.44 mag load

[Sasquatch-1]

I am looking to build up a load for my SBH and Desert Eagle, both in 44 mag. I am looking at a 260 grain swaged jacketed bullet backed by Unique. Not interested in other powders right now. The only load I could find handily was topping out at 9.3 grains of Unique. Sounds a little light to me. Some of the older books were showing 240 grn bullets with as much as 12 grns of Unique. Any suggestions how high I can go with the Unique in the above two guns. Please nothing about other powders I am only interested in Unique right now.

[ratboy]

i am using 10.5 grains behind a 429421 and doing well. this is a pretty standard 44 mag load.

[Bulletlube]

200-gr Speer Mag HP Power Pro 300-MP Fed. 150 Federal 1.590 29.0 1760
200-gr Speer Mag JHP Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.590 12.4 1399
200-gr Speer Mag JHP Power Pistol CCI 300 Speer 1.590 15.5 1573
200-gr Speer Mag JHP Blue Dot CCI 300 Speer 1.590 16.0 1495
200-gr Speer Mag JHP 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.590 24.0 1589
210-gr Speer GDHP Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.600 12.5 1392
210-gr Speer GDHP Power Pistol CCI 300 Speer 1.600 14.5 1504
210-gr Speer GDHP 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.600 23.5 1566
225-gr Speer JHP-SWC 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.575 21.4 1526
225-gr cast SWC GC Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.635 11.0 1259
225-gr cast SWC GC 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.635 21.0 1482
240-gr cast LSWC Bullseye CCI 300 Speer 1.605 6.0 894
240-gr cast LSWC Red Dot CCI 300 Speer 1.605 6.5 905
240-gr cast LSWC Green Dot CCI 300 Speer 1.605 7.0 901
240-gr cast LSWC Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.605 7.0 899
240-gr Speer GDSP Power Pro 300-MP Fed. 150 Federal 1.575 25.0 1570
240-gr Speer GDHP Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.575 10.3 1175
240-gr Speer GDHP Blue Dot CCI 300 Speer 1.575 13.7 1285
240-gr Speer GDHP 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.575 21.0 1434
250-gr cast (Keith) Unique CCI 300 Speer 1.710 11.0 1211
250-gr cast (Keith) 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.710 20.0 1390
270-gr Speer GDSP Power Pro 300-MP Fed. 150 Federal 1.585 22.0 1400
270-gr Speer GDHP 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.585 17.5 1182
300-gr Speer UCSP Power Pro 300-MP Fed. 150 Federal 10665 22.0 1350
300-gr Speer UCSP 2400 CCI 300 Speer 1.665 19.0 1088
This is from Alliant web site

[Mal Paso]

Unique Huh? Is it the rough texture? Like metering drain rock.:kidding:

11g is the top load I see.

[44man]

Need to have enough to function the DE without too much. Need gas at the port without chamber pressures too high.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I’m shooting Unique in my .44 Mag, .44 Special and .45 Long Colt exclusively now for a while.

I’ve chronographed 429421 over 10 gr of Unique at 1181 fps in the 7 ½” SBH. Very pleasant in that gun with factory grips.

[Sasquatch-1]

I’m shooting Unique in my .44 Mag, .44 Special and .45 Long Colt exclusively now for a while.

I’ve chronographed 429421 over 10 gr of Unique at 1181 fps in the 7 ½” SBH. Very pleasant in that gun with factory grips.

I fire a very similar load with a lead bullet out of a SBH. It is like shooting a 38.

I have loaded up 20 rounds with the 260 grn bullet and 9 grns of unique. I am going to try to take them to the range tomorrow to se how they work. If they are not strong enough I may up to 9.5 and see what happens.

[freedom475]

Been there with the DE, don't waste your time or your Unique with the DE....it was designed for 2400/A#9.

Sorry, I know you only want Unique info but in order to get enough gas with Unique it will be grossly overpressured. Unique will reach a pressure point where it spikes it's pressure, so I'm sure that if you keep pouring the powder to her, you will find a point that it will run the DE....but it is absolutley the WRONG powder for the DE application.

