Help with 44 load

[Ekalb2000]

The only primers I could get ahold of was CCI magnum primers. The powder I have on hand is 231 and unique. What start load should I use with these primers? I can also get ahold of some trailboss, I have read on here that it is good in the 44.
Any and all advice is welcome.

andy

[freedom475]

My chrono testing showed a 10fps increase with Unique when I compared the same load with CCI 300's and 350's...

Boolit weight and firearm used is going to be needed for powder charge info.

Unique is a good powder in the 44 mag..

Trail boss is basically Bullseye manufactured to be Bulky enough to prevent double charges but it is a fun plinking Powder. Don't be scammed into thinking it is less expensive...read the lable...there is about half the powder weight per can as other 1lb per can powders.:castmine:

[Ekalb2000]

Oh yea, 310 grainer out of a SBH.
The sports shop also has Rdot and Bdot.
Thanks for the heads up about trailboss.

[waco]

10gr of unique with lyman 429421 is hard to beat
what boolits you using?

[freedom475]

Blue dot has given me some of the best results as far as velocity spread...not uncommon to keep all rounds within 4-6fps of each other or less... But I have read a lot of bad things about the powder ...from flame cutting the top strap.. very dirty and some say it has a dangerous pressure spike at ignition.

I did some testing with Unique 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.

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.

Depends on what you want to do with the 44 but of all the powders you listed Unique is probly the one I would choose... 2400 is the best all around powder for the 44 IMO.

[44man]

Blue dot has given me some of the best results as far as velocity spread...not uncommon to keep all rounds within 4-6fps of each other or less... But I have read a lot of bad things about the powder ...from flame cutting the top strap.. very dirty and some say it has a dangerous pressure spike at ignition.

I did some testing with Unique 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.

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.

Depends on what you want to do with the 44 but of all the powders you listed Unique is probly the one I would choose... 2400 is the best all around powder for the 44 IMO.
I agree.
The best powder for a 310 gr is 296, H110 and 2400. It just will not perform with fast powders.

[Ekalb2000]

Freedom475,
Thank you for all the info. I will be shooting out of a 7.5inch brl. So I think I will keep it under 10grains of unique.
44man,
Cant get ahold of any of the powders that you listed. I know that I am missing out on a whole lot, as I have read a bunch of your posts on that powder subject. I really wanted to try the 2400 powder.

[freedom475]

I just checked and Alliant lists 11gr. Unique and the Max for a 250Keith. http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=250&shellid=33&bulletid=47

I would say start at around 7 and work your way up. A Chrono will really help you to see what is happening. Unique is a great Target/plinking/practice powder and I have even killed a few deer with 9gr. and a 240g cast..

Your SBH will hold a LOT of pressure... But don't use Unique to try and make a Magnum round out of it... Get some H110/296 for that. 2400 much more flexible.

[Alchemist]

Neither WW231 nor Unique need magnum primers....nor does 2400 for that matter. WW296/H110 are basically the same, as they are made in the same plant in St. Marks FL. A magnum primer is best for them. There was a safety notice recently from Alliant concerning Blue Dot use in pistols, athough it was regarding .357 & 41 Magnums in specific bullet weights IIRC.

If all you have are Mag primers, I would suggest getting a suitable powder to go along with it, or find a loading manual recipe calling for the combination you are considering.

Please don't assemble handloads from second hand information or ancient manuals. Components change, and safety should be your prime consideration, not what you have on hand.

That's my nickel's worth.

[O.S.O.K.]

Check here for data: http://www.handloads.org/loaddata/default.asp?

I will add that H110 or W296 - 21.0 grains with that Lee 310 boolit will give you around 1250 fps from your SBH with excellent accuracy.

As mentioned, 2400 is also good and you can add Lil Gun to the list too.

[Ekalb2000]

No hotrodding here. Not unless I got some 110/296.

[44man]

No hotrodding here. Not unless I got some 110/296.
What you need to worry about is having the mag primer push out the boolit before a good powder burn. The primer has too much pressure itself for accuracy. I use a Federal 150 standard primer even with 296 in the .44 and .45.
You need a hard boolit and very tight case tension on the boolit, along with a tight crimp to make good use of a mag primer. Even then, they can triple group size.

[Edubya]

Ekalb2000, is that Panama City, Panama or is that Florida?
You durn sure be able to get 110/296 or 2400 if that is FL.
I looked at retiring in Panama, didn't like the the restrictions on the citizens. The attractive part was the COL and year-around temperature. It might get boring though, 90 degrees, 90% humidity, 90% of the time!
EW

[leadman]

If you can get ahold of some Accurate 1680 you could try that. I use 24 grs of surplus WC680 behind the 310 gr. Lee. Not the fastest at about 1,150 fps, but very accurate and is a slightly compressed load.
Has a somewhat slower recoil than the same bullet with 296/110 at the same velocities.

If I had to use Unique or 231 only I would look for a 210gr to 250gr boolit.

[Ekalb2000]

EW, yup, florida. and yup, 90% all the frican time.
but nope, cant get ahold of any powders that I need.
I cant even get 4895 for the M1.
I will hold off on any loads for the 44 till i can get some decent powder.


andy

[winshooter]

You guys are a little cavalier about throwing out recommendations of 10 gr of Unique for the "44". If I was a newbie looking for a good load for my 44 "Special" and tried 10 gr of Unique you can guess the result. The old 250 grain Keith cast plain base 429421 used 7.8 gr of Unique as pretty much a maximum load for the 44 Special. Maybe it's just me but I'd be more careful in differentiating between 44 Magnum loads and 44 Special............unless it was listed in this thread and I just overlooked it. Of course I could also be dating myself and you all just never heard of the old 44 Special :?

Mike

[Ekalb2000]

Ahh...good observation.
So on the 17th post, this is for a 44 Magum.

And yes, they are special...