Unique or Titegroup or Trail Boss for loading at .44 Russ. level into .44 mag cases?

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Robert Nicholson

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I am looking at loading .44 Russian levels into .44 rem. magnum cases (because I have them) for use in a .44 magnum Ruger Blackhawk
that I am getting. I will be using 240 grain cast lead bullets. I want to get just one powder and I would like that powder to be
versatile as well as easy to find and easy to use (bulky?).

Unique or Titegroup or TrailBoss are all listed in my Lyman Reloading Handbook 49th edition, for use in .44 Russian loads and also
seem to be used in a wide variety of other cartridges that I also might load for in plinking ammo, which is about all I do.:redface:

Is one of those three powders somehow better or more easily available than the others?
 
Can't help ya ,as to which is better.
But there's a ton of tightgroup and trail boss , for sale.
I just got five lbs from higgensens for $172. (Trailboss).
 
In the big case light loads of unique might not give enough pressure to seal the case.

Trailboss or Titegroup should work well. I like 6gr of titegroup because I'm cheap. Others like Trailboss because it's much less likely (or impossible) for a double charged case to slip through.
 
Unique is bulky, which helps in the 44 case. But it is a flake powder and does not meter well in some powder throwers.

Unique has a wide pressure limit. It can be loaded quite hot or quite mild. If it works in your thrower and you wnat just one powder, Unique is your choice.

TiteGroup is a much faster powder. It is good for making accuracy loads in most pistol calibers, but will not generate top velocity. For plinking this is not an issue.

It is a ball powder and meters very well.

A similar powder that has a broader velocity range is Win231.
 
I use HS-6 with a 240 cast bullet to get what I like to think of as warm 44 special loads in a 44mag case. They aren't punchy, but not mouse fart either (it's a 44 - it shouldn't feel like a .38).

Very accurate in my 1950s era Blackhawk

if I recall it's about 9 grains...
 
Unique is the traditional choice and it works well in .44 Special, .44 Russian, .45 Colt and pretty much any pistol cartridge.

However, Hodgdon's Universal is extremely similar in applications, and was formulated to compete with Unique, I believe.
It's listed right next to Unique in my reloading manuals in order of burning rate.
I like it, because it meters better in powder measures and burns cleaner.
Charge weights are also very similar for equivalent velocities.

Alliant Herco is often overlooked these days, but it seems simply a coarser powder which is also similar to Alliant Unique.

A couple of years back when Unique, Universal, and 2400 were hard to get, I ended up buying Herco and HS-6, which will work quite well for your application.

On Lyman's Relative burn rate chart, Unique, Universal, Herco, and HS-6 range from #20 to #26 on the chart, which begins at #1 and ends at #97. They are all pretty close together.

Titegroup is much faster at #8.

Unique is probably your best bet for a broad spectrum pistol and revolver powder, especially in larger cases like .44 Magnum and .45 LC.
 
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