What is max load for 44 mag, red dot, and Jwords?

[CGT80]

My grandfather has a lot of ammo that he loaded in the past. I have learned that he made some mistakes with the amount of powder he used. He doesn't remember what happened or why he chose the loads he did. Some of the problems may be due to a powder thrower not working well, but some were just his choice in powder weight since all the charges are right on the money based on what he wrote on the box.

I have 400 rounds of 44 mag that he loaded with red dot powder. The bullets are 240 grain JHP and 250 grain JFP. The powder charges are between 7.9 and 8.5 grains of Red Dot. There isn't a lot of red dot data out there. I do have many old reloading books. I found that the 240 grain Jwords should be 7.7 grains max. I had used some at 8.0 with a 240 grain jword, as I had found load data that read 8.0 max. The loads were fine, but I wouldn't load that hot. I did not see that data when I looked today.

The brass used is new W-W with sealed primers. Some of the brass has cracks, vertically in the case, from the mouth down. The hammer puller takes 3-5 whacks on concrete to pull one bullet. I don't have a collet in 44 for my RCBS puller. 45 cal didn't work well. I also pulled some 357 jwords with a 35 collet, and had issues with the bullet getting compressed and slipping out of the collet.

At this point my best option is to use the lee single stage rigged up with side cutters to pull the bullets. I can smelt the lead, so it isn't a total loss, and the powder is good. I will just have to size the cases and reload with new bullets/boolits. I can't see hammering and dealing with the inertia puller for that many rounds. The bullets have thin fragile jackets and the brass seems iffy, at least some of it. There isn't enough of the bullet sticking out of the case, and they have roll crimps. I already tried seating a bit deeper and then using the inertia puller, but it didn't help.

Do you agree that the load is too hot to shoot in a Ruger 44 mag New Model Super Black Hawk single action? I wish I could just shoot these, but I don't want to hurt myself or the pistol. Any other ideas on pulling the bullets?

[Bazoo]

I would shoot them provided a sample of each appeared as normal upon firing. Starting with the lightest charged and working towards the heaviest charged. A blackhawk should have no trouble handling them.

[altheating]

Cgt80, a while ago someone said you can use a rcbs shell holder instead of the "collet" For the inertia bullet puller. Haven't tried it but I think it would work. Hope that helps.

[GhostHawk]

Bullet puller does the least damage, I suspect at least some of the bullets would be reusable.

If it were me I think it would be a winter long project to pull them, collect the powder, reload them a bit lighter with a good cast boolit.

But that is a good sized project, it can be daunting to get started.

I would probably keep one box of the lightest as "hot" loads, marked as such.

I can't imagine that those 400 rounds would be easy on the hands. Of course you could always ship them to me and I'll shoot them in a rifle barrel. :)

[Geezer in NH]

Try looking in a loading manual of the time is my best advice!!

I have loaded many pistol and rifle cartridges with RED DOT. One of the best was a red dot load of 13 grains with any rifle cartridge of 308 or bigger and the normal bullet weight. It is called the Harris load?

[Outpost75]

I have loaded 8.4 grains of Red Dot of 1960s manufacture, in the .44 Magnum using 240-grain Jacketed bullets, with good results, getting 1000 fps from my 5-1/2" Ruger Vaquero with a standard deviation of only 13 fps over a 12-shot string. Accurate and pleasant.

[CGT80]

Cgt80, a while ago someone said you can use a rcbs shell holder instead of the "collet" For the inertia bullet puller. Haven't tried it but I think it would work. Hope that helps.

I gave that a try. It works much better than the collet. Thanks for that tip.

It still takes 5 whacks or so to get the bullets out of the cases. I tried pounding on wood, concrete, the anvil of my vice, and a 1/2" thick AR500 plate.


I pulled about 150 of these loads so far.

The weights vary. It is not like he made up batches that progressively got hotter.

The 240 grain load is 8.3-8.5. This matches what Outpost has for a load. This powder is from old cardboard kegs that are probably around 15 pounds each and I would guess from the 70's or before. I am tempted to shoot these, but it is safer to pull them and reuse the powder and melt the bullets.

The 250 grain jacketed bullets had weights of 7.9, 8.5, and 8.7 grains of red dot, on the three that I pulled. With the heavier bullet, the powder should be lighter than the 240 grain load.

Thanks for all the advice. I will keep plugging away at pulling these. [smilie=b:

Yes, I have used "the load" for my Win 54 30-06 bolt gun. Right now I use herco for the 30-30 and 30-06, and when that is gone, I will use red dot.

[altheating]

I have also put a piece of foam in the bottom of my puller to protect the pulled bullets from damage.