.44 special loads in .44 magnum cases?

[kingstrider]

I own a trio of .44 magnums but have never shot a .44 special before. So I'm thinking of loading some up for a light plinking round but don't want to invest in a bunch of .44 special brass. My quesion is it safe to use .44 special load data in my .44 magnum cases? I wasn't sure as there would be more empty space in there unless I used a filler of some sort. Ideas or suggestions?

[Kraschenbirn]

Try starting with 9 grs of Herco (no filler) under a 240-250 gr boolit. Runs around 900 fps from my 4 5/8" OM Vaquero.

Bill

[Dogchaser]

I use 9.0 of Unique in my mountain guns for 960 with a 429421 sized .430 .

It's accurate in all my .44s and pretty mild on the hand while still usefull for killing things.

ETA I only use 44 Magnum brass in my .44s .

[MtGun44]

Using a known safe load in a case that has a larger combustion chamber will guarentee
to produce LOWER pressures. The same way - if you have a boolit push into a case
(like when feeding in a semi-auto without a proper grip/crimp) it reduces the combustion
chamber size and will INCREASE the pressures.

So- if you use a book .44 Spl load in a .44 Mag case you will get lower pressure and therefore
lower velocity than in the .44 Spl case.

Bill

[lylejb]

Yep, done thousands of them over the last 20 yrs or so.

I don't own any 44 spec brass, I just load what i want in the mag brass. No filler needed

Do stick to the medium to faster powders like herco, unique, green dot, 231, ect.

Don't try to reduce a win 296 / h110 load, that powder can behave eratically and pressure spike in reduced loads.

[BruceB]

Having no .44 Special guns, dies or brass, I load three different "levels" of ammo for my .44 Magnums. Two of these overlap the .44 Special zone. which is why I've never seen the need for a .44 Special revolver. All three types are loaded in .44 Magnum brass.

".44 Lite" is a 200-grain bullet loaded to 800 fps. It uses the Lee 200 and is obviously visually different from...

".44/1000", which is the RCBS 44-250 SWC traveling at ...no kidding...1000 fps.

The same RCBS bullet is used in my ".44 MAGNUM" loads, which give me almost 1500 fps from a Ruger 7.5" barrel, and over 1300 from a 4" S&W.

.44/1000 and .44 MAGNUM are identical from the outside, so they get color-coded just in case some rounds get out of their boxes at the wrong time. The .44/1000 cases get a ring of cool-color model paint around the primer...blue, green, black etc. The MAGNUM loads are identified with hot colors such as red, yellow, orange or pink.

Rather than using specific .44 Special loads in the larger mag cases, I find it's best to just load to a pre-determined velocity and call it good. Of course, this is rather chronograph-dependent, so I'd hope that you at least know someone with such an instrument.

Works for me...

[dale2242]

Load 8 1/2 gr Unique in 44 Mag case, for a 44 Spec velocity load, with 240-250 gr boolit. Very accurate and easy on the hand and gun....dale

[kingstrider]

Thanks guys, I knew this would be a great place to ask. I'll try to load some over the weekend and let you know how it turns out.

[Shuz]

I have never seen the need to use .44 Special brass in any of my .44 magnums. I use Green Dot, Unique and NM-04(a military surplus powder no longer available) in .44 mag cases when I want .44 Special type light re-coiling loads. A big advantage to this method is the reduction in chamber fouling from not shooting shorter cases and then finding out that the magnum cases won't chamber easily. A reloading info label goes into every box of 50 or 100 rounds and that tells me what powder,boolit,OAL etc the box contains. Any variation in the load is noted on the lable and the primers and boolits of those loads are color coded with a felt magic marker.

[RKJ]

John Taffin (Guns American Handgunner Magazines) says he uses 10.0 grains of Unique for his .44 Magnums. It's a nice load, I dont know the velocity but it's pretty accurate.

[acemedic13]

I have been toying with the idea of loading 44 special for my 8 3/8 629 Smith. The only reason I am considering this, is because I found a small mountain of 44 spc. brass at the range on post. Being a good citizen, I picked it all up from the ground and picked through the trash for more. I would like to be able to use it for shooting (as opposed to trading) because mag brass is a little tough to get at these days. Is there any real safety concerns with this? I know accuaracy and a few other things will suffer, but I am really just gonna plink with it/store it for last resort zombie take over ammo...lol.... I try to stay away from the "interchangable ammo" thing like 45 lc in 454, 38 in 357 etc. etc. But I would like to use this stuff or at least have it set up if needed. Thanks for this thread and any insight that comes my way.

