Trail Boss in .44 Special Revolvers
Just thought I'd post some chronographed resulted of Traill Boss and traditional powders in .44 Spcl. Date: June 29, 2007 Temp: 80F
Gun:S & W M21/4" bbl/All are for 12 shots
Bullet: Lee 429-200-RF/208 gr as cast from AC WW.
Powder/charge: 2400/14.3 gr
High/Low/Avg: 1078/999/1035
ES: 79.97
SD: 26.07
Powder/charge: Unique/8.2 pr
High/Low/Avg: 1106/1024/1064
ES: 82.27
SD: 28.01
Powder/charge: Trail Boss/5.3 gr
High/Low/Avg: 784.8/826.5/803.2
ES: 41.7
SD: 14.62
Bullet:Lyman 429667/ 246 gr as cast from AC WW
Powder/charge: Trail Boss/5.3 gr
High/Low/Avg: 733.7/703/717
ES: 30.64
SD: 10.63
Gun: S & W 296/2" bbl/All are for 10 shots
Bullet: Lee 429-200-RF/208 gr as cast from AC WW.
Powder/charge: 2400/14.3 gr
High/Low/Avg: 936.9/767.8/894.6
ES: 169.1
SD:48.3
Powder/charge: Unique/8.2 gr
High/Low/Avg:986.9/940.1
ES: 46.84
SD: 14.79
Powder/charge: Trail Boss/5.3 gr
High/Low/Avg: 774.2/757.5/740.2
ES: 34.24
SD: 11.48
I also checked some carry ammo - 200 WW jacketed hollow points. What junk!
Powder/charge: Unknown
High/Low/Avg: 749.9/463.5/545
ES: 286.4
SD: 108.1
Conclusions:
For moderate velocity loads Trail Boss has a lower SD than the other two, but Unique is very close. Both work well in short and medium length barrels, so what velocity level do you want? 2400 shows a real drop in shorter barrels and takes more powder for the same velocity as Unique.
And the lot of WW HPs I wanted to use for carry purposes performed dismally. I bought a box of CorBons on the way home from the range. Glad I checked them before I depended on them!
How does this line up with the group's experience? Comments?