240 keith semi w/c rp brass in a 71/2 ruger b/h

  6. #6
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    Thanks Gents!!!

    Im testing some today. The 44 Hammer WFN with 21.5, 22 and 22.5 of H110. Will post results.

    I have a good one in lower power...10.5 Grains of Unique MP Molds HG 503 Clone sized to .433 shoots a ragged hole 2-3 inches@100yds. Probably need to shoot fewer bullets and refine this one at 100 yards this one had a wide accuracy node (10-11.5 shot nearly as good as 10.5 hard to tell the difference in groups.

    Im getting a fist sized group at 100 yards with a NOE 280 WFN sized to .433 and 21.8 grains of H110. Loaded a tad deep in the case to make the turn in the Ruger 77/44 rotary magazine. Took 3 hogs and 2 deer with this load last season. But this is the best it will do and has a narrow accuracy node.
    You never know how you rank amongst men 'til you have seen what will break another man.
    The original "Bluejay" US Army/ US Navy 1945-1970.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by bluejay75 View Post
    Thanks Gents!!!

    Im testing some today. The 44 Hammer WFN with 21.5, 22 and 22.5 of H110. Will post results.

    I have a good one in lower power...10.5 Grains of Unique MP Molds HG 503 Clone sized to .433 shoots a ragged hole 2-3 inches@100yds. Probably need to shoot fewer bullets and refine this one at 100 yards this one had a wide accuracy node (10-11.5 shot nearly as good as 10.5 hard to tell the difference in groups.

    Im getting a fist sized group at 100 yards with a NOE 280 WFN sized to .433 and 21.8 grains of H110. Loaded a tad deep in the case to make the turn in the Ruger 77/44 rotary magazine. Took 3 hogs and 2 deer with this load last season. But this is the best it will do and has a narrow accuracy node.
    I went all the way up to 23.5 and all I can say is WOW!!!

    Thrown charges (H110 23.5 grains group below)
    Boolits only visually inspected
    Plain Base
    Sized to .433 and coated clear with Smokes Powder
    Alloy just barely hard enough not to dent with my fingernail
    Handi Rifle 16.5 inch barrel with 4x scope
    No flash...This overbored finicky gun usually flashes and gets poor combustion on 1 of 10 shots

    From 22.5-23.5 shot extremely well. My usual range is closed for repairs and I shot this at a pistol range with only a front rest. The lower ranges shot ok. But at the high end all boolits touched. To me thats the sign of a promising load. I will do 10 more at each weight between 22.5 and 23.5 at 100 yards and see what I will batch load. My current full power cast load wont do this.

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    You never know how you rank amongst men 'til you have seen what will break another man.
    The original "Bluejay" US Army/ US Navy 1945-1970.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Almost everyone I’ve known over the last 50 years who hand loaded the .44 Special or .44 Magnum began by shooting 240 or 250 grain bullets driven up to full throttle.

    Once they’d killed off the local mastodon population, they invested in more comfortable custom grips, took up bullet casting, hand loading and matured a bit. Hornady or Speer half-jackets, Ray Thompson’s #429215 GC bullet and Winchester 295HP Ball powder or Keith’s #429421 with 22 grains of Hercules #2400 were the favorite recipes before 1970.

    When 295HP was discontinued, Hercules #2400 reigned supreme until Hodgdon H110 and Winchester 296 powders were introduced. But Elmer remained steadfastly loyal to #2400, shunning all the transient marketing fluff. Keith’s original 18.5 grains of #2400 he once loaded in balloon-head .44 Specials blew up its share of guns after solid-head cases came out, when people didn’t appreciate the difference. But, the 18.5 grain charge of #2400, either Hercules or new Alliant turns out to be just right as a starting load when loading 240-250 grain bullets in .44 Magnum brass.

    Keith wrote of loading as much as 22 grains of #2400 with the #429421 "back in the day." While today’s Alliant powder is actually very little different from the original Hercules of his era, modern piezoelectric pressure measurement and today’s SAAMI MAP are more conservative. Current loading manuals stop at around 20 grains, and I find that to be sound advice.

