I just picked up a Rossi ranch hand 44mag. I plan on deer hunting with it. 100 yards max. It's a 12 inch barrel 6 groove 1/30 twist. I'm new to reloading and this will be my first handgun load, I've only loaded 223 and 308. So what Im asking for is a realy good place fo start. If you think you have a load that wlll work please share. I have unique, bluedot, and bullseye on hand that was given to me. But I'd buy what ever. I need to humanly kill a deer with the most amount of accuracy i can get.
Help with a 44 mag load?
- Thread starter Led66
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None of those powders are suited to full power .44 Mag loads. You need some H110/W296, AA #9, N110, or 2400. I like AA #9 & N110, but they all work. Pick any one of them and there are folks here who use it with excellent results.
Welcome to THR
Welcome to THR
I agree that those powders are really not magnum powders. Blue Dot is the closest, but you should be able to get at least another 200 fps with H110 or similar magnum pistol powder. I use 24 grains of H110 behind a 240 grain bullet. Should work really well on deer.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Actually 10.0-12.0gr Unique with standard weight cast bullets is quite capable. A commercial 240gr SWC over 10.0gr is my general purpose load and I churn them out by the hundreds. I get 1050-1100fps from sixguns and 1450fps from rifles. It will penetrate end to end on any deer that walks and is still quite pleasant to shoot.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
And you bought a Mare's Leg to do it with??
rc
Zeke/PA
Member
I use a .240 Gr. Speer over 11 Grains of Unique for a really effective Whitetail load.
Shots are from a Ruger Super Blackhawk (iron sights) from a treestand, 30 yds. MAX!
MOST deer are dropped in their tracks!
Shots are from a Ruger Super Blackhawk (iron sights) from a treestand, 30 yds. MAX!
MOST deer are dropped in their tracks!
Asherdan
Member
What CraigC said. I run 10g of Unique and a 240g cast for a walk around load and get the same velocities. Even out at 100 yards the thing is still going over 1100 fps. Good load for the stated purpose.
gamestalker
member
I'm realy partial to H110 and 296 for full house magnum loads. Regarding the bullet weight, I personally prefer the lighter bullets because they produce some real high velocity which translates to penetration with a quality bullet, XTP's and Gold Dots have both served me well in the big game forum.
ColtPythonElite
Member
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Another vote for Unique. I get 1100+ FPS with 9.5 grains out of my 6" Anaconda with a Missouri Bullet Co. Elmer K 240 grainer. The OP's longer barrel should do a little better.
I would suggest avoiding H110, just because of the narrow operating range which may or may not play well with your gun.
2400 will give you lots of room to play in the lower mid to full power range.
In my comparisons between 2400 and H110, an upper mid load of 2400 only gives up 100 fps on H110 with lots of headroom to spare.
2400 will give you lots of room to play in the lower mid to full power range.
In my comparisons between 2400 and H110, an upper mid load of 2400 only gives up 100 fps on H110 with lots of headroom to spare.
A strange person
Member
How the heck do you shoot one of those things?
I relize that mares leg is not an accuracy machine.
Wasent till I saw it in the NRA magazines
Full page add said sold as a pistol. where I hunt I can't use a
Rifle. So now I have a use for it, bought it and loved it the sights
Suck but soon to be changed. I've shot deer with a 44 mag revolver
I've shot em with a bow and a shotgun. So something new to try. I ordered the hornady
225g lever bulets. Thanks for the help I think the power I got will be saved
For plinking.
Wasent till I saw it in the NRA magazines
Full page add said sold as a pistol. where I hunt I can't use a
Rifle. So now I have a use for it, bought it and loved it the sights
Suck but soon to be changed. I've shot deer with a 44 mag revolver
I've shot em with a bow and a shotgun. So something new to try. I ordered the hornady
225g lever bulets. Thanks for the help I think the power I got will be saved
For plinking.
papaairbear
Member
H110/W296 left lots of residue on my 629 where 2400 did not. I actually see more consistent accuracy with 2400 using Speer 240gr JSP, WW cases and CCI 350's. I'm going to refer you to the manuals for powder weight, though, because I load mine a tad hot and I don't recommend you do that right off.
I have shot Blue Dot in the 44 Magnum but don't have any chronograph data.
Blue Dot leads with cast bullets. It will work very well at magnum pressures with jacketed bullets. Blue Dot gives unacceptably wide extreme spreads at any but magnum pressures, indicating that medium to low pressure loads are not appropriate with that powder.
I personally think 2400 is the best 44 Magnum powder. I tested H110/W296 in my Marlin, these powders are the same, different name, work very well at magnum pressures. You cannot download H110/W296, but you can 2400.
Blue Dot leads with cast bullets. It will work very well at magnum pressures with jacketed bullets. Blue Dot gives unacceptably wide extreme spreads at any but magnum pressures, indicating that medium to low pressure loads are not appropriate with that powder.
I personally think 2400 is the best 44 Magnum powder. I tested H110/W296 in my Marlin, these powders are the same, different name, work very well at magnum pressures. You cannot download H110/W296, but you can 2400.
