Lookin for load info 44 & 45

[Fernando]

lurker and finally joined - looks cool. 2nd post be gentle.
Looking for any and all loads 1050 -1100ish
.44 special, .44mag and .45 colt.
Bullet weight and powder?
Barrel length?

What have you tested in this velocity range and any results?

[USSR]

.45 Colt: 255 - 270gr SWC, 18.0gr 2400; 22.0gr 4227 with same bullet. Use these loads for deer hunting with my S&W 25-5 with 6" barrel. 20k - 23k psi, not Ruger only loads, but quite effective.

Don

[Fernando]

no-one else likes to shoot in this velocity range?
basically looking for next step faster powders than unique.
Getting away from the slower stuff.
I find that in sub zeros faster burning seems to be a little more uniform.

[USSR]

Fernando,

Another good load for .45 Colt in the 1000+fps range is 13.0gr of HS-6 with the same weight SWC's.

Don

[429421Cowboy]

I get somewhere around 1000 fps with 9.5 gr of Unique and a 240 boolit in my SBH, i use that load with a 429421 and have no doubt it will plow through a deer from stem to stern. Speer data shows going all the way up to 12 gr of Unique, and if that don't kill something, i'm not sure what will. I still have the first pound of 2400 i ever bought, because i never felt much of a need for twice as much powder to only gain a couple hundred fps.
I agree on faster powders usually lighting better in the cold, i use standard primers in all my loads and never have trouble and it gets dang cold here!
For .44 Specials, i use 6.5 gr of Unique, or 5 of Bullseye with the same 240 gr boolits. That BE load gives me something in the range of a .45 ACP power, so i don't feel totally over or undergunned if i pack my SBH for SD as well as being a dang fun load for anybody who wants to shoot the big Ruger, recoil is pretty soft. Good luck to you.

[429421Cowboy]

Almost forgot my manners! Welcome to CB, I hope you enjoy your time here and stay on as part of the crew.

[BCRider]

As it happens I was just testing some .44Mag loads from my Super Blackhawk this past sunday for accuracy and over a chrono. The best shooting one of the stuff I had left was a 240gn cast LRNFP pushed by 8.5gns of Tightgroup and set off by a CCI LPP. The chrono showed 1130 and 1150 for the two I shot over the eyes. Temperature was a couple of degrees below freezing at the time. Results on the target were very promising. With me resting only my elbows on a table I put 5 rounds into about 1.5 inches at around 17 yards. The sixth was a flyer that I spotted right as the sights jumped as the trigger was pulled. One of those where you want to reach out and grab the bullet and push it back into the barrel.... :D

The other group that looked pretty promising but was closer to around 2 inch grouping was the same bullet and 10 gns of very old Unique. Velocity on that one was around 1050 and 1070 as I recall.

I also shot some 200gn LRNFP with the same 8.5 gns of Tightgroup but the grouping was up closer to 2 inches again. Not enough of those to try over the chrono.

All of these were stout to shoot. A good ways down from full power loads but stronger than what I would consider to be .44Spl.

I've got about 450 of the 200gn bullets left which I'm going to try loading up with a lighter charge to obtain .44Spl like performance of around 850 to 900 fps. Those will be nice for my club's indoor range.

[Fernando]

I was searching around and read some green dot posts.
I have this on the shelf and was wondering if anyone had load/chrono data
with loads in the 44's & 45.

[gray wolf]

I could say something but I wont.

[Shuz]

I was searching around and read some green dot posts.
I have this on the shelf and was wondering if anyone had load/chrono data
with loads in the 44's & 45.

44 mag: 8.5g of Green Dot behind a Mihec 503 clone of 252g gives velocity of 1043fps and an SD of 12 outta 629 Classic DX 5" bbl. Rem 2 1/2 primer and OAL of 1.700.

[armexman]

Shuz, Thanks.
I now have a use for the 10#+ I have of GD. Although mine will have a test run with Ranch Dog 285Grns in my 336-44 and S&W 29-3.

[Fernando]

I've got a few in the GD range and lots of RD and 7 & 800X from skeet days gone by.
Almost out of unique and wanted to get away from it for a while - hard to find and prices went up.
Have lots of the big boomer stuff but that is starting to hurt - I should buy a hornet.
I guess I'll have to take apart the chrono as it is set up for air rifle in the basement.
About the only faster powders I've run in handguns is bullseye in my DW with wadcutters.
Was gonna try casting HP's but that sounds like to much voodoo to get them to work right.
I'll do some more searching and load some up with my so called keith bullets - they don't look
to good but I'm working on that.
Find lots of RD and 700 data around but not much GD and 800.
Can't wait for the weather to break I bought these three rugers and have not even warmed
them up yet.

