44 Special +P load suggestions

[kerplode]

What is "Quickload Bazoo"?

It's the difference between "Let's eat, Grandma!" and "Let's eat Grandma!"...

Bazoo is the OP.

Quickload is an internal ballistics solver program that can take load specifics (cartridge, bullet, powder, etc) and predict chamber pressure and velocity among other things. Runs on Windows. kinda spendy. Not a substitute for data generated with proper pressure testing equipment, but informative none the less...
Quickload, Bazoo!

[35 Whelen]

I'll second www.loaddata.com. I've had a subscription for years and will never be without it again. There's hardly a day, and certainly not a week that goes by that I don't go there are look up some kind of data. TONS of good .44 Special and .44 Magnum data there.

35W

[W.R.Buchanan]

Bazoo: Get a copy of Handloader Magazine Issue #236 (July 2005) Call Wolfe Publishing 1-928-445-7810 and they are $10 each.

This issue has the "Definitive Work By Brian Pearce on loading the .44 Special Cartridge from Mild to Wild." Loads range from 15,000 psi to 25,000 psi for certain guns. You will find everything that means anything about loading this cartridge in that one article including about 150 + loads.

Brian Pearce has forgotten more about this subject than all of us put together will ever know.

There is also another issue Handloader#237 (Oct 2005) where he talks about Mid Range Loads for the .44 Magnum.

Handloader #265 (Apr 2010) has loads for +P .44 Magnum for use in Ruger Redhawks and the like, and these are not for the faint of heart.

The current issue of Handloader #326, (June 2020) has an article by him on loading the .44 Magnum using some of the newer powders as well as old standards. Like 3 pages worth of load data.

With these 4 magazines you can load any possible load for the .44 Special /Magnum or you may omit the +P article as few have use for loads like that which are capable of taking anything on Earth. Still it's nice to know what the top end is.

My standard load for my .44 Specials is 6.0 gr of W231/HP38 with a Keith Boolit 429421 and my standard Midrange .44 Magnum load is 8.0 gr of the same powder with the same boolit.

I have a Ruger SBH Bisley, a BH Bisley, an S&W 696, and a Marlin 1894 CB with a 24" barrel.

My hot load for the SBH and Marlin is the Thompson 429244GC with 23.0 gr of H110. The SBH Bisley Grip makes shooting hot loads in that gun possible with no pain. The Marlin is a 200 yard gun with that load.

All these loads came from those articles,,, er actually the hot load I have been shooting since 1978 so I knew about it along time ago.

There is probably more info contained in those articles than in any other place known to man.

You need to read them multiple times like for "Toilet Reading."

I have one article from him on loading the .45-70 for Marlin Rifles which I have easily read 50 times !

The guy actually knows what he's talking about!

Hope this helps you out on this subject,,, and you can load all of these on one of my Hand Presses.

Randy

[ddixie884]

Not really off-topic. The SAAMI limits for 44 Special are low, probably lower than they need to be for modern firearms. I don't think you would harm a S&W 624 with a load that pushed a 250 grain lead bullet in the 900-1000 fps range BUT that load would likely produce a little more than the 15,500 psi limit for 44 Special. To give a little perspective, the SAAMI limit for 44 magnum is 36,000psi.
What we need is a sanctioned +P load for the 44 Special but no such thing exists. Part of the problem is that not all guns chambered in 44 Special are created equal.

The 44 Special is a fantastic cartridge but when crippled by the artificially low SAAMI specifications, it can be a bit limited. When taken a little above the SAAMI limits, the 44 Special does a lot of things really well. Unfortunately, we don't have a sanctioned +P load to address that problem so we are left to ourselves to find acceptable loads that don't push the envelope of safety.

The S&W 624 (along with the blued 24 and fixed sighted, blued 21) are fine guns and in my opinion, strong enough to safely handle a "Skeeter" load. Those types of guns have certainly been used to fire large numbers of those exact loads for years.

That sanctioned heavy .44spl load is what Elmer was requesting and look what it got him.......

[LAH]

In Special brass using the MMC converted M28 I use the Lyman 429421 & 15 grains of 2400. My 6 1/2" barrel makes 1050 fps.

[smkummer]

Just shot 4.8 grains 700X and Kieth bullet for about 750 FPS in my charter arms target (4”) bulldog. Pleasant load that duplicates factory published velocity but plenty of power for CC use. Tried the skeeter load and it averaged 950 plus FPS. My hand certainly felt it and no doubt 50 of those would be more than enough for a range outing. Shot someone else’s Ruger stainless Blackhawk 44 special 4 3/4”. Comfortable with the skeeter load. About 975 average FPS. Plenty of power.

[rkrcpa]

So, in terms of a "Skeeter" load in the 950fps range, is there a consensus as to how best to get there? Unique, Power Pistol and 2400 all seem to get you there with ease but is one "better" than the other for the intended purpose. Is it simply a matter of what shoots best in a particular revolver?

[Larry Gibson]

"how best to get there?"

A cast 429421 loaded over 7.5 gr Unique in 44 SPL cases using standard LP primers. Simple and easy....ain't broke....no sense trying to 'fix" it.......

[DougGuy]

I ended up shelving the gun because it leads up bad due to a tight spot in the barrel. It is gone back to Ruger currently. We'll see if they fix it or if it's on the chopping block.

Well? Whatever happened to the gun?

[Drm50]

I use Unique in 41mg, 44sp & mg, 45Colt for cast loads in 700 -900 FPS. I killed a deer with 242gr 45 cal WC at 750fps with Unique. Plenty of power for practical range. I shoot iron sights and self imposed range for deer is 50yds. I hit one once at 100+ with 44mg. Spent hours tracking it. If deer looks like it can walk across from sight, it’s to far for me.

[Bazoo]

When I got it back, they had replaced the cylinder and barrel. I slugged the throats and they are all hovering around .432/.4325 the bore has less of a constriction at the thread than it did. It leads less than it did. I plan to fire lap it but I haven't done anything yet.


I appreciate the suggestion for the magazines, I'll order them.

[LAH]

"how best to get there?"

A cast 429421 loaded over 7.5 gr Unique in 44 SPL cases using standard LP primers. Simple and easy....ain't broke....no sense trying to 'fix" it.......

^^^^^^^^
I'm with the great one on this.

[smkummer]

Unique gets you to the 950 FPS range with a lot less powder than 2400, so it’s economical. Power pistol shows good promise but I have yet to buy and load for it. Waiting until I run out of Win. 540 for my 38 plus P loads before I switch.

[ddixie884]

^^^^^^^^
I'm with the great one on this.

Me too................

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Was enjoying a new to me 6.5" 24-3 on Sunday. Shooting an as cast 240 grain boolit of 50/50 plus tin over 7 gr. of Unique. Great accuracy and no leading. My SBH likes 9.0 gr. of Unique with the same boolit sized to 431". Makes things pretty simple for these two six guns.