BuckRimfire
03-17-2022, 10:27 AM
My goal here is to work up a mild .44 Magnum round for plinking (maybe literally in IHMSA Field Pistol) at up to 100 yards. Plan is to use a .44 Mag case and 240 grain RNFP bullet seated to .44 Special OAL, crimped lightly over the shoulder of the ogive. Nearly a .44 Special load in .44 Magnum brass. At a COAL of 1.455", I should have exactly 0.455" of the bullet shank in the case. My goal is to keep it subsonic and aim for decently low SDs.
Looking at this https://www.handloadermagazine.com/44-s-w-special-p Longshot, of which I have plenty, should be capable of the modest velocities I'm looking for at very reasonable pressures. Whether it will give good accuracy is the question. I'm thinking to start with 0.5 grain steps from 7.0 to 8.5 grains. Since these look like pretty modest charges for that powder, and I've seen rather large powder-forward vs. powder back velocity deltas in light revolver loads before, I'm tempted to try magnum primers to light them off regardless of where the charge is laying. Crazy idea?
I'd try both standard and magnum primers immediately and look at the SDs, but I don't have enough empty .44 brass at the moment to build two large-enough sets of ammo across the charge range. I need to shoot more and reload less, apparently!
Over all, this may be a fool's errand, since Longshot meters at best +/- 0.1 grain in my measure, and I'm not willing to hand weigh every charge.
Looking at this https://www.handloadermagazine.com/44-s-w-special-p Longshot, of which I have plenty, should be capable of the modest velocities I'm looking for at very reasonable pressures. Whether it will give good accuracy is the question. I'm thinking to start with 0.5 grain steps from 7.0 to 8.5 grains. Since these look like pretty modest charges for that powder, and I've seen rather large powder-forward vs. powder back velocity deltas in light revolver loads before, I'm tempted to try magnum primers to light them off regardless of where the charge is laying. Crazy idea?
I'd try both standard and magnum primers immediately and look at the SDs, but I don't have enough empty .44 brass at the moment to build two large-enough sets of ammo across the charge range. I need to shoot more and reload less, apparently!
Over all, this may be a fool's errand, since Longshot meters at best +/- 0.1 grain in my measure, and I'm not willing to hand weigh every charge.