Unique and .44 Mag Help please

My Richard Lee 2nd Edition indicates 10.3 of Unique is max load for a jacketed bullet. My Hornady 7th Edition indicates 10.7 grain of Unique. I would use the Hornady recommendation as the bullet you suggest is their 240 grain XTP. Now if you want a faster load, then Unique is not the best powder. Staying in the Alliant family, I tend to use Blue Dot for magnum loads.

Alliant's data uses a 240 gr Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point.
They also say 10.3 max.

You wouldn't think there's THAT much difference between the Gold Dot & the XTP.
So I would say start low & work up.
Starting at or near 10.3 seems less than prudent.

You also have to take into account the depth at which they are seating the bullets. Deeper bullet + less powder = shallow depth + more powder.

With 240 grain hard lead SWC I have gone as high as 11.0 grains in my Ruger Redhawk. It was stout but no sticky extraction or flattened/cratered primers

Don't try to make unique a magnum load powder. It's a great mid-range powder when you start pushing it past it's sweet spot pressure goes up a lot and you'll gain very little velocity. If 10.0gr doesn't give you enough power switch to a slower powder.

Robert101 said:

My Richard Lee 2nd Edition indicates 10.3 of Unique is max load for a jacketed bullet. My Hornady 7th Edition indicates 10.7 grain of Unique. I would use the Hornady recommendation as the bullet you suggest is their 240 grain XTP. Now if you want a faster load, then Unique is not the best powder. Staying in the Alliant family, I tend to use Blue Dot for magnum loads.

Click to expand...

or 2400

mavracer said:

Don't try to make unique a magnum load powder. It's a great mid-range powder when you start pushing it past it's sweet spot pressure goes up a lot and you'll gain very little velocity. If 10.0gr doesn't give you enough power switch to a slower powder.

Click to expand...

^^^this.

I was going to give the loads from the Hornady 4th edition for Unique with the 240gr XTP, but as I have not personally used this data, I am leery of it...

Suffice it to say that the minimum load is over the earlier stated Alliant max for this combination (Post #4)...

For full on .44 Mag, I would highly suggest H110/W296, IMR4227, or AA#9...

Start at 9.0 or 10 grains and work up your loads in .3 tenths of a grain increments .. Pay attention to how flat your primers are getting with each load. Also pay attention to how hard the brass sticks in the cylinder when you extract the cases..if your whacking the extractor rod with a piece of wood to empty the cylinder then back off the powder measure a few grains cause your at max load or over

The frustrating part of reloading is that, at times, it seems more art than science with all the conflicting data.....I have numerous resources and depending on the source I get different answers. Given the potential hazards it should definitely lean more toward the side of science.

Click to expand...

.
I definatly wouldn't ignore the science side, but paying attention to the art side is important too. There's a lot of safe loads that won't group worth a hoot. I've been reloading 30+ years and am finely figuring out why some of the "old standbys" are old standbys. 8 to 10grs of unique behind a 240-250gr 44mag is one of those. It just works, it'll be accurate and it'll have enough power for most of what you want a 44 for.

Hornady 8th edition shows me that 9.5 gr of Unique is the starting load.
While 10.7 gr is the MAX load for a 240 gr bullet in .44 mag.

Hornady 8th edition shows me that 9.5 gr of Unique is the starting load.
While 10.7 gr is the MAX load for a 240 gr bullet in .44 mag.

Click to expand...

That seems a tad more rational than my aforementioned 4th edition listings...

The load data will vary from manual to manual usually because of different test equipment, different methods, and different personel. Also some loads are bullet specific, as your Hornady 249 XTP loads will prolly differ from a Sierra 240 bullet. I haven't loaded any jacketed bullets for my .44 magnums for mebbe 20 years so I can't help you with a load, but I would rely on my Hornady manual for loading Hornady bullets...

If you want a hot accurate load, use H-110 or WW 296 with magnum pistol primers. Both will give you top velocity and accuracy. Save your Unique for cast bullets at lower velocities.

I use 9.0g or either Universal or Unique with 240g JHP bullets in my 44mag loads for my 29-2. If I want a magnum load, I use 2400. 9.0g make a nice load that you can shoot all day long.

If I load 240g LSWC in my 44mag brass, I use 8.0g of either Universal or Unique.

I don't like magnumizing fast powders either.

2400 gives the lowest ES and shot-to-shot uniformity using standard primers.

The use of mag primers is not recommended or necessary with it.

Mag pistol primers were not invented until the ball powders like W296/H110 became common in the 60's/70's.

rc

i use 9.5gr of unique with a 265gr cast bullet as my all around everyday load. Does whatever I need doing from varmits to deer in both pistol and rifle. Works well enough with jackected also,I just don't need the added expense of them and can make the cast ones for nothing. I get no leading with this load.

Your 629 would love some alliant 2400, I would bet on it!

i'm into .45 longcolt, my hunting load for my old model vaquro is 10 grn of unique, for white tail dear in TX, it's really overkill, but it will work on an elk @100 yards if you have a good shot placement

anyway, a good friend, who is much older than i am used to hunt solely with a superblack hawk, deer, hogs, bear etc.,

his favorit/ and his friend liked to use a 44 spc case, with 10.5 grn of unique and a 240 grn 3/4jkt flat point will take the shoulder of a 300lb bore

magnum primer, don't get to into it......if your going to buy 1000's of primers, us a fed 215 mag rifle primer, that's good for just about anything that will set if off.

just make sure the gun your using is heavy enough to hold the presure, and in a big gun like a super blackhawk you'll find the recoil pleasant and managable

mavracer said:

Don't try to make unique a magnum load powder. It's a great mid-range powder when you start pushing it past it's sweet spot pressure goes up a lot and you'll gain very little velocity. If 10.0gr doesn't give you enough power switch to a slower powder.

Click to expand...

I agree 100%. If u want magnum performance get some 2400. Unique isn't going to get you to the same 44 mag levels. I use universal clays (basically same burn rate as unique) for plinking loads, 2400 for full power.