Best powder for straight wall?

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Blkhrt13

Blkhrt13

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I am going to be loading Cast bullets in straight wall calibers. Mostly 45-70, 375 Winchester and 44 special and magnum. I am not interested in pushing any of these to max power. Mostly I want low to middle range for shooting for fun and hunting. Is there a do all solution for powder ? I have a few manuals for loading but they vary in age cause I’m cheap and bought them older and used. One mistake I made was not buying the Lyman cast bullet manual first. Although I plan on buying Missouri Bullet Company stuff because the owner used to participate here when he was alive. Also because my family is from there, even if I am not there now. So I would still need to look at comparable grain weights and make some logical jumps. I am also going to do some googling. But honestly this is the best place to find real world experience.
 
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Blkhrt13 said:
I am interested in pushing any of these to max power. Mostly I want low to middle range for shooting for fun and hunting.
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Might want to clarify that first sentence.

As was mentioned, Unique and TrailBoss would be reasonable powders, to that I would add RedDot, which I understand can work for low-range cast. Having said that, I'm not a big fan of pistol powders in those big rifle cases... I would (I do...) use 2 powders... one for pistol, one for rifle. That opens up the candidates to a much larger field because you are not trying to make a pistol powder work in the rifles, and vice versa. You can use almost any reasonable pistol powder for lower- to midrange loads in your .44's, easy peasy. For your rifle needs, I would recommend IMR or H4198, or AA5744.

You didn't say what you are shooting those .44's in. If you are shooting them in a carbine-length barrel, another good candidate would be 2400 or IMR4227. Those are slow pistol powders, but work really well in mid- to upper-range straight wall pistol cartridges fired in rifle barrels... IMR4227 is my go-to in my carbine .41 and .45 Colt loads. Either of those powders don't work very well at mid-range loads in pistols, however. IMR4227 can also be used for cast in rifles... I've worked up loads in all my cast rifle loads, including .308, .30-30, 348WCF, and .45-70.
 
Charlie98 said:
Might want to clarify that first sentence.

As was mentioned, Unique and TrailBoss would be reasonable powders, to that I would add RedDot, which I understand can work for low-range cast. Having said that, I'm not a big fan of pistol powders in those big rifle cases... I would (I do...) use 2 powders... one for pistol, one for rifle. That opens up the candidates to a much larger field because you are not trying to make a pistol powder work in the rifles, and vice versa. You can use almost any reasonable pistol powder for lower- to midrange loads in your .44's, easy peasy. For your rifle needs, I would recommend IMR or H4198, or AA5744.

You didn't say what you are shooting those .44's in. If you are shooting them in a carbine-length barrel, another good candidate would be 2400 or IMR4227. Those are slow pistol powders, but work really well in mid- to upper-range straight wall pistol cartridges fired in rifle barrels... IMR4227 is my go-to in my carbine .41 and .45 Colt loads. Either of those powders don't work very well at mid-range loads in pistols, however. IMR4227 can also be used for cast in rifles... I've worked up loads in all my cast rifle loads, including .308, .30-30, 348WCF, and .45-70.
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I left out a critical word. Sorry about that. Yeah I figured I might need two powders. I was just going fishing to see if one would work. I will split my search. Thank you.
 
Well, if it was 2018, I would say don't worry about it, but in these days of slim pickings on the shelves, you sort of have to strategically plan your powder reserve.
 
I don't know about the 375. But 2400 or IMR4227 make good cast loads in 44 mag and 45-70.
RL7 is great for 500 grain cast if you're using elevator sights and want to shoot far.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
For the 45-70 I use AA5744 exclusively now with lead bullets.

Powders for the 45-70 and the handgun cartridges will be different.
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Accurate (Western) actually has data for AA5744 for use in handgun cartridges, including .41, .44, and .45 Colt. I don't think it's the best idea, but I could see trying it in a pistol-cartridge carbine or rifle if that's what you had.
 
Charlie98 said:
Accurate (Western) actually has data for AA5744 for use in handgun cartridges, including .41, .44, and .45 Colt. I don't think it's the best idea, but I could see trying it in a pistol-cartridge carbine or rifle if that's what you had.
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That comes under the saying, "Any port in a storm." (as long as it's safe)
 
I’m in the Unique camp, at least for the .44 Mag. I’m lucky I’m sitting on 10 pounds of it and Trailboss.

As luck would have it just finished priming about 500 cases of .44 Mag and was getting ready to look up a few loads to see what I’m going to settle on. Planning on shooting cast lead…215 grain, 240 and 310 grain out of RedHawks and a Henry Rifle. For the 310 grain will pick between #9, 2400 or W296.
 
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For the 45-70 and 375 Winchester I cast a bullet thats a round nose flat point. For the 44 special and 44 magnum in revolvers I use a Keith type SWC. The SWC may not feed in all guns and may also need to be a round nose flat point.

For powders I use 3031 and 4895 in straight wall rifle cases and 2400 gets the job in the 44 special and magnum. For milder loads in the 44's Unique works well.

Like the others have said, availability may dictate what powders you get to use.
 
lightman said:
For the 45-70 and 375 Winchester I cast a bullet thats a round nose flat point. For the 44 special and 44 magnum in revolvers I use a Keith type SWC. The SWC may not feed in all guns and may also need to be a round nose flat point.

For powders I use 3031 and 4895 in straight wall rifle cases and 2400 gets the job in the 44 special and magnum. For milder loads in the 44's Unique works well.

Like the others have said, availability may dictate what powders you get to use.
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Beat me to it, I am in the same camp as lightman for the .44 Mag and .45/70. (I will also use Enforcer for magnum level .41 and .44’s.)

Stay safe.
 
One other aspect of separate pistol and rifle powders is charge weight. Pistol powders suitable for mid-range loads are quite economical... I use 9.5grn Unique for my standard .45 Colt pistol load, but it takes 20grn IMR4227 to match that performance... twice the powder weight. Don't get me wrong... slower pistol powders have their place... but if you are looking specifically for low- to mid-range performance... a dedicated pistol powder is your best bet.
 
Charlie98:
It certainly wouldn't be my first pick... but, honestly, I've not tried it.... it might be the jewel in the rough for all I know.
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Dennis, FWIW ... 5744 seems to run really nicely in medium load/medium bullet weight .45 Colt for me. I like it it because it simplifies .45/70 and .45 Colt.

-jb, simple, and AVAILABLE, is always good IMNSHO ;)
 
You are not the only one that uses AA5744 in pistol cartridges... so I may be all wet.

As far as availability... I have 10# of Unique, and 0# of AA5744... so that settles it for me... ;)

Some day, hopefully, the Availability and Money stars will align... and I can get another 8#er of both IMR4227, and IMR4198... I'm on the bottom of both, right now, and I've got some cartridge cases to fill...
 
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