Finally got myself a 44 magnum

[scrappletaco]

Well ever since i read about Elmer Kieth years ago ive been trying to scrap funds together in college on the gi bill to get myself one.

Well debts all paid and i manage to get myself a new smith 629 with six inch barrel and i couldnt be more excited even if i won powerball.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/06/f5e727a7318c43077e6c2a663800ca78.jpg

Ive been doing my research like a chubby kid going to space camp for summer. For now i think ill be doing some mild loads with speer swc cast boolits and unique. Any loads in special cases and magnum cases would be appreciated for mild loads

[Shuz]

My advice is to stick with magnum cases even with milder loads. That way you don't foul up the area of the cylinder just where the special case ends (with powder and or lead fouling.). There are many loading manuals available from the various powder companies on the "net". Good luck and nice choice of .44's!

[Blackwater]

A friend of mine has done real good work with 9 gr. Unique and the Oregon Trail 240's in mag. cases. 7 gr. in Spl. cases. They're both fairly mild. He finally went to a lot warer load with Unique, but that powder never seemed to produce great heavy loads in the .44, or at least not a good a groups as 2400 when loaded right on up. It's a fine powder for midrange loads, though, but of course, this varies from gun to gun. It would be the first load I tried if it were my gun, at least, but I'm sure you'll find lots of others. The .44 has always seemed to be a pretty easy caliber to load for, and even the milder loads will likely do anything that usually needs doing. Hope you have a real blast with your new gun!

[Kevinakaq]

Congrats on your new pistol! That sounds like a pistol well earned and ready to be enjoyed!!!

[GabbyM]

The Speer bullets are swaged lead not cast. Thus they are soft. They will shoot fine or even great. However you must keep velocity real low to avoid leading. Like for swaged full WC. I have an old Hornady book here. They list laods for there swaged bullets. 240 swc. 6.7 gains of Unique gives 800 fps. 44 mag.

[bangerjim]

Congrats!

I shoot 44SPL and 44MAG in my Redhawk 7.5" all the time with lighter loads. Fun shooting.

Wait till you crank out some full house loads with H110 behind a 310 gn slug! OMG! Lots of kick. Many do not like the feel, but for a few rounds........it is fun! I prefer the lighter loaded rounds I make most of the time.

That is the fun of rolling your own. People that shoot only comm-loaded ammo have no control of what they are doing and the amount of kick they get.

I powder coat all my boolits and have never has any problems with the build-up or lead that some get in the cylinder shooting 44SPL cases. And the ETR7 powder I use exclusively is the cleanest I have ever loaded. No gunk like other powders such as Unique or 231.

Get yourself the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook! The bible for cast loading.

Have fun out there!

bangerjim

[straightwall]

You can look up loads here:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com

[LUCKYDAWG13]

Congratulations but don't overlook blue dot
For a mid range load but my favorite is 2400
and H110 for full house loads

[williamwaco]

I like Unique for mild loads. Around 6.0 grains with either case.

For hot loads, I like Herco.

With Herco you give up around 100 fps in velocity with the 240 grain bullet but you also use almost half as much powder and lose about 50% of the recoil.

[Thumbcocker]

With 250 grain boolits these will work in order of speed and velocity 5.5 of bullseye, 6.0 W231, 6.5 red dot, 7.0 700x, 8.5 of Unique, 9.0 of Power Pistol, 10.0 Unique, 18.5 of 2400, 20.0 2400, 22.0 IMR 4227, 22.0 H110. I have killed deer with the 2400, 4227, and H110 loads. All were with a cast boolit and standard primers. Standard disclaimers about data.

[Uncle R.]

Congratulations on your new revolver. I think you made an excellent choice.

If you're not going to cast your own at this time you might look into bullets from commercial casters. I suspect they'll work better than swaged bullets for everything except very light loads. The quality and performance of commercial cast is all over the map so you might have to experiment to find a bullet that your revolver likes, but I've seen at least some of them perform very well. Anyway, experimenting is part of the fun of reloading and shooting.

My favorite loads for "medium" .44 mag performance involve 240 grain cast bullets pushed by Unique. Charge weights from 8.5 to 10 grs have all performed well for me. The 10 grain charge is getting right up there and will probably push well over 1000 fps, while the 8.5 gr load probably comes close to the performance of a .45 Colt. It's pleasant to shoot and is a capable target or even defense load.

For full house loads I've long favored 296, but you have to push it hard for good results. Let the loading manual be your guide, and don't try to use 296 for light loads.

Good luck and enjoy!

Uncle R.

[scrappletaco]

Thanks for all the replies and kind words. I never knew the speer were swagged boolits but oh well. I have all but the lyman manual.

Im not ruling out blue dot or any other powder unique is just what i already have.

I think a majority of loads will be loaded in 44mag cases. I plan on ordering some more cases and maybe a few nickle cases to load hunting loads in to keep a extra level of caution and separation. So far ive only fired factory 44 magnum because you cant expect someone to wait to play with a new toy hahahah

[oldcanadice]

I've just been working this out for myself. Tried 7.0, 8.0, and last 7.5 gr Unique with 240gr Hornady lead. I'm going to stick with the 7.0 gr load because I am plinking and can shoot them in bunches and with better accuracy. Recoil is about like a 45 Auto. The 8gr load bothers my arthritic wrist after about 12 rounds and groups with it and the 7.5 load start opening up after the first cylinder full.

