44 mag loads advice needed.

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area51

area51

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First time attempting to load 44 mag. I want to use a light load 200gr swc no gas check using cci 300 primers and either w231 / trailboss or unique. Using my 629-2 6".

Here's what I found so far.

200 grain Lead SWC (.430")

********************************
HP38/W231 5.8 gr. 875
HP38/W231 7.4 gr. 1,039 max
********************************
Trail Boss 6.1 gr. 890
Trail Boss 7.7 gr. 988 max
 
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My load for a 200gr RNFP Lee bullet is 7.5gr Unique. Great for paper punching and not too hard on me or the gun. No leading in my guns with this load.
 
Since every gun is unique, the load you list will prolly act differently for every different gun. Start with the suggested starting load and work up 'till you find a load that both you and your gun likes.

I reload a lot of .44 magnum and have found slower powders work best in my 5 Magnums. Unique, 2400, and Bluedot are good .44 Magnum powders for low to high end reloading (I don't suggest H110/W296 right off 'cause they are kinda picky about loads; don't reduce the charges in these powders as miss fires and even Kabooms can result). I load lots of lead bullets (99% of the bullets I shoot) for my .44 with mostly Unique and 2400.

Reloading is one of the mosr satisfying aspects of shooting. Go slow, double check everything, and have fun...
 
Look for .44 Special or .45 Colt data (but not .45 Colt +P or "Ruger only" data) and use that.

I like Red Dot or Promo powder for light loads, especially in revolver cartridges.
 
Thanks everyone for the input. i think I'll add some Unique and 2400 to my powder inventory.
 
That max 231 load seems pretty weak; I am presuming it came from a source like Hornady or Speer as it would be for a swaged lead bullet to help prevent leading / stripping of the bullet. Lymans lists a substantially higher max for cast. If you use that light of a load with cast you can get leading for another reason.

I have used 231 for cast loads at a published charge a bit higher (25-30%) with 231 and 240 gr. cast for some nice midrange loads.
 
well, not exactly. but, i have used between 5.5 to 11.0g of hp38 with a 240g lswc bullet. hp38 is a nice powder. wide range of loadings with it.
 
well, not exactly. but, i have used between 5.5 to 11.0g of hp38 with a 240g lswc bullet. hp38 is a nice powder. wide range of loadings with it.
Click to expand...

Do you get any leading with that ?

I have used 231 for cast loads at a published charge a bit higher (25-30%) with 231 and 240 gr. cast for some nice midrange loads.
Click to expand...

About 11 grains on your midrange loads ?
 
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well, not exactly. but, i have used between 5.5 to 11.0g of hp38 with a 240g lswc bullet. hp38 is a nice powder. wide range of loadings with it.
Do you get any leading with that ?
Click to expand...

very little. which is what i get with this gun, no matter what i shoot thru it as far as cast bullets go. if you are getting leading, the first thing you need to do is slug your bore. if the bullet is not 1 to 2 thousandths of an inch larger than the slug that comes out, it is going to lead like crazy. also, after having problems with leading myself in my 629, i went to THE cast bullet web site, and asked for advice. it seems that some smith and wesson revolvers, have a constriction in the barrel, where it goes thru the frame. not really knowing how these are manufactured, i am guessing that either S&W uses locktite in the threads,and as it sets up, it swells. or for some reason, they make this area an interference fit. in any case, mine had it. so the bullet would get squashed as it went thru, and then hot, hi pressure gas would blow past the bullet, leaving a lot of lead smeared down the remainder of the barrel. the other place to check, is if the cylinder is sized smaller than the barrel. in that case. the bullet gets squashed hard as it leaves the cylinder. and then hi pressure hot gases melt lead down the entire barrel and forcing cone. getting mine set up to shoot lead decently was , well, a pita. but the cost savings, especially as much as i shoot it, were well worth the price of hours of "tweaks".
 
if the bullet is not 1 to 2 thousandths of an inch larger than the slug that comes out, it is going to lead like crazy. also, after having problems with leading myself in my 629, i went to THE cast bullet web site, and asked for advice. it seems that some smith and wesson revolvers, have a constriction in the barrel, where it goes thru the frame. not really knowing how these are manufactured, i am guessing that either S&W uses locktite in the threads,and as it sets up, it swells. or for some reason, they make this area an interference fit. in any case, mine had it. so the bullet would get squashed as it went thru, and then hot, hi pressure gas would blow past the bullet, leaving a lot of lead smeared down the remainder of the barrel.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great advice. The last time my 629 was shot it manifested the same lead smearing you mention. I think I'll slug that barrel in my 629 first and take it from there.
 
the best thing i have found to do this with is a SOFT lead egg shaped fishing sinker. they drive thru pretty easy. do not forget to run an oily patch down the bore first! oh, use a wooden dowl to drive it. if you use a steel rod, you could really muck up your barrel!
 
While yer at it measure the cylinder throats of your 629. I size all my bullets to the same size as the cylinder throats of the gun I'm loading for. For my 629, the cylinder throats measure .431", so I size the lead bullets used in this gun to .431".Very little (no) leading...
 
Used an old sinker I had buried in the fishing gear.. it reads 431.. Cylinder throat @ .431 as well. Any trouble is if I run 432s.. or should i just keep @ .431...
 
44mag loads

I have had good results using Unique with the cast bullets 6.6 grains no leading & accurate & much cheaper to shoot also
 
if everything measures .431", then you will need either .432, or.433" bullets to keep from leading. you will not experience any pressure problems with a .433" bullet, but they may be hard to find. i do remember at one point before i started casting my own, that someone will make bullets in what ever size you need. but that was 3 or 4 years ago, and i really do not remember who that was. also, softer lead will lead less than hard lead. it seems contradictory from logic. but a soft lead will actually crush a bit when fired, and expand as it does to seal the bore from the pressure.
 
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