IMR 4227 in 41 mag and 44 magnum

[LUCKYDAWG13]

how do you like IMR 4227 in your 41 mag and 44 mag LGS has this a lot. i would like to hold on to my 2400
as long as i can. i did try this powder in my 454 a few years ago and thought it wasn't that great but i dint try
in my 41/44 magnums so is it worth it to try in my 41/44
thanks

[longbow]

IMR4227 is my go to powder for my .44 mag Marlin. I don't think it will produce as much velocity as H110, at least with heavy weight boolits, but it does pretty well and I use it in .308 and .303 as well so dual purpose for me.

4227 is also more versatile in that you can download if you do not want max loads which is something H110 is not good for.

Not sure of use for .41 mag but I suspect it would provide similar performance to what it gives in .44 mag. A look at a loading book would show the comparison and useful load range for .41 mag.

In any case, it works well for me in my .44 and I like it.

Longbow

[LUCKYDAWG13]

thanks Longbow

[AZ-JIM]

I use it for rifle loads and seems to give me respectable performance. I am getting 1630fps with a 240g boolit (44mag). I have not shot them from the revolver yet. My last groups measured .750 @ 50 yards.

EDIT: My mistake, I misread your post....I am using H4227, although they should be very similar

az-jim

[Thumbcocker]

22 grains of 4227 under a429421 has put a lot of meat in my freezer fired out of various SBHvs. Some say that it gets spikey in long strings; course one shot per critter isn't a long string.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

22 grains of 4227 under a429421 has put a lot of meat in my freezer fired out of various SBHvs. Some say that it gets spikey in long strings; course one shot per critter isn't a long string.

thanks both the 41 & 44 are Ruger BH & SBH

[IDSS]

I use it in my heavy .44 mag loadings. I initially settled on 19.8g with the Lee C430-310-RF. It was good for about 1000 fps from my 4 5/8 SBH. Since then, I dug a bit deeper and found that the Hodgdon reloading center lists a load for a 325g boolit at 21 grains.

Emboldened by the published load exceeding my current standard, and my recent purchase of a Redhawk (You're supposed to run 'em hard, right?), I crept up to 20 grains. I haven't put them over the 'chrono yet, so no hard numbers on velocity. I do know that they recoil enough to make a 25 yard zero nigh on to impossible in the SBH and they are also no fun out of the 4" Redhawk. Thirty-some of those is almost literally fatiguing.

Punch line is: 4227 seems like a fine powder for getting real performance out of a .44. Since it is somewhat available around here, I will likely work up something with the 240g mold I plan on picking up, soon.

[Airman Basic]

25 grains of 4227 and any of my 240 grain boolits does all I want from a 44. Quite the boomer, but recoil and blast certainly manageable from a SBH or a Marlin 94.

[IDSS]

Chrono results for 20 grains of IMR4227 under the Lee C-430-310-RF.

20 inch Rossi M92- 1345 fps avg. ES 48, SD 18
4 inch Redhawk- 986 fps avg. ES 103, SD 44
4 5/8 inch SBH- 1048 fps avg. ES 66, SD 26

Not too bad; especially considering the fact that H110/296, AA#9, and 2400 are virtually nonexistent around here...

[9w1911]

Its my favorite 44mag powder.

[srtolly]

Another .41 mag shooter. I can't say much for the IMR powder, I am currently using Unique under a Lyman 410 32 SWC with pretty decent results. I will be watching this thread.

Any thoughts on Blue Dot for .41 mag? I'm using it for .357 but see mixed data for .41.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Another .41 mag shooter. I can't say much for the IMR powder, I am currently using Unique under a Lyman 410 32 SWC with pretty decent results. I will be watching this thread.

Any thoughts on Blue Dot for .41 mag? I'm using it for .357 but see mixed data for .41.

i was using bluedot in my 41 mag it worked well but i stopped using it when i read this
http://www.alliantpowder.com/getting_started/safety/safety_notices.aspx

[Le Loup Solitaire]

In the 44 Mag, 17 grains of 4227 was an old Keith load for the 44 special, but it packs quite a bit of wallop. The old Dupont tables listed as high as 23 grains (compressed)(with H&G #503 a 250 grain SWC....tried it once, but it had quite a bit of muzzle blast and largely enough smack to knock down pretty much anything you might meet anywhere. Accurate...yes! You also need a fair amount of crimp to compensate for the recoil. 4227 measures well. LLS

[375supermag]

hi...