I may be a broken record on this, but I'd put a couple of coats of BLL on those Speers. The Hornadys leaded like crazy until I did that to them. No leading at all after that.

[singleshot]

Let us know what powder you find slower than or about h110/4227. Light loads will require faster power down to Red Dot or Trailboss.

[singleshot]

+1 on 44 mag cases only. I got tired of cleaning the chamber as well on mine.

[bluelund79]

I use Trailboss for light loads, and Unique or 2400 for hunting loads. My 44mag rifles I use W296. 44mag is by far my favorite caliber and the one I shoot the most. Enjoy your new firearm

[Radarsonwheels]

Don't forget accurate #9 powder. It is good for hot loads and is pretty friendly for downloading

[BNE]

I have had tons of fun with that same gun. Light loads to flame thrower, it will do either. I've had more fun with the light loads.
Congrats.

[Duster340]

Congratulations. Welcome to the addiction !

[GabbyM]

I don't burn much WW296. Think I'm just on my second can in thirty years. I shoot a six inch Anaconda so it's not light. Just hurts to shoot that stuff. 2400 or AA#9 is a lot nicer to shoot. I bought an eight pound can of 2400 a few years ago. I can shoot it in cast bullet rifles then 44 and 357 mag revolvers. Of course I shoot Unique in a couple rifles and hand guns also.

[shoot-n-lead]

Very nice gun...be proud of it and enjoy it.

Lots of good suggestions for loads that will help you get the most enjoyment out of it.

[sw282]

Beautiful gun. l bought a 629 Magnum Hunter back in 2013. Virtually all of its 5200+ loads have been cast bullets from wheel weights from a H&G 503 or 140. Power Pistol or TiteGroup is the powder used mostly because l have not seen any Unique since the year after current squatters moved into 1600 Pa Ave... These mid-range loads are running around 900fps...l keep my magnum loads on the light side at around 1250fps with 2400 or 4227.
ps.Those are nice grips. l have been meaning to call S&W customer service about purchasing a set... Finger groove grip leave a bit to be desired IMHO

[scrappletaco]

The grips are nice fitting on this one ive seen some that dont fit the frame well. Still debating on a different set of grips. I like the feel of the checkered g10 ones.

Thanks for all the help given so far. I love shooting it. Just wonder why i took so long to get a big bore just way too much fun if theres such a thing. Next time i head to my shop ill have to pick up another pound of powder when i decide what to get

[Tom W.]

Pretty toy......

Mine is a Super Red Hawk that likes to shoot 300 grain boolit really well with almost full loads of H110.

I shoot a lot of 245 gr. ( I believe, the casting room is out back and I ain't going there right now ) plain base boolits with 21 gr. of 2400. The revolver shoots anything well. It's another of one of my handguns that doesn't know what a factory load is....

[Mal Paso]

That's my favorite Smith. The half-lug just looks better.

Unlike most guns I like the factory grips and have warn through the first set, halfway through the second.

Another vote for Accurate #9, 19g gets a 260g #503 just past 1300 fps in my 6" 629, Fed 150 primer.

[Joni Lynn]

Congrats on the model 629, good choice.
Not that this is a recommendation but my light load is a 44 mag case with 8 grains of Unique and a 240 grain cast bullet. This works well and doesn't lead my guns up. (most of them) With swaged bullets it'll lead up though.

[rintinglen]

I use Mag cases for mag loads and 44 Special cases for my light loads, 5.5 grains of Red Dot or 7.5 grains of Unique will fling a 429-421 downrange in very close proximity to one another, for magnum loads I like 19.5 grains of Accurate No. 9 or 20 grains of 2400.
157577157578

[Char-Gar]

Of all the "big bore" sixguns out there, the 44 Magnum is by far my favorite. It is very accurate all the way up and down the power/velocity scale.

I am very old school using Bullseye (light loads, Unique (medium loads) and 2400 (heavy loads) in my 44 magnums.

[Ed_Shot]

I've only had my SW 629-6 6" about a month and its outstanding. Agree with rintinglen that Red Dot/Promo 5.5 gr. or Unique 7.5 gr. under a 429421 are very accurate.

[krems]

I quit using special cases in a 44 mag years ago. No need for them. I hated cleaning out the cyl. My favorite Unique loads with the 429421 bullet was 9-9.5 grains sized .430 or .431 depending on the gun. This load had enough power to know I was shooting a magnum but didn't beat me or the gun up too much. Have fun shooting this one. The one gun I regret selling the most was my SW 29-5 classic with the 5 inch full lug barrel.

[jhaston]

Nice gun, I use a 240 gr RNFP with 10 gr of Herco in my Dan Wesson.

[44magLeo]

I can't say I've owned or even shot a S&W model 29. I have owned a Ruger SBH 7.5 inch barrel and a Ruger Redhawk with 5 inch barrel. I shot a lot of Lyman's 429421 as cast, either pan lubed or Lee Alox lube. In mag cases,8.5 grs Unique, special cases 7.5. Both loads shoot about the same POI. For hunting loads, the same boolit with 21 grs 2400. It shoots even better.
Leo