[doubs43]

I've just bought a Puma 1892 rifle in 44 Mag to use in a local "fun" match shooting steel targets at 100 and 150 meters. I bought a box of .44 Special Winchester CAS cartridges loaded with 240 grain lead bullets. They don't seem to be particularly accurate. I'll know more once the Marble's tang sight gets here and my aiming is better.

I have a 200 grain Lee mould on the way and my mix is 1/4 linotype & 3/4 wheel weights. I drop the bullets into water and that gives me a rather hard bullet.

I'm looking for a load that will knock down steel pigs at 150 meters reliably but not heavier than it needs to be. I have Blue Dot, 2400, 4227, Herco and Unique among my powders but have others too... and can buy a different type if necessary.

Does anyone have a pet load using the 200 grain lead bullet? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[wcwhitey]

Most CAS loads are very light and not that accurate. What style of bullet is the Lee mold, SWC, RNFP. Are they gas checked, what lube etc. I personally like Unique for low/medium powered .44 mag and 44 special loads. 10 grains of Unique will give you a roughly 1000 fps and make a nice plinker but may or may not be enough for steel pigs at 150 yards. This is 429215 215 SWCGC, 429421 245 SWC or 429244 255 SWCGC territory at 1200 fps or better. 2400 being the better powder for the more magnum type loads. I have two classic pet loadings for the .44 Special and the .44 Magnum. First is the 429421 Keith Bullet over 7.5 grains of Unique in .44 Special, tack driver, takes down metal bowling pins out of my SBH at 50 yards with authority. Next is the .44 Mag and 10.5 grains of Unique over the 429244 SWCGC. This is an 1100 fps load that I can shoot all day and will do a nice job on deer. It is my go to .44 Mag load and would probably do nicely in a lever action. Hope this helps, Bill

P.S. Those stated velocities are based on revolver information. Velocities should increase with the longer barreled rifle using Unique but should gain by leaps and bounds using the 2400.

*Just went to the books. I think the Lee bullet mold is The 429-200-RF, Flat nose. I looks like it has a nice flat base and generous lube groves, nice! I would say start with the aforementioned 10 grains of Unique and work up (12 grains max). Starting load with 2400 is 19 grains, 22 Max. Good Luck

[doubs43]

WC, thank you for the detailed reply. I'll begin with the Unique load of 10 grains that you suggest. It sounds like a great place to start.

The 429-200-RF is exactly right and it looks to be a nicely designed bullet. I use the NRA 50/50 alox/beeswax lube. It's worked great in my 45-70 with the RCBS 300 grain FN GC bullet.

Thanks again for the information.

[parisite]

For what it's worth at 150yds I would stick with the 240gr bullet, what the 44 Mag was designed for. CAS 44 Spl cartridges aren't made for ranges over 25yds, very lightly loaded.
Behind a 240gr bullet I would try 21gr of 2400, 10.2gr of Universal and also I have had great results using Bullseye, yes Bullseye at 9.6gr......very accurate.

[doubs43]

Parisite, thanks. If the 200 grain bullet doesn't work out the way I want, I'll give a 240 grain bullet a go. There seem to be some very nice molds available for the 240 grain bullets.

[Nhsport]

Before shooting lead start by hitting the barrel with some good copper solvent to get any jacket material out of the bore. A good copper free bore will clean easy , any copper will strip lead and make cleaning a real chore.
To get the energy (momentum) to knock over pigs you really want a 240 gr bullet.
2400 is all you need to use for both power and accuracy. Use a batch of cases trimed to the same length so your crimps are uniform , this is one of the keys to good accuracy . If you have or plan on getting a 44 pistol the 2400 load works fine in shorter barrels also. (of course you will see less velocity but accuracy will still be fine).
With a full load a fairly hard bullet will be fine but if you back off the load much you might want to make or find a bullet that is a bit softer (skip the water quench) for best accuracy.
I use only two loads for my 44 mags, one fairly warm one with 2400 and the other a light/medium one useing Unique . Both loads use a plain base 240 bullet and run just fine in my Marlin rifle or my several different revolvers.
I have not felt the need to load copper in any 44 for 20 years

[doubs43]

Nhsport, thanks for the tips. While I've been a reloader for about 40 years, this is my first experience with the .44 Mag. It's always helpful to find out what has worked for others rather than try to reinvent the wheel. I appreciate your input and experience with the .44 Mag.

The Puma is new and I cleaned the bore well and put a light film of 3-in-1 oil in it before shooting it the first time. There was lots of preservative in the bore. I'm unlikely to ever fire jacketed bullets in it. The rifling is the standard type (not microgroove) so I expect it will do well with my bullets. I'll try some that have been water dropped and some that haven't to see if it makes a difference. The advice to trim the cases to the same length is good and I'll be sure to do that.

I rarely use full loads in anything and if the 200 grain bullets won't do the job on the pigs then I'll certainly move up to the 240 grain bullet as you suggest.

Now I'm anxious to get my dies and mould so I can begin. :)