Light loads for 44 Magnum

[peter nap]

I'm backing off on my loads some to help with the flinch I developed.

The bullet I'm using in44 Mag is 429421 which I love with stiff charges of 2400 but I loaded some pretty light using 2400 (actually they were starting loads) and I might as well have been shooting a shotgun.

Hopefully I won't have to go to a lighter bullet but if so...that's life. That's the only 44 mold I have right now though.

Is there a better powder to try with that bullet?

[HDS]

The bullet should be just fine.

I've been thinking about the exact same thing today, I also load 429421 and I use Vihtavuori N110, if I crimp to the crimp groove it'll want around 20 grains to ignite properly for me, thats a stiff load. Too stiff to be fun IMO.

So I've been thinking about seating the bullet deeper and crimping over the front driving band. I just need to find a safe load for N110 that works first though.

That might be something to try, then you could still use 2400.

[Hickory]

Unique is a good powder for the 44 mag.
I use the load data for 45 Colt for a reduced
load in the 44 mag with the same boolit weight.
Been doing this for 35 years and and have never had a problem.

Titegroup, trailboss, 231, and others in this burn range will work too for reduced loadings.

[white eagle]

been speeding for 35 years
don't make it rite
just lucky

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Heavy or full house loads in the 44 Mag, unless you have a need for them or like to keep working with them, can wear you out and/or make flinching a habit. With the bullet you are using which is a good one, moving over to Unique powder is a good suggestion and starting with around 5.0 grains-then working up if you feel the need to. Of course there are a large number of powders that can be used, but if you go to a good manual and pick loads that are in the 7-800 fps range you will find them to be pleasant to shoot, with good accuracy/grouping and no leading-clean burning. I did find that 9.0 grains of 4756 was really good for me in 2 Smith 29's with a 255 grain bullet. With these types of loads you can "train away" any flinch and shoot good groups all day. Its easier on the brass too. I enjoyed it so much that eventually I went to a 180 grain wadcutter and saved 70 grains of lead on each shot. Every 100 rounds saved a pound of lead for another day. Its a great caliber that is versatile if you put in a bit of experimenting. LLS

[Char-Gar]

Elmer Keith recommend 5/Bulleye for a target load and 10/Unique for a mid-range load under that bullet in the 44 Magnum round. I have fired many of each and they work great.

[redneckdan]

4.0gr of red dot is a nice light load.

[Larry Gibson]

8.5 gr of Unique under that 429421 will be an excellent load for your needs.

Larry Gibson

[Snapping Twig]

My favorite load for a light 44 mag is:

Lyman 429421 (250g from WW) or Lyman 429244 (265g from WW) over 7g W231/HP38 in a magnum case.

Very nice load @ 850 ~ 900fps. Accurate!

Been making that load since 1983 and it's a pleasure to shoot.

[rintinglen]

I like 8.0 grains of Unique or 5.5 Grains of Red Dot for mild 44 Maggie use. Accurate and easy on the elderly hands and wrists. Anymore, I just don't care to get beat up shooting big stuff, and since the last of dinosaurs hereabouts were killed by cars and habitat loss, I just have no need for full power Magnums. Most of my shooting is done with "Special" in mind, not "Magnum".

[Kraschenbirn]

10 gr. of Herco under a 245 gr. boolit shoots just fine in both my OM Vaquero and my 1894 Marlin without any objectionable recoil or muzzleblast.

Bill

[fecmech]

+1 on the 7 grs of 231. Excellent accuracy with both the 429421 and Lee 214 gr swc.

[ColColt]

My favorites are 9 gr of Universal or 10 gr of Unique with the 429421 boolit...simply superb.

[MtGun44]

10 unique runs about 1050. If you want less, try 8 gr Unique. 10 is a personal favorite
and is most often very accurate.

Bill

[wellfedirishman]

6 grains of Trailboss is my go-to cowboy load for 44 mag. Gives about 800 fps with a 240 gr boolit. Clean and accurate too.

[GARCIA]

10.0gr of HS6 was my regular load.
Worked good for me.

Tom

[warf73]

I'm in the Red Dot or Herco crowd for a nice light load in 44mag.

