44 Special

[Ben]

Just got a 4 cav. SAECO # 446 mold from ddeaton.

A very nice mold.

My bullets are dropping very round at .4305"

I now have plenty of them sized to .430 , lubed, and ready to load.

These weigh 207 grs. with lube.

Care to share a favorite load for the .44 Spec. with a bullet of this approx. weight ?

I'll be shooting these out of my Lipsey, Ruger 5.5" 44 Spec.

[bearmn56]

Ben,
I shoot a 6" 624. I have a 200gr full wadcutter mould that looks very nearly like a .38 cal wadcutter. I use 4.0gr B'eye for about 700fps. Five grains gives about 850fps. Both very accurate.
Bearmn56
Montana Territory

[Ben]

I think Elmer Keith, at one time, recommended 5.0 grs. of B'eye with a 240 SWC ?

I'll try your load......

Thanks,

Ben

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Depends on what you are using it for, I use 17 gr of 2400 with a 210gr boolit that WFM, if you are just punching paper I would probably go with the Bullseye loads mentioned above....I'm just a 24000 guy and don't keep a dozen different powders around to play with...so have fun, great looking boolit...

[Dale53]

Ben;
From the looks of those bullets it looks like you got a FINE mould from ddeaton. It also looks like you know how to cast good bullets.

4.0-5.0 grs of Bullseye should make a dandy target load.

FWIW
Dale53

[Ben]

Thanks fellows for all your replies.

Dale:

I'm 60 yrs. old now, I've been casting since I was 19 yrs. old. If I'm ever going to catch on as to how to do it, it should be very soon now........

Thanks,

Ben

[Char-Gar]

Ben.. If I wanted a light target load I would use Bullsye around 4 to 4.5 grains. If I wanted a mid-range load I would look to Unique around 6.5 to 7.5 grains. If you want something hoter than that, then buy a 44 magnum.

[Gun-adian]

I've got the same mould. It drops great boolits.

I'm still working on a good .44 Special load. I'll give some of the above recommendations a try.

Thanks.

Mike.

[Ben]

Chargar :

For the same money I could have easily bought the same pistol in .44 Mag.

Catch is.....I wanted the 44 Special. The Special will do everything that I want in a revolver.

I've shot 7.5 Unique already, that's about as fast as I need to go with this pistol.

Thanks for the load data suggestions ,

Ben

[LAH]

Try 2400, 'bout 15 grains. While it may be a little dirty I think you'll be happy.. creeker

[bowhunter]

out of my smith 696 i use a 215 gr. lyman with 17 gr. h4227 or 17 gr imr 4227 with a mag primer for this slow powder. it is very clean and very accurate.

[That'll Do]

Just got a 4 cav. SAECO # 446 mold from ddeaton.

A very nice mold.

My bullets are dropping very round at .4305"

I now have plenty of them sized to .430 , lubed, and ready to load.

These weigh 207 grs. with lube.

Care to share a favorite load for the .44 Spec. with a bullet of this approx. weight ?

I'll be shooting these out of my Lipsey, Ruger 5.5" 44 Spec.

I've shot the same boolit out of the same gun. My preferred load is 5.5gr of Red Dot. I don't have a chrono, but it is a very mild, yet accurate load. I'd guess that it's probably under 800 fps.

[Dframe]

I use trail boss extensively for my 44s. But I also don't load heavy stuff. I use mine for plinking and plate shooting.

[targetshootr]

Sweet mold and a sweet gun. I like Universal, it burns cleanly so I'd use 6.0gr for plinking/target and up to 7.5 gr for anything serious.

[Ben]

targetshootr :

I've got a can of Universal, I'll give it a try.

Many thanks,

Ben

[Rocky Raab]

I don't have a Ruger yet (have a Bisley flattop on the way though!) and have never loaded bullets lighter than 215 grains. But with that weight, of the 15 powders I tried, the best loads were 6.6 of Nitro 100 (875 from a 3" Bulldog), 7.0 700X (920) and 5.0 Bullseye (715). Honorable mention for accuracy went to 5.0 American Select at 725, 5.0 Clays at 775, and 7.5 Universal Clays at 925.

If you happen to stumble across any, Alcan 120, Alcan 5 and W630 are also excellent.

[shdwlkr]

In my pistol I like 255 grain bullets and 5.5 grains of unique and if I am in a really good mood I up it to 6.5 grains like Elmer Keith.
I also shoot 240 semi wad cutters in it but I like the 255 grain load better.

[Dframe]

I don't own a ruger 44 (and never have). But I have a few S&W's and Colts. All of them like the 200grain RNFP over a charge of Trail Boss. I know the majority of folks here prefer heavy bullets, but for plinking and casual target shooting I like the 200 grain bullet.

[Ben]

Dframe :

but for plinking and casual target shooting I like the 200 grain bullet.

My exact thoughts ! !

A lot of my shooting with my Lipsey , 44 Spec. is punching paper. I've got bullet molds for .44 that go up to a g/c 282 gr. bullet.

But for punching paper, I think I'm going to like my new bullet ( at 207 grs ) better.

Ben

[targetshootr]

What type of hold do you use? There should be a thread about that. I shoot best sitting in a chair with arms outstretched, left index finger on front of the trigger guard and middle finger under the trigger guard. Along with the right hand it forms a tripod which cuts down on front sight movement.