Reloading the .44 Magnum

Billy The Kid

Billy The Kid

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I've loaded thousands of rounds for the .44 Mag (target & full house), for rifle and handgun, but have never toyed with loads that are reduced to the point that they are at pellet gun (no PAL needed:):p) velocities.:eek:

How slow will the mighty .44 Magnum go?:confused::D
 
I played with a load known as the cat's sneeze with the 44-40 some years back. ( The 44-40 has bigger case capacity than the 44 mag) I think it was 2 grains of bullseye under a 240 grain lead slug that stuck the bullet in the barrel of my rifle. No big deal to push it out.
Be careful, those very slow loads still have a lot of penetrating ability at close range.
 
Pellet gun cut off is 500 fps. You should have no trouble getting the mighty 44 down to under that. I would guess that about 3½ grains of Winchester 231 would do it. Or, about 3 grains of Bullseye, or maybe about 4½ of Unique.
Just try it and have fun.
 
I don't know how much by weight, but I filled a dozen cases to the "base of bullet" level with 7828SSC (very slow magnum rifle powder) under a 240 grain home cast round nose bullet. Redhouse and I were getting readings on his crony of 490 fps. Unburnt powder could be seen comming out of the barrel, and some stayed in the cartridge case. Had to make sure I emptied the gun (Ruger Redhawk) with the barrel pointing down to avoid getting the grit into the trigger/action. Had less kick than my Ruger MKIII .22
 
Billy The Kid said:
I've loaded thousands of rounds for the .44 Mag (target & full house), for rifle and handgun, but have never toyed with loads that are reduced to the point that they are at pellet gun (no PAL needed:):p) velocities.:eek:

How slow will the mighty .44 Magnum go?:confused::D
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Remember, if you want "non-gun" status, you need less than 500fps AND less than 5.7 joules muzzle energy (4.2 foot-pounds)

For a 200 gr slug that would be 98 fps :eek:

For a 44 cal round ball, (weighing about 125 grains) you would need to have a muzzle velocity of less than 125 fps.

About the same as hand thrown and less than a slingshot.

If you want low velocity, try round balls as they will tend to "stick" less in the barrel. This sounds interesting to try, maybe I will dig up some 44 S&W or Russian brass and give it a go.
 
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For indoor practice or for chasing off stray dogs, take a resized case, push it into a block of parrifin wax, ensuring the case is completly full, and cut the wax off at the case mouth. Prime the case and shoot it. Due to the low pressure the primer will back out a little, and if your gun is tight fitting between the cylinder and the recoil sheild, it could even tie it up, but not so you can't open the cylinder and remove the fired cartridge. I've never bothered to chronograph these things, but at 20' they'll punch through both sides of a cardboard box. By the way, it will work with any revolver cartridge. The only down side I've ever encountered besides the extruded primers is a smokey basement and a dirty gun.
 
Boomer said:
For indoor practice or for chasing off stray dogs, take a resized case, push it into a block of parrifin wax, ensuring the case is completly full, and cut the wax off at the case mouth. Prime the case and shoot it. Due to the low pressure the primer will back out a little, and if your gun is tight fitting between the cylinder and the recoil sheild, it could even tie it up, but not so you can't open the cylinder and remove the fired cartridge. I've never bothered to chronograph these things, but at 20' they'll punch through both sides of a cardboard box. By the way, it will work with any revolver cartridge. The only down side I've ever encountered besides the extruded primers is a smokey basement and a dirty gun.
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I've shoot a pile of those Boomer in 44 as well as a lot of other calibers and they are a hoot!!! :cool:

They do tend to leave a distinct smell and smoke cloud don't they!:D
 
SandRoad said:
If you want low velocity, try round balls as they will tend to "stick" less in the barrel. This sounds interesting to try, maybe I will dig up some 44 S&W or Russian brass and give it a go.
Click to expand...

Now that IS something I never thought of - I guess I'll have to start casting!

Thanks for the great idea!:dancingbanana:
 
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