44 mag reloads

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remmag

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Hey all
I am fairly new to reloading but able to read and follow directions.
I bought a new s&w performance center 44 mag with 7 " barrel
I bought 1 box of legend 225 grain bullets for it
Shot those up, fired good
I also bought some hornady 240 grain xtp, 2400 powder and WLP primers and loaded some of my own
Started with 17.4 grains of powder and went up.4 grains per string if 6 to the max according to the hornady manual
When I fired the starting charge,6 rounds I noticed how much harder the gun kicked,concussion and muzzle blast seemed a lot more
I fired the next charge 17.8 grains and seemed about the same
Did the third string at 18.2
I stopped there and figured I would get some factory hornady 240 grain shells to fire and see if it was. Comperable
I did check my primers on each and they showed no signs of high pressure, also the shells ejected easy with a slight drag (the legend factory ammo was really sticky

Any help would be appreciated

Thank you
 

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You are running a heavier bullet.
It's gonna kick more.
Legend shows 1350fps with a 225 grn
You should be over 1100fps with a 240 grn and your load.

Missread the data on legend re edited.

My 2400 max loads with 240 jhp out of my blackhawk stings my hand.
 
Last edited:
my go to load for the 44 magnum and 240gr XTP and 2400 is 19.gr if you want a milder load try 9.5 to 10gr of Unique
 
In my 49 years of experience, you cannot tell anything by recoil. Especially magnum handgun.

Continue to do what you describe, although often I test handgun in 0.2 grain increments.
Nothing wrong with 0.6 increments, just my own choice to test more slowly.
Stick with loads published by manufacturers, those are the safest.

2400 is a good powder for that application. Also AA#9. And Unique. Good for learning.
H110 (and W296) take a little more care, they are excellent powders but require more care.


(By the way, the word "bullet" refers to the projectile only,
not the loaded ammunition. Just FYI in case you didn't know. :) )
 
ants said:
In my 49 years of experience, you cannot tell anything by recoil. Especially magnum handgun.




(By the way, the word "bullet" refers to the projectile only,
not the loaded ammunition. Just FYI in case you didn't know. :) )
Click to expand...
And " Boolits " refers to a lead cast bullet
 
Thanks for all the input it's great help
Btw,the loads I am trying to develop here are for deer hunting,my hope is to find a load that will offer good performance,be able to get components easily, and load at a reasonable cost to be a ble to practice enough to take a whitetail with the gun
Not to mention this reloading thing is kinda fun
I am not concerned with shooting the gun if it has a heavy recoil
My concern is safety,and I don't want to wreck my gun

I should note I did have to seat my bullets a little deeper than the manual said,if is went to the published seating depth I was not properly in the cannelure,
With this I stayed .4 grains below the max published load
Is it safe to say, I could continue my test until I reach my max load or start seeing issues with the primers or sticking cases in the cylinder

Thanks is again
 
remmag said:
I also bought some hornady 240 grain xtp, 2400 powder and WLP primers and loaded some of my own
Started with 17.4 grains of powder and went up.4 grains per string if 6 to the max according to the hornady manual
Click to expand...
remmag said:
With this I stayed .4 grains below the max published load
Is it safe to say, I could continue my test until I reach my max load or start seeing issues with the primers or sticking cases in the cylinder
Click to expand...

I see a Hornady maximum of 21.2 grs. Alliant lists 21 gr with there bullet.

If your 4/10 gr away from the maximum, with no pressure signs, going up the .4 grs to maximum should be ok. But your best accuracy may be found before the maximum loading.
 
I see that you did not crimp in the cannelure. Why not? That is what it is meant for. A good crimp in the cannelure will help your powder make a clean burn and your load will be more consistent. A good crimp will hold the bullet inside the case on a heavy recoiling cartridge like the 44 mag and keep it from jumping forward and jamming your cylinder.
 
Just my 2 cents worth....my full power load in my Ruger Redhawk is 22 grs of 2400 powder, plenty of recoil but controlable and accurate with 240 gr bullet.....for target/whimpy loads mine are 5 grs Titegroup or 7grs Unique with 240 gr Lasercast SWC lead....pleasent shooting & also accurate in both my Redhawk & Ruger/Talo Vaquero, just sayin'.
 
240gr coated lead swc's from MBC, 7.5gr Unique for plinking. Very comfortable to shoot in my SBH.
23.5gr of W296 for full power magnum loads with the same coated lead bullet.
No leading, very powerful load.
 
Watch out when using data from different brands of gun too. My Winchester 296 load for my Blackhawk and redhawks was near book max, but not over in any book I have. (4 or 5 from Speer, hornady, nosler, Lyman) I couldn't get close to it with my Smith (329 pd) before ejection was impossible and primers were leaking and the load was unsafe. I have at least 1 book that has a separate section for Ruger and Thompson only.
 
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