Current Favorite .44 special load

After umpteen thousand cast 255-240 grain cast lead handloads ususally over Unique powder as much as gun liked, I've switched favorite loads for .44 Spec. I have pretty much standardized on: 200grain Hornady XTP bullet , 7 grains of Win 231 powder, standard win large pistol primer. NOTE this is .1 grain more than some manuals reccomend , but hey .1 grain is lost in that size case and Winchester and Hornady says the pressure is less than 14000lb per sg " for 6.9 grains. This load has proven universally accurate in all my .44specials. It chronographed the following velocities: 2.5" S&W 296=890FPS, 4 5/8" Bowen Blackhawk conversion =980fps, 5" S&W Hand Ejector = 950fps, 7.5" SAA= 1010fps, Browning B-92 20"= 1110fps, and Rem 788 22"= 1090fps. I think that the powder is completely consumed around 16" or less of barrel and this load is quiet from the 788Rem especially, very near a .22lr. Of course pistols are A LOT louder. Now to the best part: this load is very accurate in all guns I have and EXPANDS to .64" out of the rifles at least on a deer I just quietly whacked eating my apples. In tests on goats even the S&W 296 expanded to .58" and penetrated 16" of flesh. The XTP is not as violent an expander as a Speer Gold dot, BUT the bullet supports the mushroom evenly and retains a high percentage of its weight. I use the XTP 240 and XTP 300 grain .44 bullets in my .44 mag reloads, all of which are high intensity loads. They have worked on deer and hogs well, the 300 has good penetration on Hogs and the 240 has good expansion adequate penetration on deer. But give me the 200grain XTP to get the most out of the .44special!

Here is the deal, I believe: My S&W 296 is limited to 200 grain bullets so I was forced to think out of my 250grain cast .44spl mindset. I tested all the available .44spl factory loads. The Hornady XTP load was better than the rest (the Corbon load was too blasty and that light 165 grain bullet too fragile, as was the Triton) as it was a little faster and the XTP bullet is very nice. The Speer Gold dots do expand , and well in the snub 296 but I wanted something to use in my other .44spls. I have other .44mags for real hunting chores and believe in heavy bullets for that duty. The 200 grain .44spl load kicks less than the 240s and up, and this is a plus in my fun shooting specials. I THINK OUR GRANDPAS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WHEN THEY DESIGNED THE 44-40 WITH THE 200 GRAIN BULLET! Still have adequate weight for penetration and (more room for black powder aside!) faster shooting!