[katch1]

i'm with wellfed 6.-6.2gr of trailboss should fit the bill.

the nice thing @ trail boss is you can load just2 anything with it.

the filling up of the case negates the chances of double charging

[bobthenailer]

My go to bullet for most of my 44 mag shooting is the Saeco #420 a 200 gt tc even though i have 3 other 44 moulds.
I load 5.5 grs of BE or TIGHTGROUP @ 800 fps
7.0 grs of BE or TIGHTGROUP @ 950 fps
13.0 grs of HS6 @ 1200 fps
thes loads have been shot from 5 different 44 mags and have proven to be accurate in all of them

[EMC45]

I have only shot reduced .44 Mag loads in my 1894 Marlin. It was 5gr. Bullseye under a 429-421. Shot like a .223. Mild recoil.

[DragoonDrake]

431-245-SWC over 5grs Clays makes for a wonderful shooting load.

[songdog53]

10gr.'s of blue dot works well for me and is accruate out of 4" 629 and pleasure to shoot

[txbirdman]

Like some others here I've used 10 gr. of Unique with the 429421 in my 50th anniversary Blackhawk almost exclusively. It's doing a little more than 1100 fps from the 6.5 inch barrel and will kill anything I'll encounter here in Texas. It's not uncommon to shoot 1.5" 25 yd. 5 shot groups from a seated field position with this revolver and load.

[Mal Paso]

5.5 of Titegroup does a Relaxed 840 fps behind that Boolit out of my 4" Redhawk.

[Lloyd Smale]

two loads ive had good luck with are 9.5 grains of herco and 9 grains of power pistol.

[Shuz]

Two loads I like are 7.0g or 8.6g of Green Dot and 429421.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Alot of good loads mentioned above, but for a better reference I would buy a back issue of Handloader Mag #237 Oct of 2005 where Brian Pearce does a complete article on "midrange loads for the .44 mag".

All of the above and alot more are covered in detail.

I would also get a copy of Handloader #236 Aug of 2005 which has a complete article by Mr Pearce on loading the .44 Special from mild to wild.

These are some of the best guides to loading these two cartridges I have seen and a very well spent $20.

I just got mine a month or so ago and I have read both of these articles several times and have a much better idea of what is needed and what can be done with these rounds.

Randy

[HDS]

Well. I loaded up some of my 429421 NOE bullets and seated them deep enough to crimp over the driving band and reduced the load to 16.1 grains of N110. QuickLoad says this load should result in 1135fps of velocity, pressure is also pretty low. Will have to chrono and see.

[rintinglen]

Albeit late to the fair, I'd recommend 17 grains of 2400. That has been the most accurate reduced load for me, though it may be too light for your uses.

[robertbank]

I use 8.5 gr of Unique in my carbine for light loads and this loading is accurate and pleasant to shoot.

Take Care

Bob

[EDK]

I'm using VAQUEROS with 5.5 inch barrels d*** near every day and don't need max loads. I have an aluminum and brass version of MIHEC'S copy of 429421 that works nicely with loads around 7 grains of HERCO, TITEGROUP, HP38 or RED DOT. Boolits are .432, BH 10-to-12, magnum brass and WINCHESTER LARGE PISTOL primers. MMA10MM'S version feeds some better in my rifles.

Same area for 429352, NOE version of RD 432 265, and a bunch of others in the 250 to 270 grain area.

I need to copy and laminate the two articles that W.R.Buchanan mentioned. I use them as a reference a lot and recommend them to others. Not every issue, but pretty often HANDLOADER has some really good articles on pistol reloading.

[wcp4570]

I add my vote for 10 grains Unique under the Keith boolit. When I was young, Magnum loads were what I shot most, now 30 years later the above load saves wear on both the gun and man.

wcp

[Beau Cassidy]

My current light load is 7.5 grains of Winchester Super Target. I have also had good luck with 6.5 grains of Clays and 6.5 grains of Red Dot. For a little warmer load 10.0 grains of Herco shot very well. All under a Ballisticast Keith.

[mustanggt]

I looked last year for something different from Unique, 10gr. So I looked at AA7 and found a nice comprable load to the 10gr of Unique. I was getting better accuracy with it as well.

[MT Gianni]

I use 6.5 gr Red Dot for a good mild load.

[Mack Heath]

Some time back I set out to find a load that would allow me to use a Mtn Revolver in our local duty gun matches. I found one that worked equally well with two 240 grain bullets. It consisted of 5.2 grains of WW-231 or HP-38 loaded into .44 special cases. The two bullets were SWC or TC designs. The SWC shot into 0.50" CTC and the TC went 0.75 CTC from a scoped 629.

Never chroned them since they were quite mild, but they made for no-excuse loads on our indoor range. How well they will hold up beyond 25 yards I also don't know.