[obssd1958]

Welcome Fernando!
Some info is needed to answer your question:
Are you a brand new caster? reloader? shooter? - or do you have 10-20 years in at all of them?
Experience level should be a big factor to anyone volunteering an answer to the kind of question that you have asked.
Why the specific velocity?
Experience on this board will show that it's not the main factor in ability to humanely drop an animal, if that's your goal.
What firearm are you using?
Very different loads are appropriate depending on whether you are using a S&W revolver, a Ruger revolver, a Handi-rifle, or a modern lever-action.
Lastly - Do you have a load manual that covers these calibers?
I love the people on this board. They are some of the most helpful, biggest hearts you will find anywhere. But like me, they sometimes transpose a number, or mis-remember the information that they wrote down somewhere, or jsut fat-finger the keys and hit the wrong one when they are posting their favorite load.
The message I am trying to get across is:
Lots of folks from all different experience levels, and with all kinds of different goals will read this thread, and they all need to pay attention!
-- ALWAYS verify the information from preferably two or more published load books. Then start LOW and work up. Things don't always work the same in your firearm as they did in someone else's or even as they did in the lab!!

Just one example, then I will get off of my soapbox:
My mentor for reloading, had worked up loads for his Redhawk in .44 mag. They were below book maximum, and the empties just fell out of the cylinder when he tipped it up. I acquired a Super Blackhawk, and we went shooting to put it through it's paces. Loaded all six cylinders and fired the rounds (no chronograph back then, so I don't have any idea of velocity).
When I went to extract the empties, they would not come out. I had to take the cylinder out of the frame, and use a stick and a rock, to pound the empties out of the holes.
What was safe and sane for his gun, was NOT for mine.

Is this close to what you wanted to say, Gray Wolf?

Take care!!

Don

[gray wolf]

Is this close to what you wanted to say, Gray Wolf?
Yes it is, it's the cleaned up version but about covers my thoughts.
I just didn't have the energy to say it all again. So I thank you for the post.

[Fernando]

I have cast for maybe ten years if you want to call it that.
What ever i could find with no thought to alloy - Just poppin with
a pair of DW's I came by to break up range time - a single cavity 148 &
Round balls for my muzzleloaders.
All my prior time was skeet - actually pretty good at scatterguns.
And for the past few years Varmint centerfire and the real money pit
Rimfire benchrest.
I picked up 3 revolvers 7 1/2 44mag, 5 1/2 45 colt and one of the new
Ruger 44 spc flat tops - figured I'd give handgun deer a try.
Was looking for what others use and would of course work up in my own
firearm a safe combo.
As far as the velocity I figured to avoid the shock wave as I know it makes
a huge difference rimfire and I'll need all the help I can get.
Besides I tested some jacketed with 110 and 296 - fun but gets old fast.
Guess I'm getting old, don't shoot big deer rifles anymore either.
I would think the 1080ish with the right bullet would be useful to shoot
all the time.

[45sixgun]

I'm sure you know this.....besides what the guys have said here, just type whatever loads you want into google and you'll get tons of info to read through and compare. I've never had any trouble finding load information I wanted.

[Larry Gibson]

Feranado

Looking for any and all loads 1050 -1100ish
.44 special, .44mag and .45 colt.
Bullet weight and powder?
Barrel length?

Welcome to the forum but realise that is asking a lot; reloading manuals have whole sections on those cartridges answering those questions. I suggest picking up a copy of Lyman's #3 Cast Bullet Handbook (out of print, sometimes found in used book stores), the Lyman #4 Cast Book Handbook or even Lyman's #49 Reloading manual. The CBH's will have a lot of data and answers to all your questions. They also will give you the basics for casting and reloading cast bullets. Then you can be more specific in your questions with a little knowledge under your belt. You'll probably get a lot more answers that will make sense and be relavent. There are numerous good loads that probably would meet your requirements for all 3 of those cartridges if your request wasn't a "one over the world" question. I, for one, will be glad to help if you narrow it at least one bullet weight in that expected velocity range........

Larry Gibson

[huntincowboy]

For 45 Colt I like to use Linebaughs load of HS6 under a 250 gr RNFP. I chronoed it at 1150 fps out of my 7 1/2" blackhawk. His data is blackhawk only, but the load I'm mentioning is nice shooting and accurate.


http://www.customsixguns.com/

Make use of the reading there, I found it to be very informative for my needs.

[Fernando]

Right now I only have 240 and the 300 Lee in .44
and a Lyman 255 for the 45
I been lookin at the mould section and sure is alot of nice stuff.
Are guns picky as to what they like?
Is it weight that matters or style?

[scheppy]

I shoot a New Model SBH, 7.5 in bbl, out here in western Nebraska....dang cold here in the winter time.....I use a Lee 240 gr swc, 98 percent ww lead with 2 percent pewter added, dropped in water....loaded with 14 grains of BlueDot powered by a large pistol primer; nice and accurate up to 100 yards, drops a deer nicely, not a lot of recoil; heavy enough to get the job done, light enough that my daughter shoots it without a problem....