.44 mag low/high end

[wonderwolf]

I have been working on .44 loads for a while now....I managed to wear out one gun already (629-1) and waiting on that one to get fixed as I do not want to use to many experimental loads in my precious S&W 29's.

I have a bullet mold (lee) that will cast a 200gr Full wad cutter now I know some of you don't like wad cutters in such a big gun but I'm testing them out for various reasons using just Spl cases so far.

Right now I have stuck with just 8.0gr of unique even though hornady book tops out at around 7ish I went ahead and bumped it up because I've tried the same load before with jacketed bullets. I have Unique and 2400 mostly as my powder staples..though I talked to some guys about getting a large order of clays together for the lighter bullets in 44 mag/spl and 45 acp.


On the high end I have a lee GC mold that throws a 310Gr bullet. Right now I have tried this weight bullet with just 7.0gr of unique in a mag case and 15.5 gr of 2400 in a mag case. I am looking for more load data on this weight for long barrel and short barreled smiths (I have a 4",6",8", and 10"). I have not been able to get this bullet to shoot well at any distance past 100 yards out of the 10" gun. I would like to know your additional thoughts on your experience with this particular bullet please as it could save me time & money

I use CCI 300's in all my loads and Like most people I have a special notebook I write down my tested loads in. Though my notebook is starting to be more of a .44mag load book more than anything.

All my casting is using straight WW dumped into a water bucket right out of the mold*

[leftiye]

I've got one of those 310 grain Lee molds. Looks like a wadcutter with the first couple of grease grooves machined off. Highly probable that the large meplat on the 300 grainer will preclude accuracy much beyond 100 yards. Higher velocity or faster twist will extend its reach. Loses stability as it slows down. Try it with hot loads of Lil Gun.

[454PB]

For that Lee boolit, I'm with leftiye. Lil'Gun, H-110, WW296, WC820, and Bluedot for velocities above 1200 fps. and that 310 gr. boolit.

Bluedot is my utility powder in all the magnums from .357 to .454 Casull. It will allow velocities up to 90% of all the slower powders using 75% of the charge weight.

[Dale53]

The Lee 310 RF GC bullet works extremely well to 100 yards with heavy loads of 296, H110, and WC 820. I have not tried it past 100 yards and that is my live game distance limit with my .44 mag pistols.

I have the similar Lee .45 300 RF GC, also and it is good in the .45 Colt Rugers with heavy charges. I'll soon be trying this one in my Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull.

Good bullets...

Dale53

[Bass Ackward]

WW,

The amazing thing I have found lately is that a handgun wasn't really about ignition so much as stabilization. You can prove that to yourself by hollow pointing even a divot into the nose. It can be off center, whatever, doesn't matter. Go around the world for 6 and see if your groups improve.

Next step is a child's game. Drive down the road at point your hand towards the wind with a knife like edge. Then alter it slightly to feel the force move your hand up or down. Now, simulate a meplat and tilt your palm straight up. Now move your wrist slightly and feel how much force NOW wants to drive it off coarse. :grin:

If you buy my argument so far, then you are probably aware of the sound barrier and the disruptive forces that work over everything from aircraft to bullets. The less aerodynamic something is coming back through this barrier, the more destabilizing effects it will be subjected too.

For this reason, I stay below 1100 fps or I go above it as far as I can so the bullet won't deal with this at the ranges I am concerned about.

[44man]

It's hard to believe the Lee won't shoot from the S&W since the gun likes a heavier boolit then 240 gr's. I use 21.5 gr's of 296 and a Fed 150 primer and have shot it to extreme distances from Rugers.
This is an ongoing question about flat nose boolits and I think there are just no answers.
I shoot WFN and WLN boolits to 500 meters without a loss of accuracy but I can't tell anyone why. My 45-70 BFR has kept 3 in 3" at 500.
Then I have a nice spitzer for my 45-70 BPCR that goes absolutely nuts past 200 meters, you can watch it go crazy in a spotting scope. The big, round nose Gov't boolit stays stable.
I have read that the flat nose pushes the turbulance out away from the sides and base of the boolit. And why does the flat nose cut a straight path through game?
There is more going on then we can figure out and I will be the last person to quote facts and say it won't work because I don't think anyone can say it is a fact that a flat nose can't shoot far.
I tend to blame something else when a boolit won't shoot from a particular gun.
One thought; S&W's tend to have very tight dimensions, small bores and throats, that might need a smaller diameter boolit. I have seen .429 throats and .428 grooves in them. Nothing wrong with that but it could damage a .431 or .432 boolit too much. It could wipe out shallow grease grooves and make large fins on the base. It might also strip a loose gas check. I would slug the gun and experiment. Shoot at cardboard at close range and see if you get two holes, one from the check.
I had a problem years ago with a mold, might have been an NEI if I remember. The grease grooves were so small I didn't dare size it or they were gone. Didn't matter because I ran out of lube halfway down the bore and lead would form in the last of the barrel. Accuracy sucked!

[wonderwolf]

I've slugged all my S&W's and they I size accordingly.

I have noticed how the groves are very shallow but have not had a problem with them yet.

On reason I think the FN heavy bullets can be more accurate than some spitzer designs is that the particular design may have more bearing surface with the bullet.



I might just bring the velocities down and try those as well and see what happens. I'll be sure to shoot at a close range and check for GC separation.

Does S&W use the same twist on all of their .44 mag revolver barrel lengths? Since I've shot long range target rifles for several years now I now how important it is to match the bullet weight to the barrel twist but in handguns we don't seem to follow those rules much do we?