Unique and the 44 mag

[Blammer]

Ok, I've heard it time and time again.

10gr unique and a 240gr boolit... good shooting bla bla bla....

so I make a mental note to try it some time.

Well I was in the 'man cave' and reloading stuff. Finished up a test load of 44 mag with a diff boolit and powder and had some brass that needed to be loaded.

Thinking about the 10gr unique and 240gr boolit I drug out the unique and a hodge podge of 44 cast boolits I had layin about. Wound up with 2 diff boolits and all under the 10gr unique.

Well I finally went to shoot them the other day.

I was very surprised!

It kicked like a light 357 mag load, sharp but nothing big in the recoil dept, and a definite crack. I was shooting my SRH with scope at 35 yds and it was printing a nice respectable group for my tinkering around.

I was well pleased! Accurate enough for practice, and cheap on the powder!

Yea!

I'm sure glad I found out about that load combo!

[Nick10Ring]

I have shot that for years in my S&W .44. I used 10grs. Unique and the Lyman #429421, the 250gr.SWC. It has been the most accurate load I found for the .44.

Nick10Ring

[klcarroll]

I agree!! I have used that same powder charge under several 240 - 255 grain boolits: .....It always produced solid results.

...And these days, with prices being what they are, ....a ten grain load is definately easy on the wallet!

Kent

[freedom475]

I have used Unique in my 44's for a long time. It is all I used as a kid cause I could get over 700rounds from a lb. I used 9 gr.s for most loads and this load under a 240 swc cast killed a lot of big game for me.


I did some testing in my 475L and discovered that it has a point where it really spikes it's pressure.

9gr. unique=928fps ave /...10gr. unique=962fps ave /....11gr.=1160 fps ave.....talk about a pressure spike! all loads were ave of 5 shots each.....mag primers gave 10fps increase in all loads chronoed.

[targetshootr]

I did some testing in my 475L and discovered that it has a point where it really spikes it's pressure.

9gr. unique=928fps ave /...10gr. unique=962fps ave /....11gr.=1160 fps ave.....talk about a pressure spike! all loads were ave of 5 shots each.....mag primers gave 10fps increase in all loads chronoed.

How much do the boolits weigh? I plan on using 9 or 10 gr of Unversal with a 385 gr Keith when the time comes.

[freedom475]

the boolits were a WDWW 400gr cast....the unique made for real accurate reduced loads...10 rounds would make a nice little clover leaf a 50yards from a 6inch barrel.... I suggest a chrony for working loads up so you can find the place where the powder begins to change charactoristics.

[wonderwolf]

Blammer-
I have velocity data for 4" 6" 8" and 10" barreled smiths using 429421. 9,10 and 11 gr of unique. The 11gr is noticeably sharper in the recoil dept. 10gr of unique with the keith style will tip the rams I have here at 200 yards. Its my "standard load" in my .44mags. After 10gr though you get diminishing returns on velocity. I was impressed with the differences in velocity in the various barrel lengths. I'll post some of the data later on and see what you think

[Lead melter]

Yeah, that's a standard load for me in the 44 with boolit weight in that range, the 41 Magnum with a boolit of 200-220 grains, and my 45 Colt shooting a 250-270 grainer. Rugers, Winchesters, and Marlins here, so they will easily take the pressure.

I have found that if the boolit weight increases much above the standard weights, the Unique charge needs to drop quickly. Jump the 44 or 45 boolit to 300 grains and reduce the load to 8 grains. Accuracy stays great, recoil drops. Same charge weight for the 260 grain K-style 41 caliber group buy from 475/480 a while back. 8 grains was wonderful with that boolit.

[Sprue]

My standard plinking and target load is 8.0g Unique under 240 LSWC out of a 6" bbl. Add 3gr for hunting.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
10 grains in 44-40 with either a 220 or 260 grain from my Colt New Service and a soft swc boolit is something I hope I never get punched with. In the 1892 Winny it is much more awsome. The 260 MUST be crimped over the 1st band but with care it works RWEAL good. $$ mag and the smaller case should really ROAR !
God BLess you Mike

[Lead melter]

Good morning
10 grains in 44-40 with either a 220 or 260 grain from my Colt New Service and a soft swc boolit is something I hope I never get punched with. In the 1892 Winny it is much more awsome. The 260 MUST be crimped over the 1st band but with care it works RWEAL good. $$ mag and the smaller case should really ROAR !
God BLess you Mike


missionary,

Why did you change your avatar? I like the other much better. BTW, is that a llama, an alpaca or a juanaco [sp?]?

[missionary5155]

missionary,

Why did you change your avatar? I like the other much better. BTW, is that a llama, an alpaca or a juanaco [sp?]?

Good morning
Variety ! Most Northerners will never see the Arequipa area so I thought to give a few of the sights... sorry the smells are personal.
Good guess on the critter... This is a Vicuña which is a cousin to the Guanaco. Guanaco are generally a taller , heavier desert animal. Vicuñas live more in the higher wetter altitudes in the grassy PAMPAS . Both are protected animals and "Verboten" to hunt... Numbers are increasing so we do see them now on a regular basis.

Mike

[Lloyd Smale]

thats my go to load in the smith and wessons and ive taken alot of game with it. Kills real well..

[Three44s]

In the .44 mag with mag cases:

I "go with Skeeter" and use about 8.5 gr. of Unique behind the RCBS 250K

For more "juice" ...... I prefer to switch to HS-6 and the same bullet but with magnum primers and charge @ 11.8 gr. and that is my DROP DEAD FAVORITE load of all.

Regards

Three 44s