Unique is one of my favorite powders and I use it in everything all the way up to the 500S&W...but it is not DE material.

You usually get around 30-60 fps velocity increase per grain with Unique...but when it starts to run out of room to work (about the same time you are around maximum pressure)...it will jump over 200fps for 1 grain increase...yeah!! more like going from 30Kpsi to 50Kpsi

For some reason, I was not able to get Unique to give me this spike with the 500 S&W even when I ran it to over 50Kpsi so I believe that it has something to do with the powders "Room to Work"...not just the "happy place" in Unique's pressure. I did get Unique to do this in the 475L

[Jtarm]

Doesn't a de need jacketed?

I consider the .44 mag just that. I shoot my SW m24 or 25 for non-mag big fun (which is my favorite shooting)

My .44 mag favorites are the LBT 280 wfn gc over 21 grains of h110 and the 429421 over 20 grains of 2400, both water quenched ww.
these go through a redhawk and bisley sized .431.

The keith-style 429421 and 358429, cast from ww and quenched, are phenomenally accurate over slightly-under-max charges of 2400. 16.5 in a 44 spl case used to shoot 1/2" at 25 yds from a 624, until I quit shooting stuff that hot from my 44 spls.

[Sasquatch-1]

Doesn't a de need jacketed?

I consider the .44 mag just that. I shoot my SW m24 or 25 for non-mag big fun (which is my favorite shooting)



Yes, the DE does need a jacketed bullet hence the reason I have gotten into swaging. I have fired cast lead through the DE and the only ill effect that I have notice, other then the occaisional lost piece of brass, is the rifling does not get a chance to grip the bullet at the velocities needed to work the action. This causes many of the bullets to hit the target sideways. Although I would not want to get hit with this I am sure it does absolutely nothing for accuracy.

I did go out yesterday and try some rounds that I made up, 260 grn bullet with 9 grns Unique, with no luck. Not enough power to work the slide properly although they were pretty darn accurate, both in the DE and SBH. A couple of the jams crushed cases.

[Nobade]

Desert Eagles only really work right with factory ammo. That means H110, 296, AA#9 or Lil' Gun. Maybe 4227 but it might give too much gas pressure.

[freedom475]

The DesertEagle was specifically designed for and will really shine with 240JHP's and 2400/#9 powder.

H110/296 seemed to be too powerful for the DE and it really slams the slide back. I broke the little spring clips on the ends of the recoil springs with it.

[Sasquatch-1]

The DesertEagle was specifically designed for and will really shine with 240JHP's and 2400/#9 powder.

H110/296 seemed to be too powerful for the DE and it really slams the slide back. I broke the little spring clips on the ends of the recoil springs with it.

I have used 21.5 grns 2400 behind a 250 grn gc cast (I know shouldn't use the cast because of fouling the ports). It function the gun fine but the bullet tumbled. Hence the reason I have started swaging.:swagemine:

[Whistler]

I used a copper plated (like Berry's) 240gn SWC in my Desert Eagle for outstanding accuracy (2" groups at 150 yards) with my 12" barrel and roughly the same at 100y with the 6" barrel. When using the Lee 310gn lead bullet with gaschecks I had 100% reliability and shot many hundreds of rounds without any failures. I used N105 powder only using the charts max loads. It burns cleaner than N110 and gives the Eagle just the right pressure it needs to cycle.

[Snapping Twig]

Just a thought.

I found that when I shot a cast bullet in a 3" .357 W/O the gas check it called for, the bullets tumbled, similar to your description.

Two things corrected this and perhaps they could shed some light for you in this case.

First off, when I shot the same bullet W/O the gas check @ 900fps, perfect stabilization and accurate. Pump it up to 1100fps+ and fuggeddaboutit - tumble time.

Size it .001 over bore and add the gas check - perfect at high velocity.

So perhaps a gas checked cast bullet or an oversize or a combo of the two.

I've heard some horror stories about fouling the gas ports with non jacketed, so keep an eye peeled.