    Ten grains of Unique or 11 grains of Herco make good 1000-1100 fps “packing” loads with 240-260 grain bullets. You can also use 7 grains of Bullseye, 452AA, WST or TiteGroup with Saeco #430 or #441. Accurate and fully satisfactory.

    In his book Sixguns, Keith advocated a light load of 5.0 grains Bullseye or 8.5 grains of Unique as a target load in the .44 Magnum with #429421. I mostly keep my lighter target stuff separated in .44 Special cases and in that brass limit charges to .45 ACP “hardball” loads appropriate to the powder with 230-grain bullets from my Accurate molds 43-230EB and 43-230G.

    My high school classmate, the late Gregory Kalnitzky killed truckloads of game world-wide with the 265-grain Saeco #441 version of the Keith bullet pushed along at about 1000 fps with 16 grs. of #2400 from his Model 29 or 1400 fps from a 20-inch Marlin carbine. He determined in actual field use that 16 grains of #2400 was as light as produced acceptable ballistic uniformity in both rifle and revolver, with good accuracy and adequate penetration. It was also as much as you could load in a Microgroove Marlin without leading or keyholing, with 265-grain Saeco #441 Keith clones in 10 BHN alloy without gas-check.

    Plain-based bullets when fired in the .44 Magnum begin to lead in revolvers above 1200 fps and in rifles above 1400 fps. If alloy, lube and bullet fit are perfect you can fudge those numbers a little bit. GCs help a great deal for full-charge loads which will also be used in rifles, using case-capacity charges of H110, 296 or LilGun. In order for gas-checks to be of benefit in revolver loads, bullets must fit the cylinder throats. Because chambers vary greatly due to manufacturing variations, from .429- to .433+,” I recommend measuring cylinder throats and sizing bullets accordingly.

    I had the pleasure to dine with Elmer Keith at Bill Ruger's home when I worked for the company. When asked after all these years if there were any changes he’d consider making in the #429421, Keith responded that it would have been a better bullet had he increased the weight to around 270 to 280 grains with a wider meplat to provide deeper penetration and a wider wound channel. In the 1920s when he designed #429421 nobody could have foreseen the growth in handgun hunting after 1970, especially as defense against really large and dangerous beasts.

    Swede Nelson at NOE has a 432-277-SWC Keith bullet that is superbly accurate at 1000 fps with 16.0 grains 2400 and a standard large primer. Keith was a firm believer in adequate bullet weight and frontal area over velocity. He felt that no more than 1000 fps is needed. While higher velocity flattens trajectory, making longer range hits easier, “at hot breath range mass makes the smash.”

    In the late 1990s Lyman finally added a GC heel to #429421, bumping its weight to 300 grains in linotype or 310 grains in wheel weights, calling it #429650. The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th Edition (2010) lists charges of 19 grs. IMR 4227, LilGun, or 296, for 1000 fps from 4 inch barrel, which should give with astounding penetration, to reduce your local mastodon population. Recoil is stout, but manageable.

    But, as I have said here before, a firearm does not need to be operated at “full power” any more than any other machine. It is true that many shooters love the BOOM and believe that a .44 Magnum should let you feel the heat on your face every time you pull the trigger, as your hand feels the sting of those ill-fitting factory grips while your head swims in the dazzle of noise, muzzle flash and recoil, as your ears ring. As I get older, my body is more fragile, and I don’t enjoy firing heavy loads.
    The ENEMY is listening.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Master waco's Avatar
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    Awesome write up Outpost. Thank you.
    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
    Proverbs 1:7

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Outpost great post.
    What a privilege to get to have dinner with those 2.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    Give the RCBS 429- gc-sil bullet a try ! the weight is gotten with linotype alloy

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    That's a great read Outpost , not to mention very informative !!! Thank you !