[1874Sharps]

Acemedic13,

Glad you had a lucky strike finding all that brass! I shoot both the 44 Special and 44 Magnum, having guns that fire both. The 44 Specials seem to shoot pretty well in the 44 Magnum. I never load the Specials up above its SAAMI levels, even though the Magnum would safely fire higher pressure Specials. I am afraid that the hot Specials might wind up in the 44 Special. Since you have no 44 Special, you have no worries of this, but there is always the chance you may get one. You have no safety concerns shooting Specials in your Magnum.

[Dale53]

acemedic13';
Don't automatically assume that accuracy will be less with .44 Special brass in a .44 Magnum. Most of the time, in most guns, it is quite good.

DO NOT load .44 magnum loads in .44 Special cases (that WILL raise pressures to an undesirable degree).

After using .44 Special loads, you MUST clean the chambers of the fouling that is generated just in front of the case mouth on .44 Special cases BEFORE trying to use .44 Magnum cases.

Use the .44 Special brass in good health. "Good Citizens" need rewarded and you have been:grin:

Dale53

[acemedic13]

Thanks for the info guys. I am actually planning on keeping the specials on the low end of their data so I have a mild bunny round for my 44. It' s an amazingly accurate gun and a lot of fun to shoot.

What causes the additional fouling on the chambers? Other than the usual gases and lead/copper stuff. Seems like it would because of the gases being trapped in the cylinder with the round before it gets forced into the barrel......I really dont know. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the time with the posts....Joel......

[Wally]

Yes, this is a big problem. I shoot a Mo 29 and a Ruger SBH and like to use .44 Specials in both as they both are very accurate. lately I've beed using Lees 240 SWC-TL and their 208 WC (NLA) bullets with 5.0/5.5 grains of Bullseye. The .44 Special rounds will foul up the chambers and they need to be cleaned out....many swear by an old .45 cal bronze brush with copper strands from a Chore Boy pot scrubber...if you want to go high tech, chuck it into a drill and spin it in the cylinder chambers...that's what I do. However I have found it best to clean the cylinders first BEFORE you fire any .44 magnums through them...if you do, the fouiling is far harder to remove.

[Shooter30-06]

Somewhere on this Board someone suggested 5.5 grains of Titegroup behind a 200 grain bullet. I do not know if this qualifies as 44 special load but in my 44 mag cases it is very accurate and very comfortable.

[big dale]

[QUOTE=Kraschenbirn;741109]Try starting with 9 grs of Herco (no filler) under a 240-250 gr boolit. Runs around 900 fps from my 4 5/8" OM Vaquero.

That is the correct answer. That load has been my every day working load for my 44 for several decades. It had taught several dozen beginners how much fun it is to shoot a 44 Maq.

Big Dale

[Mike'em]

Been loading and shooting 44 super blackhawk for years. 8g Unique under what ever you stick in it. That includes 7 1/2 bird shot. It will do more than store bought shot.

[mooman76]

It is actually better to shoot 44 mag cases in the 44 mag rather than 44 special but I see no harm in doing it occationally. Some people have trouble getting the mag case to fit in the chamber after shooting the shorter cases allot. I usually shoot loads inbetween the special and mag, sort of like hot 44 special loads or light 44 mag loads. I get a mild recoil and can shoot allot without wearing myself out. I do like the occational full 44 mag loads though.

[thenaaks]

i load my 44 spl cases with 4.5 gr of titegroup behind a 240 gr lee tl swc. shoots really nice groups at 20 yds out of my taurus 44. really easy on the hands and wrists. no unburned powder or excessive fouling. like others have said, just be sure to scrub the cylinder a bit before shooting magnums. i like the spl cases because it's easier to keep track of them, and i can see the powder charge a bit easier down in the cases.

[4296]

Loads I use in my S&W Model 29-8 4'' Mountain Gun -with the RCBS 44-250-K and Winchester Large Pistol Primers:

10 Grains Unique - 1055 FPS

11 Grains Herco - 1086 FPS

12 Grains HS6 - 1033 FPS

13 Grains HS7 - 964 FPS

[jhrosier]

I had a bunch of soft boolits earlier this year that leaded up my .44 mag something awful.
I didn't want to waste the time it took to cast 800 boolits so I loaded them in .44 mag casses over a charge of Trailboss.
They shot pretty well out of both revolver and rifle without leading in either. I don't know the velocity but I had to crank up the rifle sight a lot.
The revolver loads gave me a couple of weeks of plinking every day and the recoil was modest.

