.44 mag cartridge, loading an old friend

[FOTIS]

Fotis - have you tried any cast bullet loads through that fine .44 revolver?

just made some up 240 with 6 gr trail boss. 44 special loads for fun

 

[Guy Miner]

Cool.

 

[JD338]

Fotis - have you tried any cast bullet loads through that fine .44 revolver?

just made some up 240 with 6 gr trail boss. 44 special loads for fun

That will be a fun load to shoot.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

I seem to find an hour or so every few days, and load up another box of .44's, all with AA#9 and 240 gr cast at this point.

Cool. That little Lyman turret press I got from Fotis sure is a winner, as is the wonderful Lyman 55 powder measure. That thing throws Very Consistent powder charges!

The boxes of .44's are starting to stack up, and the number of empty cases is dwindling. I'll have to find another loading project soon... :mrgreen:

BTW - Moved my loading operation BACK inside the house (oldest son bought his own darned house and moved out, again) so it's much, much, much nicer than loading out in the garage!

Photos of the new loading/gun room to follow, once I get it finished up.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

I've gotta try some reduced loads in my 44. Never done much with them. I do enjoy shooting my 44 though.

 

[Guy Miner]

Scotty, somewhere around 9 - 10 grains of Unique and a 240 - 250 gr cast bullet works REALLY well in the .44 mag. Still gives good velocity, about 1000 - 1100 fps, and will put a hurt on anything it hits. But it's easier shooting than the 1400 fps max load stuff.

These AA#9 loads I'm building aren't exactly mild, but they're not max loads either. I usually get around 1250 fps from them.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

I might try to grab some unique. I have a slew of 250 Beartooths.

I can't imagine too much slowing one of those down. They are some great Bullets.

 

[Guy Miner]

Beartooth makes a great bullet! Used the 425's from my ol' .45/70 Marlin 1895.

These days I mostly rely on CPB (Cast Performance Bullets) if I want something more than what my local bullet casting buddy supplies... Have CPB bullets on hand for .44 mag, .45 Colt and .500 S&W. I don't just casually throw those downrange, like I do with bullets my buddy makes. Much more expensive!

Guy

 

[Alaska]

I've been through several .44 mag revolvers over the past 30 years, and eventually settled on what for me, is about perfect: a 5" 629.

Older photos I've used before:


Different bullets - factory ammo, but my favorite revolver:


Realized recently that my supply of loaded .44 mag ammo had dipped to precarious levels... So, this afternoon I did something about that.

Used the little Lyman turret press Fotis sold to me a while back, and pumped out a couple of boxes of ammo:

250 gr locally cast plain-base semi-wadcutter (a friend does a lot of bullet casting, I get these from him)

17 gr AA#9 - a load I've used for at least 12 years

CCI 300 large pistol primers

Winchester cases

All went well. This was the first time I'd used the turret press to load the .44, and I had to make a couple of minor die adjustments. The ammo looks good, and I have no worry about it performing. Typically I get about 1200 - 1250 fps when I use this recipe. Sure was nice to renew my acquaintance with an old friend - I honestly hadn't loaded any .44's in quite a while. At least two or three years. Only go through a few hundred every year, it's not a high-volume shooter like my .45 ACP.

Guy

I know this post is Kinda old ?
But why do you use CCI 300 with AA9 !
I always used Mag primers with slow burners
H110/296 and AA9 . CCI 350 is my preferred primer in 44 mag with these powders.

 

[KinleyWater]

I know this post is Kinda old ?
But why do you use CCI 300 with AA9 !
I always used Mag primers with slow burners
H110/296 and AA9 . CCI 350 is my preferred primer in 44 mag with these powders.

Sheesh! Here I am, blissfully liking posts and not looking at dates.

 

[PJGunner]

This is all very interesting. Sometimes it does good to resurrect an old thread. I think this is one that needs to come up every once in a while.

When I look at the photo of Guy's ammo, I think that the bullet is the Lyman #429241 which Lyman slightly altered which angered Mr. Keith. as they rounds the inside of the lube groove for easier production. I don't know if RCBS is still making molds but their #44-250-SWC is an exact clone of Elmer Keith's original design. There is also a similar mold that takes a gas check as well. All the bullets mentioned shoot very well in my .44 Spl. and Magnums.

I haven't done much with the .44's and I have several hundred .44 mags to pull and reload. I did a stupid thing as few years back and the loads are super hot and barely safe in a Redhawk if that. I can sve the brass and primer but the bullet and gas check will probably bee ruined. I ran a pretty tight crimp on that ammo so may have to use wire cutters or something similar. It was just one of those days when I should have been doing something else, like maybe knitting or something similar.

I'm getting too old to shoot super hot loads anyway. I'm thinking the arthritis in my hands is gonna complain very loudly if I do shoot stiff loads.
FWIW, My S&W 629 never could handle Elmer's load of 22gr. 2400/ 240/250 gr. bullet. It took two trips to S&W after which I semi-retired the gun. My Rugers however, from an original Blackhawk, several super Blackhawks, and a couple of Redhawks thrived quite well using Elmer's load. My only complaint about the Redhawks is they're just too damn heavy. Still and all, I still love the .44 Mag. and probably will always have a few hanging around.
Paul B.

 

[Alaska]

This is all very interesting. Sometimes it does good to resurrect an old thread. I think this is one that needs to come up every once in a while.

When I look at the photo of Guy's ammo, I think that the bullet is the Lyman #429241 which Lyman slightly altered which angered Mr. Keith. as they rounds the inside of the lube groove for easier production. I don't know if RCBS is still making molds but their #44-250-SWC is an exact clone of Elmer Keith's original design. There is also a similar mold that takes a gas check as well. All the bullets mentioned shoot very well in my .44 Spl. and Magnums.

I haven't done much with the .44's and I have several hundred .44 mags to pull and reload. I did a stupid thing as few years back and the loads are super hot and barely safe in a Redhawk if that. I can sve the brass and primer but the bullet and gas check will probably bee ruined. I ran a pretty tight crimp on that ammo so may have to use wire cutters or something similar. It was just one of those days when I should have been doing something else, like maybe knitting or something similar.

I'm getting too old to shoot super hot loads anyway. I'm thinking the arthritis in my hands is gonna complain very loudly if I do shoot stiff loads.
FWIW, My S&W 629 never could handle Elmer's load of 22gr. 2400/ 240/250 gr. bullet. It took two trips to S&W after which I semi-retired the gun. My Rugers however, from an original Blackhawk, several super Blackhawks, and a couple of Redhawks thrived quite well using Elmer's load. My only complaint about the Redhawks is they're just too damn heavy. Still and all, I still love the .44 Mag. and probably will always have a few hanging around.
Paul B.

Over the years Dan Wesson / S &W / Colt / Ruger Black Hawk and Redhawk all in 44 Mag . The DW and Rugers are the only ones survived Heavy Bear loads. Colt Anconda failed and the SW 629/29 failed also had too reduce the load level. Went to Ruger on great advice and never looked back. I deal with bear every year here normally carry my Glock but bring out my Ruger Redhawk to dust off in the field occasionally. Yes agree Ruger Redhawk 4.2” is a hunk of Steel.