Custom Load for ranch hand

[870tac]

Hey there!
I recently purchased a Rossi Ranch Hand in .44 magnum. I bought the gun without pricing how much factory ammo was to shoot (should've got .357 ) but what the hell, go big or go home...right??

I currently reload .270 win and have had great success with that round, however...I'm venturing into unknown territory here with .44mag , and was wondering if any of you more experienced reloaders can point me in the right direction for making hand loads for my Ranch Hand.
I'm looking to make a cost effective target load that will get decent accuracy out of this rifle with it only having a 12" barrel.

how do I go about choosing where to start with bullet type/weight and powder type for this gun?
Should I be aiming for a higher velocity load, or will slower moving bullets perform better??
Also, is there an advantage to using cast bullets vs jacketed?
and should i be using magnum primers?

Jeez, i really don't know where to start... :S
Any input here would be much appreciated

 

[Spawn-Inc]

based on your questions i would give your reloading manuals a quick once over in the pistol section.

if you want to build up some brass you can buy a verity of 44mag ammo target vs hunting/home defence and lighter bullets (180gr up to 355gr) and see what you can handle and what the gun likes. once you figure that out then start looking for bullets of similar shape and weight, then some powders.

bullet wise i would start with 240gr cast, plated or jacketed. i cast for all my guns so i would use cast 90% of the time accept when i find a good deal on plated for when i'm lazy.

for light target loads pretty much and pistol powder will work w231/hp38, tightgroup, unique, universal, bullseye, trailboss, etc
for magnum loads then h110/w296, lil gun, imr4227, 2400, etc.
one of the loads from back in the day is Elmer keith's load for 44 mag was 22gr of 2400 under a 250gr cast bullet.

as far as primers are concerned you can use standard for any load, a magnum primer isn't really needed. that being said i would use a magnum primer if you use H110/w296.