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    My load for the 44 mag which was Very successful in IHMSA revolver class
    was at first the classic Keith 22 gr 2400/429421 cast of 9+1 coww/lino.
    Great Load. BUT, seemed to be heat sensitive- higher pressures on hot match days.
    Also, at one point back then, the latest Hercules loading suggestions was to back down the
    load to 20.5gr. They had apparently made the 2400 "hotter"/faster burning.
    I then turned to 24 grains of IMR 4227. Velocity 1330fps, excellent load, with same
    ballistics as the old Keith load. The 4227 load is definitely less heat sensitive/more consistent in varying temps than the 2400 load. I won a lot of matches with both loads.
    For hunting, I used the same load of 4227.
    But, never got to shoot a deer with it so I cannot suggest any more than what Elmer reported for his bullet at those velocities.

    beltfed/arnie

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Oh, and I never had a Ram remain standing after I hit it with this load
    beltfed/arnie

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy kingrj's Avatar
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    Well....if someone is interested in the MOST accuracy possible then you have to consider the transonic transition where the bullet transitions between supersonic speeds to subsonic speeds. This can and does affect bullet flight.. With a typical .44 mag bullet of say 240 grains this will occur at just about 100 yards if the initial velocity is not over 1100 fps. Now will this effect even be noticable at 100 yards? Most probably NOT unless the best rest and a scope are used...but then again...we reloaders to love straining at gnats don't we?

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Awesome response by Outpost per usual. I shot IHMSA when our gun club still had the real deal before switching to that sissy 'hunter' game. I used a 7 1/2" Super Blackhawk and, at first, 22.0/2400/245K. However I was used to cranking sights while shooting NRA Hi-Power Service Rifle and dropped to 11.0/Unique with the same Keith, and enjoyed much more comfortable shooting. I used a logbook modeled after my Service Rifle book to keep track of come-ups, etc. The Keiths were wheelweights with a bit of added Linotype, air-cooled and lubed with Lyman Alox. The Unique load never left a hit ram standing. I worked with the Hornady 240 FMJ-TC and the Hornady 265 JSP but neither of them shot as well as the Keiths. Then one day after the match, a couple of us hung around setting and shooting steel, and I broke out my new-to-me 4" M29. I lay down with it and took down five pigs and five turkeys straight. As a mechanic in the '60s and '70s, we had a saying as we'd throw a Rochester carburetor over our shoulder onto the junk pile and unboxed a Holley: "I'll just lay this over HERE (crash)". I just laid the Blackhawk 'over here' and all my .44 shooting after that was with my 29. My duty-carry and hunting load became the late, lamented Speer 225 JSWCHP over 10.0/Unique, using the Lee 210 SWC for training/practice. One season I took the South Texas grand slam with that 29; one each whitetail, javelina and coyote, and none of them left their tracks. Most recently I used it in our local law enf matches for the unofficial Big Bore side match, with the M-P HBWC and 4.5/231. I found out later that's Jerry Miculek's pet .44 load. I wonder if he got Speer to save him any NOS of that lovely bullet. I have a bit less than a box left of that load and 50 of the bullets I'm hoarding. At last count, I have 3 .44 SPL revos, 3 .44 MAG revos, and 4 .44 MAG rifles, and I've been trying to develop a good load with their 200, 210, and 240 gr GDHP/DCs but can't get them to shoot nearly as accurately. If anyone has any of that Speer 225 they don't need, PLEASE let me know about it. Sorry to get away from silhouette but this story has more than one facet.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Greetings
    We shot the steel critters from 1981-1984. Any 240 or heavier GC grainer propelled by H110 or W296 pushed as accurate/fast as your revolver will tolerate is going to knock the down. Accuracy is first. Then fast. Those two powders are near exact and are gentle to cast GC slugs. Our 8" Dan Wesson would sling those into 4 inch groups at 200 meters using that lay down "creedmore" position. Still does also.
    We shot our 41mag DW more than the 44 but they both were the same... a 240 grainer accuracy tested fast never failed.

    Corn crunchers.... Have never used a cast slug less than 255 grains out of a revolver. No issues. Clean through penetration from every angle we have shot. Never have tried a "grill door" shot. Never had to. We use 50-50 (WW-range scrap +1% tin). As have only needed one shot leading was never an issue.
    Mike in LLama Land.
    "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
    Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    There's still a few mastodons in the area. I like the Lee 310 grain boolit, but the RCBS 245 gr. does just as good.
    Both shoot accurately from my SRH with book loads.
    Tom
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check