Anyone use Winchester 244 for 44M?

It should make for nice light to midrange loads. You certainly can't get full magnum performance out of it, of course.

I have a great soft plinking load in .44 mag using 231 which is very close to your 244.

stchman said:

According to the load data from Hodgdon, if I load 10.2 grains which is max for a 240gr LSWC, I'll get 1327fps. That's pretty warm for lead.

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Try it over a chronograph and let us know.

I tested W244 in 44 mag. from 8.5 grs to 9.2 grs. My notes say, go with the 9.2 loading. WLP, 251 gr lswc, using Remington brass.

I stayed away from maximun because I have W296 powder & others that are slower burning & better suited for top velocities.

It’s very much like 231 and HP38. Great for .44 Special so far. Made up some light Magnums and they were fine. It’s a decent powder and good for everything I have tried. .38/.357, .44, .32 and .45 ACP. My only complaint is that because it’s new the only data is from the manufacturer and limited. I find myself estimating a lot with 231/HP38 data.

Edit: when reading their data they are specific about the bullets they use. SEI is Seiko, and their jacketed loads are brand specific as well. Just check bullet dimensions when substituting. That’s my complaint. None of the .32 Data lines up with bullets I actually have. .44 Special was better as I load it with 200 RNFP’s. .45 has good 200 SWC and .38 has some good lead data as well.

I shoot a lot of Brazos 215 gr. SWCs in 44 mag for lower recoil practice loads. I did a long ladder with 244 and found two accuracy nodes, 7.4 gr for about 1025 fps, and 9.4 gr for about 1215 fps, both loads at 1.545" OAL.

You already got good answers. I would think W572 would be a better powder for the 44M than W244 and of course W296 lol...

I have loaded 6.3 grains of W244 with 200 grains lrnf bullets. Very accurate, but there was soooth on the side of the case. Il will load at 7 grains next time.

You didnt say what gun you have. Somewhere between 5.0 and 5.5 gr W244 under a Zero 240 gr jacked soft point ( resized to 0.429) is a pleasant and accurate load that my girlfriend, who runs about 120 pounds wet, can shoot all day in my 4" S&W 69. I haven't put the LabRadar on it yet, but I would guess around 800 fps.

BW460 said:

You didnt say what gun you have. Somewhere between 5.0 and 5.5 gr W244 under a Zero 240 gr jacked soft point ( resized to 0.429) is a pleasant and accurate load that my girlfriend, who runs about 120 pounds wet, can shoot all day in my 4" S&W 69. I haven't put the LabRadar on it yet, but I would guess around 800 fps.

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Both S&W 629 6" barrel and Henry big boy 20" barrel