Good factory load for pre-endurance package 29/629s?

Any gun who is fed full house magnum loads will eventually wear things down to the point that some sort of repair is needed. It may be simple endshake, peening of locking notches, wear on the hand or ratchet teeth in the cylinder throwing timing off. Run any gun hard, it will eventually happen.

Might take two years, or it might take twenty five. There are so many variables that it’s only a guesstimate as to how long an older gun will run flat out.

That lead 240 @1150 fps is not a top end load, you should be fine to go ahead and use them and you gun will most likely go a long time staying in good shape. But in an original, unaltered no-dash; if you shoot exclusively magnum loads you are eventually going to see the same issues pop up that led to the “endurance package” fixes in later models.

(My Model 629-4’s are later post-fix guns, my Model 57 is a no-dash like yours. I feed it mid range magnum loads and .41 Specials to keep it in shape.)

Good luck and stay safe.

If you have the time, space and interest reloading would be very beneficial to you. You can do what you want with that .44mag case and the amount of money saved in the long run is substantial.

Targa said:

If you have the time, space and interest reloading would be very beneficial to you. You can do what you want with that .44mag case and the amount of money saved in the long run is substantial.

Click to expand...

I'd love to have some kind of useful answer to OP's question but, in over 3 decades of .44mag ownership I've never fired a single factory load.

About the only thing I could say is, my 629-2 (pre endurance pkg) lives on a diet of Unique, 231, AA#5 and Universal with cast lead while my 629-3 (endurance pkg) gets the 2400 or 296 with the occasional JHP in addition to the previously mentioned loads and they're both chugging along reliably.

That's close to what I feed my 29-2 I use Unique and a 240 Missouri LSWC and getting just over 1100fps

I'm afraid I'm with Y-T71 on this one. The only factory .44 Magnum ammo I've ever bought was a broken (six rounds missing) 20-round box of Remington ammo that I found at a yard sale.

I'm down to just two .44 Mag handguns now but I've owned 5 (3 SAAs, one 629 and a T/C Encore barrel) at different times. I also still own two .44 carbines.

Factory .44 Magnum ammo has always been very expensive stuff, up to 10x the cost of my reloads in reused cases. I download the majority of my .44 handloads to about classic .45 Colt ballistics (around 15K PSI) -- much easier on the wrist, forearm and ears. I do fire the occasional cylinder of full-house loads, but mostly prefer SWCs at more leisurely velocities. It's still fun that way.

I believe a cast 240 at 1100 is a great option for preserving the gun. I would even consider the 975 fps version.

HSM cast bullet ammunition badly leaded the bores of every revolver I ever tried it in, though. I now believe the bullets must have been undersized and very hard, but I didn't know enough to measure and test back then. The HSM recipe may have improved over the intervening decades, but I note they still are bragging about their "hard" bullets...

I'm another who just can't really imagine being a revolver enthusiast but not handloading for them.

Great discussion on downloading the .44. Both mine (-3 and -4) will handle the full powered stuff, but it just isn't much fun for anything but hunting.
There are three deer on the -3 (6" Classic Hunter), and the -4 is a Mountain Gun...which really isn't much fun, full powered.
Yeah, 1100'sec is about the entertaining spot. The pounding just isn't much fun anymore.
Have some .45 Colts that are kept to cowboy loads for the same reason, tho I'd be embarrassed to admit to Trailboss in a .44 Mag....
Moon

Sounds about perfect, if you're not going to handload. That's about what my 10.0gr Unique load does.

I also have a 'no dash' 629.....recessed/pined......don't seem to be very many of those around. Had mine since new and it's mostly eaten handloads with the velocity limits you desire. Never a problem with the thing, throw it over the headrest in my PU and it rides there thru hunting season with generally some homebrewed shot loads up front. Hard cast Keith styled RCBS bullets drop out of my mould at 260 and ride over the old standard of 18.5 , 2400. Very accurate. Thru and thru on h ogs and the like..........I avoid those super hot and hard kicking noise makers that are marketed as the be and end all of ammo.......I find them neither practical nor usable for me.