.44 special in magnum case - official data?

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WHOPPER_JR

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I have a new 629 4.2" revolver knowing full well this would be a gun to reload for, but local selection for reloading components is slim and factory .44 ammo (for handguns at least) is nil. Only stuff the LGS sells are the hot rounds meant for lever action hunting. I'd like to start off with some lighter recoiling stuff since it's my first magnum revolver, but the price of .44 special factory ammo is insane to me.

All I could find are 200 and 240gr lead bullets so I figure I'd just refer to the chart that came with my lee dies and try the powder/charge with the lowest velocity for that.

I'm aware you can load .44 special velocity rounds in magnum cases, using a little bit more to account for the extra space, but do they put out official reloading data for that? All I could find were guys posting their preferred choice on message boards and I'm not that comfortable using that unless I can cross reference to min/max charge data.

Thanks,
 
Look for 44 "mag" Cowboy loads. Hodgdon used to have a special section but it is now mixed with other loads in their online abomination. RNFP below 1000fps or so are their Cowboy loads.

Hornady had Target loads with lead bullets below 1000fps in their older manuals.

You can also look at the 44-40 section, if one is offered in your resource.
 
For reduced loads with Titegroup, I just use the Special or even Russian data as is. No issue.

Order an 8lb jug of TG from X Reload and even after shipping it'll be $.03 of powder per round, or less, and you'll have enough for over 10k reduced rounds.

The one thing you don't want to do is reduce charges of slow powder like H110/WW296. Other than that there's a ton of suitable powders for reduced loads out there.
 
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You did not mention what powders you have on the shelf. That would help us give advice.

The loading manual should show you a START load for 44 Spl and a Max load for 44 magnum.

The 240 gn cast lead bullet is an excellent choice for general purpose plinking.

A good powder is not one of the super fast powders, like Titegroup, which makes good accurate loads, but is limited in velocity potential.

Neither do you want a super slow powder like H110 or 296. They do not download well.

A medium speed powder will allow you to start with a mouse fart and work up to enough power that it feels uncomfortable. My choice would be Unique, Universal, or HS6. (Or 2400 if you happen to have that already).

I suggest you load 12 of each, starting with the book value for the Spl START load and in 1 gr increments to the 44MAG Max load. This range of loads should reveal the load that is accurate and feels about right in your hands.

I have found 6 gr of Universal to be accurate and super mild, and 9 gr to be accurate with a bit of power.
 
Don't load using H110 or W296 at less than minimum for .44Mag. You can load 2400 at .44Spec minimum loads but do not load lower than that. It is more tolerant of the extra space but still likes to be close to 'full'. Unique and 231 at close to .44SP max loads in a .44Mag case work fine too. Not too snappy, one might say kind of boring though. Never tried much else. I personally never really saw much point in shooting a .44Mag with other than max mag loads but it is yours so shoot what you want to out of it.

If you want to shoot a wheel gun that has virtually no recoil and is downright inexpensive to shoot get a S&W 617 instead of a 629. If you want a relatively cheap-to-shoot wheel gun then a S&W 929 or 986 in 9mm.
 
From an older Hornady guide. Pay attention to the last sentence on the first page and the reloading data at the bottom of the second.

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I've shot 1000's of lead 240 swc with 7.0 grs of Unique out of my 5" 629-3. Very safe, accurate, and mild. You'll enjoy that load out of your 4.2" 629.
 
Unique is a wonderful powder. It got its name from its "unique" ability to be loaded both hot and mild. Most powders work well at only one end of the spectrum.

I am reluctant to recommend Unique because it is a flake powder and some powder throwers bind up badly with it. My Dillon and Lyman 55 work well with it. My Redding thrower will not.

I guess the Lee scoops would be just fine.

I find Universal to be a good all round medium speed powder. I can load my 44 Spl hot enough with it to hurt my hand (8gr) but 6 gr is a nice load.

OP - What thrower do you have?
 
I would suggest loads using Trail Boss powder. I shoot 240 cast @ 800 fps from a 16.5" lever, 5.2grs TrailBoss. That is a 70% load density, no chance of a double charge

I also shot 8grs Unique which did 1090 fps with same 240gr cast
 
Good point Ganderite, in regards to Unique and powder throwers. For my reduced 44 magnum loads with Unique I just use the Lee Auto Disk powder measure with the 0.88cc cavity. The chart says it will throw 8.1 grains of Unique but in reality it is more like 7.0 grains out of my auto disk. Of course one needs to confirm this on an accurate scale occasionally during your reloading session. :)
 
Ganderite said:
Unique is a wonderful powder. It got its name from its "unique" ability to be loaded both hot and mild. Most powders work well at only one end of the spectrum.

I am reluctant to recommend Unique because it is a flake powder and some powder throwers bind up badly with it. My Dillon and Lyman 55 work well with it. My Redding thrower will not.

I guess the Lee scoops would be just fine.

I find Universal to be a good all round medium speed powder. I can load my 44 Spl hot enough with it to hurt my hand (8gr) but 6 gr is a nice load.

OP - What thrower do you have?
Click to expand...

I've given up on using flake powder in a thrower, so its the Lee scoops or a home made one. My first thrower was an old Lyman with the pendulum style hammer that tapped out the hangups. In those days I was loading 1000 rounds of .38 Special a week for our gun club. If you want to get fed up with loading, try making a 1000 rounds per week of pistol ammo on a single stage press for a year or so. Anyway, I began with 5.5 grs of Unique, and foolishly I wasn't checking the throw weights regularly like I do now. The slide adjustment on the thrower gradually increased until it was dumping the equivalent of .357 magnum loads by the time I noticed I had a problem, and by then I wasn't sure when the adjustment went out of wack. I kept that ammo to shoot in my M-27 Smith and bought 1000 rounds from a nice man with a Star reloader, which was the Dillon of the day. I made a scoop trimming a .38 case until it held 5.5 grs of Unique, soldered a nail to it for a handle, and never had another problem.

Unique is one of my favorite powders, not only for mid range magnum handgun ammo, and hot auto pistol ammo, but its extremely useful for reduced rifle loads.
 
Ganderite said:
A good powder is not one of the super fast powders, like Titegroup, which makes good accurate loads, but is limited in velocity potential.

Neither do you want a super slow powder like H110 or 296. They do not download well.

A medium speed powder will allow you to start with a mouse fart and work up to enough power that it feels uncomfortable. My choice would be Unique, Universal, or HS6. (Or 2400 if you happen to have that already).
Click to expand...

.44 Mag max charge with Titegroup is faster than both Unique and Universal, and only about 130 fps slower than HS6 or 2400.
 
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