Code:
[SIZE="3"]M1894 Marlin Ballard Barrel
240 Speer JHP 22.0 grs 2400 CCI 500
21-Dec-01 T = 54 °F
Ave Vel =1747
Std Dev =21
ES =68
Low =1717
High =1785
N =7
240 Nosler JHP 24.0 grs W296 WLP Fed cases
23-Mar-05 T = 65° F
Ave Vel =1725
Std Dev =7
ES =21
Low =1715
High =1736
N =5
240 Nosler JHP 24.5 grs W296 WLP Fed cases
23-Mar-05T = 65° F
Ave Vel =1752
Std Dev =12
ES =28
Low =1735
High =1763
N =5
240 Nosler JHP 24.0 grs H110 WLP Midway cases
23-Mar-05 T = 65° F
Ave Vel =1710
Std Dev =3
ES =9
Low =1705
High =1714
N =5
240 Nosler JHP 24.5 grs H110 WLP Midway cases
23-Mar-05 T = 65° F
Ave Vel =1745
Std Dev =12
ES =45
Low =1723
High =1768
N =10
240 Rem JHP 24.0 grs H110 WLP Midway cases
23-Mar-05 T = 65° F
Ave Vel =1719
Std Dev =10
ES =29
Low =1705
High =1734
N =10 [/SIZE]gamestalker
member
There is nothing narrow about the operating range of a slow burning powder that is designed to produce maximum obtainable velocity.
1100 fps isn't even plinking velocity for a 44 mag. and isn't nearly the power house needed to hunt deer or any other big game animal with confidnce. Using H110 or it's twin brother 296, will get you close to 1900 fps without excessive pressures to get there. Out of a 8" barrel I've been sucessful in getting well over 1900 fps with a 225 gr. jacketed bullet, and without any excessive pressure signs. Don't get me wrong, a load of this type will let you know you've dropped the hammer, oh ya! In my experience, those who have had questionable results with either of those powders have reduced the charge to below the published minimum data, and, or, have tried to use it with a standard primer rather than a magnum primer. Either of those methods will only deliver disappointment and unpredictable results. Once you get the charge up where it needs to be and as indicated, the pressures and other pertinent performance elements stabilize and produce excellent consistency, with both velocity and accuracy.
I'm not bashing 2400, it's another excellent powder, but doesn't deliver the performance potential for a magnum cartridge. For full house magnum performance which, was what that the 44 mag. was built for, nothing does it better than H110 or 296. Some get close but simply can't deliver all of it.
1100 fps isn't even plinking velocity for a 44 mag. and isn't nearly the power house needed to hunt deer or any other big game animal with confidnce. Using H110 or it's twin brother 296, will get you close to 1900 fps without excessive pressures to get there. Out of a 8" barrel I've been sucessful in getting well over 1900 fps with a 225 gr. jacketed bullet, and without any excessive pressure signs. Don't get me wrong, a load of this type will let you know you've dropped the hammer, oh ya! In my experience, those who have had questionable results with either of those powders have reduced the charge to below the published minimum data, and, or, have tried to use it with a standard primer rather than a magnum primer. Either of those methods will only deliver disappointment and unpredictable results. Once you get the charge up where it needs to be and as indicated, the pressures and other pertinent performance elements stabilize and produce excellent consistency, with both velocity and accuracy.
I'm not bashing 2400, it's another excellent powder, but doesn't deliver the performance potential for a magnum cartridge. For full house magnum performance which, was what that the 44 mag. was built for, nothing does it better than H110 or 296. Some get close but simply can't deliver all of it.
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Pure nonsense.
MovedWest
Member
Lyman lists a nice load for 210gr STHPs with Blue Dot. I've been wanting to work that load up for a while now.
Unique is great for lower velocity rounds like some have said. I use those mostly for plinking, but they can also be used for bringing dinner home. I personally like 2400 for the serious rounds in 44mag with a 240gr bullet though.
YMMV, but that's the fun part of the 44 caliber.
-MW
Unique is great for lower velocity rounds like some have said. I use those mostly for plinking, but they can also be used for bringing dinner home. I personally like 2400 for the serious rounds in 44mag with a 240gr bullet though.
YMMV, but that's the fun part of the 44 caliber.
-MW
My wife had an uncle who only hunted deer with a 22 mag rifle - he showed me the gun. In Wisconsin. He claimed to have gotten every deer he shot. He also had a stand with a max shot range of 20-25 yds. I would not do that, but he did, and he had mounts with some really sweet racks on the walls of his home. He was careful with shot placement, and would only take a shot if he got the angle he wanted. But he also saw plenty of deer each season, so usually not a problem.gamestalker said:
A lot of interest has been shown to Ranchdog's bullets (I use his 265 gr. bullet over some Unique). Of course the old standby Lyman 429421 with 9 to 10 grains Unique is a classic .44 Magnum load (this bullet doesn't feed well in my Puma when seated normally. That's why I cose the Ranchdog bullet) http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/
ironhead7544
Member
240 gr JHP with 296 powder. Use the charges listed by the bullet maker. With a 12 inch barrel you should get at least 1500 fps.
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