Jack

[Franklin Zeman]

I like a Skeeter Skelton load in 44 Spl of 7 1/2 Unique with 429421, Same slug in mag with 8 1/2 Unique. The spl load works in a 624 or 629. For an even easier, cheaper spl load, try the Lee 200 wc with 3 1/2 Bull. Once again, it works in either pistol.

[Fugowii]

I use 6.5gr of 231 behind a 240gr SWC in my SBH and it's a great plinking round. Easy on the recoil and plenty accurate for me.

[shooterchris]

Ok, I'm pretty excited about the S&W 629 DX Classic that I picked up yesterday, and I thought about starting a thread about this last night, but it seems that yall are having a good discussion on 44s right here. All that I had to shoot, 44 wise, were some that I worked up last year for my Marlin 1894. 265gr Lyman GC with a charge of 21gr of 2400. This load works great in my rifle, but it didn't work very well in the revolver. No leading but the grouping was not very good. I let a friend of mine shoot it as well, and he is a pretty good shooter, He has lots of heavy revolvers (44 mag- 500) and he can shoot them well. He suggested trying Lil' Gun, and I'm gonna try a different boolit. Yesterday I poured up some 245 SWC plain base boolits and I am gonna try 9gr of unique under em. The Bbl is 8 3/8" on the gun and I've not done much reloading for a revolver. I do, however reload for my 308, 30-30, 8x57, and a few calibers in my 1911s all with boolits that I cast. I guess what I really am asking is for some input on loading for a revolver in general. It would seem that seating the boolit out as far as the cylinder would let you may be beneficial to reduce boolit jump, etc. Anyone wanna share some of the basics please chime in. Thanks Guys.

[Dale53]

shooterchris;
I am going to suggest that it would be helpful to you to get a couple of books for your permanent library.

Lyman's Cast Bullet handbook (3rd Edition) is excellent. They are coming out with a new one ((4th Edition) shortly. I don't know about the new one, not having seen it, but #3 is EXTREMELY worhwhile. Lyman may have some left or you can try other sources like Midway, Natchez etc (Amazon says "unavailable")

John Taffin's Gun Digest Book of the .44 is one I highly recommend :

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=John+Taffin%27s+Gun+Digest+%22Book+of+the +.44%22&x=14&y=13

I wouldn't want to be without either. I am quite interested in the upcoming Lyman (Editon 4) and will be taking a look at that, myself.

The Internet can offer lots of good information (this site is unquestionably, the best of the best) including but not limited to:

Glen Fryell's (he posts here, regularly) site is a MUST SEE. Glen is a bonafide cast bullet expert:

http://www.lasc.us/ArticlesFryxell.htm

John Taffin's site has LOTS of good information:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030319051741/http://www.sixguns.com/

Have fun...

Dale53

[shooterchris]

Dale,
I have also been anticipating the release of the 4th edition of the cast bullet handbook. I spoke to Lyman and was told that it was supposed to be released early February and now it will be late April....they hope. The only reason that I have not bought the 3rd edition is that I have heard that some of the info is outdated as far as the powders, and it does not have some of the new powder in it. I think the 3rd was published in like 79 or 80. Man I'm getting old.....that book is as old as me. LOL! Thanks for the recommendation on the other book. I have a few manuals, but none but the Lyman take many cast boolits into consideration.

[Dale53]

shooterchris;
Maybe one of the reasons to get BOTH the Lyman 3rd Edition as well as the 4th Edition (when it ships) is that it ( Edition 3) DOES have information on what may be outdated powders. This past couple of years, I went back to serious pistol shooting and discovered rather large quantities of "obsolete" powders in my powder stash. #3 provided the full answer with complete loading data on both of these powders (at least 5# of P5066 Dupont - a superb powder for target loads in the .45 ACP and about 4# of Alcan #8. an excellent powder for large caliber center fire pistols). It would have been a crime to "water the flowers" with these great powders. Lyman's #3 solved those problems ( and saved me considerable money in the bargain). Further, I KNOW that the metalurgical data is EXCELLENT and I don't know what that will consist of in the new Lyman book.

I would like to add that the new book probably won't have data on the discontinued moulds that Lyman has dumped recently. I would NOT want that information to be unavailable. Lots of excellent designs floating around gun shows and that information can be near priceless.

Me, I won't be dumping my #3 any time soon and would like to examine the #4 to see if it meets the standards of the #3.

Just a thought or two...

FWIW
Dale53

[shooterchris]

Dale,

Didnt think about it like that. I have some pretty old lyman molds that I have picked up here and there and would hate to not have that info. Thanks! By the way in that old powder you dont have any Scotts 3032 do you. Please PM me about this.