Your IHMSA load for .44 Magnum?

[Abert Rim]

Wondering what y'all are shooting from your .44 Magnums at the handgun silhouette matches. I might try giving this a whang with the CVA Scout 2 pistol.

[Bass Ackward]

You probably know it, but just in case, “the silhouette bullet” was the Saeco #428 or the GC version of it loaded with somewhere between 22.5 and 24 grains of H110 / 296.

[rintinglen]

^What he said. I shot a Ruger, with the RCBS 429-240 SIL Silhouette boolit over 24.0 grains H-110. I had fun.

[Abert Rim]

Thanks fellas. I didn't know it. The only silhouette I shot -- 20 or more years ago -- was with scoped Contenders in 6.5 and 7mm TCU. Never ran a .44 for this, and when I hunted with a SBH I loaded the Hornady 300-grain XTP. I notice both molds cited have a semi-truncated cone nose profile -- I assume for improved BC?

[high standard 40]

In my early days of IHMSA I was using a Ruger Super Blackhawk with cast bullets. I used 2400 powder with excellent results. That combination was very common then. This was the early 80s. For jacketed bullets you would be hard pressed to do better than the previously suggested 296/H110. When I switched to. DW 44 I could never find a cast bullet load that I liked. It did like 296 with Sierra 240 HP.

[high standard 40]

What I have heard in reference to the truncated cone design is that it has better long range stability than a SWC design. If you are considering a bullet heavier than 240 grains, check Accurate molds 43-265D. I designed that bullet with silhouette in mind.

[.429&H110]

+1!
There goes the 250gr Keith boolit with 22.5 H110 again!
I learned about that load here and my SRH and I thank you all.

[P Flados]

For me, the 40 targets of an IHMSA round combines being able to hold good for the early targets (chickens & pigs) and then stay good for the much harder turkeys & rams. Part of why they are harder is just eye strain and maintaining focus for 40 consecutive targets.

Recoil is not your friend.

44 mag is used mostly for the revolver class. Using it for one of the unlimited classes that allow 14" guns would not be a typical choice for someone trying to be "competitive", but should work fine just for getting started or shooting for the "fun of it". Most IHMSA shooting is done with open sights. The class that allows 14" guns with scopes use targets that are a lot smaller.

Using a scope and shooting the small targets calls for accuracy as a top priority with no concern about power.

If shooting full size targets out to 200 meters, you should have good knock down power with a 14" single shot gun, even with a load that would be iffy from a 10" revolver. Flatter shooting and less wind drift are helpful and should be considered when choosing a bullet and load. However, what ever load you can find that is most accurate at 150 meters will usually trump everything else.

[Abert Rim]

PF: I would be shooting just for the fun of it.

[P Flados]

PF: I would be shooting just for the fun of it.

I wish more folks would become active at IHMSA "just for the fun of it". The one guy at the local club that does all of the work does not have much incentive when a handful or less show up. What used to be monthly well attended matches for ~8 months every year has dwindled to one or two per year.

[contender1]

No matter if I was shooting IHMSA,, or whatever,, I work up a load for my gun that is the most accurate in it. What works for Bubba Joe, or Sam Funny, or whomever else,, may not work in MY gun.
They make reloading manuals that give excellent guidelines on how to assemble safe ammo for your guns. Since each gun is a different machine than any other,, I prefer to let my gun tell me what it prefers & is most accurate for the intended purpose.

[high standard 40]

I wish more folks would become active at IHMSA "just for the fun of it". The one guy at the local club that does all of the work does not have much incentive when a handful or less show up. What used to be monthly well attended matches for ~8 months every year has dwindled to one or two per year.

That's the reality here in Louisiana. I sponsor matches at three different ranges in my state. It has gotten to the point that I often have only one other shooter besides myself. I had to drop my IHMSA sanction for my matches. I still shoot silhouette but just for my own benefit.

[oldhenry]

I shot IHMSA in the early to mid 80's with a 10.5" Ruger Super Blackhawk. The "Standing" class was my favorite. The Lyman 429421 cast boolit over 10.0 gr. of Unique worked well for me & was popular among the other .44 mag. shooters.

[alfadan]

My dad shot IMHSA back in the early 90s. I thought about getting into it, but the requirements to get into the club doing it seemed like too much hassle, and not much participation.

His 44 load used a 240gr xtp and AA9 though not sure of charge weight. I have his 10" sbh Silhouette Special.

[Nobade]

I didn't know anybody was still shooting IHMSA. I was really into it through the 80's and 90's but everybody in Albuquerque seemed to give it up. I shot NRA silhouette for a while after that and the same deal there, nobody wanted to play any more. As for 44 mag, I found that if you have enough sight adjustment you don't need much power. At least on our rams, if you hit one with 240 grains it went down just maybe not very fast so I ended up using what would be considered a slightly warm 44 spl load.

[Abert Rim]

Nobade, I was thinking you used to be in New Mexico. I moved to Texas a couple of years ago from Alamogordo.
I plan to pursue this far enough to shoot the next match here on the first Saturday in May. This will be a heavy break-open CVA Scout 2 with 14-inch bull barrel and I will mount a Weaver 2-6X pistol scope. I won't need to be anywhere near maximum loads, so my focus will be on finding a good cast bullet that is accurate to 200 meters, something between 250 and 270 grains, preferably. I'd try the Lee 310, but it seems I have read the WFN designs lose stability beyond 100 faster than LFNs, Keiths and the conicals. High Standard's Accurate 43-265D looks good, but am not sure how far behind Tom is. I do have enough 260-grain Keiths from a previous mold to do load workups and have enough for a match, so may go that route for now.

[fourarmed]

We still hold ihmsa matches, and attendance is dwindling, or it was. Some new guys shooting pistol-caliber rifles at the field pistol targets joined us last year, and our first match this year was bigger than any in a decade. We drew a bunch of new shooters using .22 rifles and air guns.

As to the .44, I think you'll find that standard weight bullets work fine for chickens and pigs and maybe turkeys, but you'll almost certainly need something heavier to group well on the rams. That's certainly true of revolvers. 4227 is always worth trying, too.

[racepres]

Nobade, I was thinking you used to be in New Mexico. I moved to Texas a couple of years ago from Alamogordo.
I plan to pursue this far enough to shoot the next match here on the first Saturday in May. This will be a heavy break-open CVA Scout 2 with 14-inch bull barrel and I will mount a Weaver 2-6X pistol scope. I won't need to be anywhere near maximum loads, so my focus will be on finding a good cast bullet that is accurate to 200 meters, something between 250 and 270 grains, preferably. I'd try the Lee 310, but it seems I have read the WFN designs lose stability beyond 100 faster than LFNs, Keiths and the conicals. High Standard's Accurate 43-265D looks good, but am not sure how far behind Tom is. I do have enough 260-grain Keiths from a previous mold to do load workups and have enough for a match, so may go that route for now.

How I would Roll...but, I would Not disregard that Lee 310... But I use it in the Lever action...

[leadhead]

I'm from Pa. and I shot IHMSA for 22 years. Started back in the mid 80's.
I was the Pa. state director in the early 90's. I don't think there's any
matches in Pa. anymore. Maybe a .22 only match over east somewhere.
I'm going to be 82 in July and still have all my IHMSA guns. I do miss it.

[Abert Rim]

Leadhead, I still don't understand what happened to handgun silhouette. It is easier for me to form a theory of why cowboy action shooting has fizzled.