For the Love of the 44 Mag

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Seagull

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So I just recently pick up my first 44mag, a 5" 629 and made up several light loads and some heavy ones as well. The light loads I used 240gr lead bullets w/bullseye and for the heavier ones used 240gr JHP w/2400 and worked up to the max. Both shot ok but what actually shocked me was the recoil, and not in a way I thought it would. I was expecting a hand hurting experience. What I got was a large recoil but very manageable and not sharp like I imagined. It did turn lots of heads at the indoor range thou and I couldn't see shooting those all day but man where they fun.

Since I only have some fast or slow pistol powders on hand, anybody got any suggestions for a middle of the pack powder/load?
 
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The pistol itself could be making the experience a bit more comfortable. Without holding on good, a hot load in a Ruger Superblackhawk will result in a bloody knuckle. For plinking loads I tend to go with unique powder. For hot loads I used H110 or 2400.
 
Full power 240s are not that bad, but yes, they do get people's attention at the range.

H110 / 2400 is not a good choice for downloading according to all the reloading manuals. I'll let someone else explain why.

There are lots of other powders for mid-range loading the 44 mag, from shotgun powders like 700/800x to a myriad of pistol powders.
 
Use Unique for red. loads, or even Trailboss if you are concerned at all about double charging. Heavy cast bullet loads are the way to go in the .44 Mag., bullets of 280-325grs. pushed by heavy charges of H-110 may change your mind about recoil. Save the jacketed bullets for mid-range loads.
 
Try a nice short barreled .44 model 29 with the god awful factory grips, a healthy dose of 2400 shooting a 250 grn bullet and it will change your mind about painful shooting.

For a nice mid range plinking round try 8 grn of Unique shooting a 240 grn swc lead bullet and if you cant keep inside 2" at 25 yards with this load it is you and not the revolver. I have 11 .44 mags and each one of them love that recipe.

If you have mid size hands (glove 8 or 9) usually the factory grips are a perfect fit and with a full lug 629 the recoil is totally manageable for about 40-50 rounds and then it starts to head south. If you have bigger hands then it sometimes is harder to control because you cant get a good grip.

I have huge hands and had the factory make me a target grip years ago so I just slip it onto what ever 29 I am shooting and it makes a world of difference.

They are fun and very addictive and as you stated, heads turn when you light one up with some 2400 powder.
 
caperbound said:
The pistol itself could be making the experience a bit more comfortable. Without holding on good, a hot load in a Ruger Superblackhawk will result in a bloody knuckle. For plinking loads I tend to go with unique powder. For hot loads I used H110 or 2400.
Click to expand...

:agree:

For plinking I use
9gr of Unique and a 240gr lead SWC
10gr of bluedot and 240gr SWC

Both are light, The Unique load more so, and managable. For the hot stuff I use H110, and I have had the above mentioned effect. Good way to learn I think. lol
 
Chime in with the rest about Unique for plinking and H110 for full house loads.

Don't try and load light with H110, follow the manual.

Additionally, nothing like a 180gr bullet loaded on top of H110 :D Out of a short barrelled revolver they are a TON of FUN!!!
 
Well pretty big consensus on the Unique, I guess I will add that to my shopping list. Thanks guys.
I have lot of HP-38 and some H110 in the stock pile so I will have to work them up as well. I plan to shoot mostly lead and found some local Goodwin bullets in 215 and 245. Maybe I will have to listen to Ben and try something a bit bigger some time.
 
IMR4227 is supposed to be better than W296/H110/AA#9 with cast loads in mid-range velocities for 44 Magnum.
When I want milder loads in 44 Magnum, I have top end loads of 44 Special to use instead. With 6.4 grains of Red Dot under a 240 grain PB lead SWC bullet.
Then I can also use this same ammo in the S&W 624 with no worries.
 
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44

I have shot literally 10s of thousands of loads from a myriad of different .44s both handguns and rifles. You are entirely correct it is not the beast hollywood would have us believe. Now if you're of sporting blood try the 300 gn jacketed bullets and a good amount of Win. 296. That load lets you know when you touch 'er off, super accurate too.
Of all the powders I tried in the 44s 296 with a heavy crimp proved to be the most consistent and accurate in all my 44s either long or short with jacketed bullets and magnum primers (I even used CCI 250 in my handguns with 296, the hotter the primer the better with 296). I also, after much playing found 9.0 grns of Unique and a standard pistol primer, behind a cast 240-250 grn bullet to be a very accurate and pleasant mid range load.
It is truly a fun cartridge and also a very easy one to work with, I guess old Elmer did know a thing or two.
Hope you have as much fun with it as I have had over the years. The more you shoot it the more you'll love it.
 
^Yes to the above! I've renewed my interest in the Dan Wesson and 23 grains of 296 under a 240. It is very accurate and most comfortable in the fully lugged eight inch barrel. I use the Federal #155 primer because that's what I can purchase locally.

Edit: As a side note I'd like to hear anyone's experience with this calibre and IMR 4227 please?
 
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I have read this thread with great interest, as I need to get reloading this calibre.
Lyman 49 recommends a minimum load of 10 g of Unique for a 240 g lead bullet and 9.8 g for a 245 g lead bullet. I noted that 2 or 3 people were recommending 8 or 9 g of Unique for lead bullets of this weight. Clearly, this is a relatively large difference. I am NOT trolling here--just trying to get some input. Does anyone care to comment on this.

Thanks in advance!
John
 
I can't comment on light Unique loads as i only use top end loads, but just a note for beginning reloaders......WW296 and H110 are the same powders, Hogdon buy it from WW and give it a diff. label...
 
Therion said:
I have read this thread with great interest, as I need to get reloading this calibre.
Lyman 49 recommends a minimum load of 10 g of Unique for a 240 g lead bullet and 9.8 g for a 245 g lead bullet. I noted that 2 or 3 people were recommending 8 or 9 g of Unique for lead bullets of this weight. Clearly, this is a relatively large difference. I am NOT trolling here--just trying to get some input. Does anyone care to comment on this.

Thanks in advance!
John
Click to expand...

Look up the 44Spl loads and I think you'll see where the data comes from :)
 
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