44 special

NathanR

NathanR

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Hey guys,

I got 20 left over 44spl brass. I usually only load .44rem mag, but my rifle shoots both and I have time on my hands. My Hornady manual provides no recipe for the
44spl, but my recipe for 44mag is 22.1g of H110. Could I safely load 15g of the h110 into the .44spl brass?

The 44spl seems identical to the 44mag, only obviously shorter. I will be reducing the load by roughly 30%. There is zero risk of shooting these through a pistol, as I dont own a 44mag pistol. They will only be used in my rifle

Rifle- Rossi m92, 20" barrel.
Bullet- Hornady 240g XTP
Brass- Hornady once fired.
Primer- Winchester magnum pistol.
Powder- H110 15g?
 
I would use a quicker powder like unique. My plinking 44 mag loads are 8gr unique 220gr berrys in a mag case with mag primer.
 
NathanR said:
Hey guys,

I got 20 left over 44spl brass. I usually only load .44rem mag, but my rifle shoots both and I have time on my hands. My Hornady manual provides no recipe for the
44spl, but my recipe for 44mag is 22.1g of H110. Could I safely load 15g of the h110 into the .44spl brass?

The 44spl seems identical to the 44mag, only obviously shorter. I will be reducing the load by roughly 30%. There is zero risk of shooting these through a pistol, as I dont own a 44mag pistol. They will only be used in my rifle

Rifle- Rossi m92, 20" barrel.
Bullet- Hornady 240g XTP
Brass- Hornady once fired.
Primer- Winchester magnum pistol.
Powder- H110 15g?
Click to expand...



Assuming you mean 15 gr and not 15 g (kaboom) , then quickload shows a THEORETICAL max pressure of 9153 PSI which is below the max for 44 S and 44 M.


That said, All recipes with H110 I have seen, talk about NOT reducing the min load and the min load is usually the max load less 1 or 2 gr.

I personally would not do it. Will it go ka-boom? Maybe not
 
Hodgdon manual #25 240gr jacketed .44 Special..........H110/14.5gr MAX/1192fps/14,600 CUP.............no less/no more /one load
 
Appreciate the help guys. Looks like I'm right in the ballpark with 15gr.

How would too little of the H110 be a negative?

Would it just increase the risk of a hang fire?
Or could the extra air in the brass cause the combustion to do something goofy?
 
NathanR said:
Appreciate the help guys. Looks like I'm right in the ballpark with 15gr.

How would too little of the H110 be a negative?

Would it just increase the risk of a hang fire?
Or could the extra air in the brass cause the combustion to do something goofy?
Click to expand...

I dont know but have read several theories about reduced loads (lets put obvious squibs aside). I think H100 in a large case is probably similar to rifle cases that you also should not underload.


If you have a significantly reduced load, the powder will not sit against the primer but instead lay flat on the side of the case and when the primer ignites it does not ignite a small portion of powder in front of the primer but instead the flame from the powder will go over the powder that lays on the side of the case and ignite a much larger amount of powder at the same time. This apparently is an issue with rifles cases but I have also read that it is not true and does not matter. I dont know if its an issue with H110

Another reason could be that it is an issue if there is too much empty space in the case where pressure can build up before the bullet moves. Considering the small case volume vs the huge gas volume created I cant see this to be an issue though.

Lastly it could be that reduced loads of H110 just ignite and burn erratically and give you erratic velocities and performance.

However, I dont know what the real issue is and how much of an issue it really is. I use H110 only for full power loads and then it doesnt matter to reduce it.

For actually reduced .357 loads I use trailboss and bullseye
 
The data I already provided is straight from the manufacturer.............don't make it complicated.It is from a pistol so in a rifle velocities will be higher.Reducing or jacking H110/Win 296 data may get you a trip to the ER.I use stiff book loads of Win 296 in a TT33 and get cloverleaves.
 
NathanR said:
Hey guys,

I got 20 left over 44spl brass. I usually only load .44rem mag, but my rifle shoots both and I have time on my hands. My Hornady manual provides no recipe for the
44spl, but my recipe for 44mag is 22.1g of H110. Could I safely load 15g of the h110 into the .44spl brass?

The 44spl seems identical to the 44mag, only obviously shorter. I will be reducing the load by roughly 30%. There is zero risk of shooting these through a pistol, as I dont own a 44mag pistol. They will only be used in my rifle

Rifle- Rossi m92, 20" barrel.
Bullet- Hornady 240g XTP
Brass- Hornady once fired.
Primer- Winchester magnum pistol.
Powder- H110 15g?
Click to expand...

For decades I have shot my .44 Mag. S & W Model 629 with .44 Sp. Brass , using a 250 gr. Lead bullet with 7 gr. of Unique
& a WLR primmer . Shoots very accurate & no issues.
 
Unique or 2400 make excellent 44 SPl loads and you can load them hotter, so long as you never shoot them in a real 44 SPl.

The problem with 296/H110 is that it is a powder that only starts to burn well at 30,000 psi and up. So downloading reduces pressure below the level required to get good results.

Do you have any other pistol powders? Power Pistol? HS6? HS7? 800X?
 
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I was a bit perplexed at your comment that you could not find any 44 Spl reloading data. I assume you were looking for rifle data, and yes, I don't think that there is much data for a 44 Spl rifle. Or were you referring to specific data for H110/WW296? There is 44 Spl handgun data, and it won't list H110/WW296 data because as stated, H110/WW296 starts to burn clean at higher than 44 Spl pressure, and reduced loads of either powder is not recommended, from what I've read.

I had a Marlin 1894 that was marked as both 44 Mag and Spl. Rifles, like the Marlin have an issue with cartridge length. Anything longer than 1.6" and you are headed for trouble. Too short will also cause issues. To that end I did use 44 Spl brass for some loads, to keep the OAL of the cartridge in the zone.

You have a load that works, stick with that, unless you have some combo, like using a 429421 Keith or a 429360 in a 44 spl case, I'd abandon that project. Nothing to be gained if you will be using the same, non specified, probably jacketed bullet.

I used a few hundred Canadian made BDX bullets in a Rossi 92 and they worked good. My load was 21.7 gr of WW296 and my velocity was 1600 fps, (1200 fps in a 29-2 with a 8 3/4" barrel). At an OAL of 1.585", they fed reliably. Not a wimp load IMHO.

Stick with your load, I burnt a lot of powder chasing better ammo, and gave up. I found one or two cast loads that sort of worked, but nothing suitable for shooting Cowboy action, so I sold it. If you want a fun, lower powered option, a Speer Lead SWC 430-240 (#4661) and a full(ish) dose of Trail Boss is a winner. These go out at a bit over 800 fps in a hipgun. I did not chrono it in a rifle, and in a rifle the groups open up after 50 yards if the charge is reduced much.

Play safe.

Nitro
 
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