44 mag
- Thread starter MacWonderful
- Start date
Early research (tentative) conclusions:
- There is a ton of debate online about full house loads and wear and tear on a firearm, including arguments around frame stretching, inertial battering of components and debate over just how hard one can push a new-ish S&W Model 29
- Some folks online claim to have used their Model 29s as miniature artillery pieces with huge powder loads to match, others cast doubt on the human wrist's ability to soak up that much recoil over 20, 30, 35 years etc.
- Cast bullets are generally easier on revolvers than plated/jacketed and can go faster with the same loading
- Follow the recipe book for safety and always load according to established practices (start low and ladder up) - published load ranges are safe(r) but not guaranteed as some books differ, and firearms differ in design & overall construction/materials strength
- Spicy magnum is tolerable for quite a while, but the less the better for the overall service life of a revolver just in terms of maintenance replacement of parts without accounting for the bigger problems that still seem debatable
- Many people have cool pet loads that might be worth a try and I'm glad they shared online
Well... I guess I'm going to be reloading for this now so I'm posting here to follow this already-started thread. I bought a S&W 29 in 44mag (along with 2 other pistols) from a friend's husband back in June with a plan to flip all 3 for something I would actually want... well, we all know what just happened, so now I'm "stuck" with them. I bought a couple boxes of factory ammo while I wait to get some dies for it. I plan to reload both 44mag and some 44 special, or would it be easier/better to load some "regular" rounds along with "light" loads and just mark them appropriately? Is there a middle-road sized projectile that will work for both Mag and Special that people have had luck with?
You could buy campro 44 240 grain. Campro supposedly has a thicker plating and can be used with jacketed data. There are inexpensive and can be loaded mild or wild. I cast for 44 magnum and I found that lighter loads produced the best accuracy with cast bullet no gas check. For top velocity top accuracy I hornady xtp bullets work very well.
I'm running the 240 gr campro projectiles for my plinking fun, and have a bunch of hornady 240 gr hp ready for when the time comes to swap over to killing.
I am running imr 4227 this decent accuracy, and running out to 200 yards for plinking, but I run a 2-7 scope on the henry for this. I found that running 1/2 grain hot settled the grouping in for my rifle, so that is were it is at 24.5 gr imr 4227, with the mag primers. Decent enough for the lever action.
You can buy nickel casings and regular brass one, so if I was looking at running two loads I would probably start with the color of the casings for best distinguishing the rounds from each other.
I am running imr 4227 this decent accuracy, and running out to 200 yards for plinking, but I run a 2-7 scope on the henry for this. I found that running 1/2 grain hot settled the grouping in for my rifle, so that is were it is at 24.5 gr imr 4227, with the mag primers. Decent enough for the lever action.
You can buy nickel casings and regular brass one, so if I was looking at running two loads I would probably start with the color of the casings for best distinguishing the rounds from each other.
Try 44 Special loads. I have arthritis issues and that lets me still use my 44's. - dan
7.5 grains of Unique, 240 grain LSW in 44 mag cases is my go to for plinking. Same in 30-30 with 170 grain lead bullets.
Early S&W 29's and 629's had lockworks that werent up to the constant heavy pounding of silhouette shooters. Hence the upgrades brought to them in the later dash number models. -2's are pre upgrade, so I would not feed them a steady diet of heavy loads. Thats what Redhawks, Blackhawks and Dan Wessons were for. I really like S&W 44's, have four in various configeration, but it really isnt worth damaging them just for a small increase in velocity. - dan
Thank you for the input. I have a Model 29-10, so - yay, upgraded! I actually really like shooting .44 spl loads through it, feels like a different gun almost. I think that is pretty darn neat-o! That said, it's also still fun to blast away with big ol' fireballs lighting up the area around me. I am liking this Special/Magnum capability actually more than I initially thought I would.
It's handy, particularly for those of us forced to not hunt with our 44's, or with arthritis showing up in our hands. And if youre a Dirty Harry fan, he used specials in his 29 as well. - dan
I made some sick shots fired from the hip with 180gr and 200gr LRFP under 5.5-5.8 grain of Titegroup. Just the right amount of push.
Shooting out of 4.2inch 629 SS. The case being basically empty is spooky so I run them 1 at a time through my progressive
Trailboss delivers similar velocities but it there was much more push in the palm and little more muzzle flip.
Under plated 200gr and 240gr FP, N340 slightly more oomf once again in hand less comfy to shoot one handed but can’t overfill the case. The brass, the stainless and the bore are all cleaner running N340.
N110 is stout and fun but leaves velocity on the table compared to H110. I suspect H110 will even be more rowdy and look forward to it. The data is faster than what the Hornady box recommends for XTPs
Shooting out of 4.2inch 629 SS. The case being basically empty is spooky so I run them 1 at a time through my progressive
Trailboss delivers similar velocities but it there was much more push in the palm and little more muzzle flip.
Under plated 200gr and 240gr FP, N340 slightly more oomf once again in hand less comfy to shoot one handed but can’t overfill the case. The brass, the stainless and the bore are all cleaner running N340.
N110 is stout and fun but leaves velocity on the table compared to H110. I suspect H110 will even be more rowdy and look forward to it. The data is faster than what the Hornady box recommends for XTPs
Last edited:
2 weeks ago I loaded up some light 44 Magnum loads using 9.0gr of Unique pushing out a 230gr cast bullet. I also used it as an excuse to design and make a new style box for my reloads 
Took them to the range last days off and they were nice and mild shooting. I'm not the best guy to comment on accuracy, but I was hitting the 6" steel at about 15 yards. I also shot a box of factory loads (need to empty the brass somehow ) and I can say these light loads are much easier to shoot
Took them to the range last days off and they were nice and mild shooting. I'm not the best guy to comment on accuracy, but I was hitting the 6" steel at about 15 yards. I also shot a box of factory loads (need to empty the brass somehow
) and I can say these light loads are much easier to shoot
They do also list it for the magnum pistol rounds and say it is pretty much their fastest burning. I ran some a while ago under 125gr XTPs which were zippy and fun and burned clean. I actually did find myself blowing out grains of N110 out of my 5" revolver with those loads, but I did run them at min load which is 16.8gr and 5% under.
Could be that your right about the rifle barrel length. But also could be like H110 that likes more powder and pressure to burn completely. My crimping was boarderline excessive if anything. Ill have to try some in the lever next range day.
But just left them aside in storage. Maybe Ill look and cook up some more N110 .357s today.
2 weeks ago I loaded up some light 44 Magnum loads using 9.0gr of Unique pushing out a 230gr cast bullet. I also used it as an excuse to design and make a new style box for my reloads
Took them to the range last days off and they were nice and mild shooting. I'm not the best guy to comment on accuracy, but I was hitting the 6" steel at about 15 yards. I also shot a box of factory loads (need to empty the brass somehow
Very cool boxes, fun! Remind me of Cap & Ball's style paper cartridge boxes. Yay more brass to load!
My first 12rds of 44mag, and rounds fired ever taught me real quick my grip wasn't as good as I thought and I needed to do the cross over thumb method with fullish power.