I have never tried IMR4227. I always got by with Unique, 2400, Blue Dot, H110/W296 in my .41 and .44magnums.

I have noticed that the LGS have IMR4227 on the shelf pretty consistently. I may buy some and give it a shot.

Locally, Unique, 2400 and Blue Dot are unavailable.

Rumor has it that some is making it to the LGS, but it is being reserved for friends and family of the owners.

[lkydvl]

Blue Dot® should NOT be used in the 41 Magnum cartridge (all bullet weights).

Funnily enough, I discovered the same thing in the late 70's. Was shooting 41 mags with cast boolits and while it seemed the loads were
fine, every now and then I'd get one that was over pressure. Strangely enough...the colder it got, like below zero, ...the worse it got!

[srtolly]

I find it odd that Blue Dot is not recommended for the .41 magnum but yet data is still available.

[frnkeore]

25 grains of 4227 and any of my 240 grain boolits does all I want from a 44. Quite the boomer, but recoil and blast certainly manageable from a SBH or a Marlin 94.

This load is given as a accuracy load in one or more manuals.

I bought 2 old factory, Remington boxes (green and yellow) of lead bullets. I pulled a couple of the rounds and what I found was a GCed bullet (different than common) with what looked like a charge of 25.0 gr of 4227.

Frank

[**oneshot**]

I use IMR 4227 in my 41 mag. I'd have to check the data but it's 1/2 gr below max of the lyman cast manual for my 210 SWC.

[osteodoc08]

I've learned to really appreciate 4227 in my 41 mags. It flows well through all my measures, good case fill, relatively clean burning and very accurate. I can down load it without fear or squibs and powder everywhere (ala 296/110) but still yields excellent velocity. I've only recently started experimenting with it the last few years, but intend on using it for as long as it's available.

[osteodoc08]

Blue Dot® should NOT be used in the 41 Magnum cartridge (all bullet weights).

Funnily enough, I discovered the same thing in the late 70's. Was shooting 41 mags with cast boolits and while it seemed the loads were
fine, every now and then I'd get one that was over pressure. Strangely enough...the colder it got, like below zero, ...the worse it got!

BD is temp sensitive and the colder it is, the worse it is. This showed dangerous pressure spikes in testing, at least that's what Alloant has told me when I called. It's not advised in the lightweight 357 loadings either. I still love it in my heavy 357 and 45 colt loadings. Excellent in 10mm too

[LUCKYDAWG13]

looks like 4227 is in my future
thanks

[375supermag]

Blue Dot® should NOT be used in the 41 Magnum cartridge (all bullet weights).

Funnily enough, I discovered the same thing in the late 70's. Was shooting 41 mags with cast boolits and while it seemed the loads were
fine, every now and then I'd get one that was over pressure. Strangely enough...the colder it got, like below zero, ...the worse it got!

I quit using Blue Dot in my .41Magnums and with 125gr bullets in my .357s as soon as the warnings came out several years ago.
Never saw any pressure indications, but thought discretion was the better part of valor, especially considering that Unique, 2400 and W296/H110 were capable of replacing Blue Dot in those applications.

I still use Blue Dot with commercial cast 158gr LSWC in my .357s. I only use W296/H110 when I am looking for the highest recommended velocities with jacketed bullets ( something I do only rarely). I don't particularly like the narrow window of suggested charge weights for W296/H110 and try to avoid it if I can by using a different powder or reducing my targeted velocity requirement.

I did pick up a pound of IMR4227($23.69/lb) today to try in applications where I have previously used H110/W296. If I can, in fact, reach my targeted velocities with acceptable accuracy, I may switch (or at least have another viable option).

[GLynn41]

Bob Milek wrote about Blue Dot and cold back in the 70s --I tried it once ,and left it

[steelworker]

4227 is my favorite powder for 44 mag. 21gr is the most accurate load for my Handi Rifle using 240gr XTP .

[Outpost75]

Either IMR or H4227 are great in the .44-40 and .44 Magnum. I use 20 grains across the board with 200-grain bullet in my .44-40 Marlin, 270-grain bullet in .44 Magnum, and as a GC target load in the .303 Brit., 7.62x54R and .30-06 with #314299. Versatile powder as good as #2400!