44 magnum powders?

[talkinbear]

Titegroup works great in 44 for me for moderate/low velocity, and is very economical. Using a 240 LSWC I get 1000fps with 7 grains, 1170fps with 9 grains, and 1220fps with 9.5 grains. These are out of a 4 5/8 in barrel. I get very low standard deviation numbers and good accuracy from all three of these loads. It does'nt fill the case much, so you need to be certain of how much you're putting in there, which seems to me like a reasonable thing to do with all powders in all cases.

 

[JLDickmon]

Unique.
11gr provides all the bang I need..

 

[bluetopper]

I'll just say 2400 has been the 44 Mag powder in which all other 44 Mag powders have been judged ever since there has been a 44 Mag.

 

[kludge]

my application

240-250 grain plated bullets at moderate velocities. Nothing crazy.

I read h110 might be a little much for this application. Universal seems to be well recommended.

YES! Universal!!!!

 

[BSA1]

Ditto for 700-X. It works well for large volumn cases such as 44 Magnum and 45 Colt.

 

[TenDriver]

Thanks, Talkinbear.

BSA, I loaded up 2.0 gr of 700-X and 240 gr plated bullets for grins. Only fired one round, but it was out of my Rossi 92 successfully. No perceivable recoil and just a tad louder than 22LR. I figured it might make a decent short range armadillo load but didn't get that far.

 

[ljnowell]

I'll just say 2400 has been the 44 Mag powder in which all other 44 Mag powders have been judged ever since there has been a 44 Mag.

I could agree with that. Elmer Keith certainly loaded his 44specials with it. When he received the first 44 magnum he immediately worked up loads with 2400.

 

[Pentrite]

Ive had good luck with 800x, sr4756, A#9 and also longshot.

 

[Schwing]

When the shortage hit, blue dot was the only powder I had that was appropriate for 44 mag. Since I worked up loads using BD, I haven't gone back to anything else.

 

[Scarpia]

I prefer H110 (Ruger Super BlackHawk) for the 44 Mag, A#9 for 45 Colt (Ruger BlackHawk) and '2400' for 357 Mag (Ruger Security Six).

I found '2400' had much more pop for the same bullet and velocity versus H110 in 44 Magnum.

 

[Comrade Mike]

14.5 grains of bluedot behind a 240 grain Xtreme plated Flat point. 6 rounds at 50 feet.




Bluedot holds true to it's normal behavior. Shot awful and dirty at lower powder charges, up around max it settled down burned cleaned and shot well. No sticky extraction through the entire work up.

 

[FROGO207]

Blue Dot or 700X for heavier loads but 2400 for anything that you load down and still want to burn clean. Some full house jacketed loads then I like H110 the best. Lil Gun was OK but I wanted to save that for the Hornet ammo.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'll just say 2400 has been the 44 Mag powder in which all other 44 Mag powders have been judged ever since there has been a 44 Mag.

I could agree with that. Elmer Keith certainly loaded his 44specials with it. When he received the first 44 magnum he immediately worked up loads with 2400.

While it's true 2400 was the powder Elmer Keith used for the 44 Magnum you have to realize, while 2400 was and still is a good choice at the time Mr. Keith really didn't have other choices to go with.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Blue Dot or 700X for heavier loads but 2400 for anything that you load down and still want to burn clean.

Did you really mean to say 700X or did you mean to say 800X? 700X is awfully fast for heavy magnum loads, no?

 

[joed]

I gave up on Unique years ago because it doesn't meter well. I replaced it with Universal and Power Pistol. Don't think I'd ever go back either.

For hot loads it's hard to beat 2400.

 

[ljnowell]

While it's true 2400 was the powder Elmer Keith used for the 44 Magnum you have to realize, while 2400 was and still is a good choice at the time Mr. Keith really didn't have other choices to go with.

That was his best choice. It stands to mention though that many of us still consider it to be the best choice. When loading lead bullets in particular.

 

[murf]

so, comrade mike, how's the blue dot workin for ya?

nice target, bye the way.

murf

 

[Eb1]

I use True Blue and Trail Boss for plinkers, and IMR4227 and 2400 for heavy hitters out of my 5.5" Black Hawk. I am still using Winchester White Box Soft Points for my 77/44.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

That was his best choice. It stands to mention though that many of us still consider it to be the best choice. When loading lead bullets in particular.

Without a doubt, I wasn't suggestion it was a bad choice.

I use mostly 3 powders for everything, W231(HP-38), W540(HS-6) and W296(H110). When full power loads are not needed or when I'm using lead bullets I bypass W296 and use HS-6 instead. That is the reason I don't need 2400 but there is nothing wrong with using 2400 for everything I use 2 powders for.

 

[Gtscotty]

I use W231 for my light lead loads, and H110 for my jacketed full magnum loads. I've always read that 2400 is good for a wide range of velocities.

 

[loose noose]

I use H110 and WW296 exclusively as I also load for my Ruger .44Mag Carbine, as well as my S&W29, my Thompson Contender, and my Ruger Super BH. Although I've loaded using Unique for the handguns, so I can't say exclusively I guess, oh well what the heck.

 

[ljnowell]

Without a doubt, I wasn't suggestion it was a bad choice.

I use mostly 3 powders for everything, W231(HP-38), W540(HS-6) and W296(H110). When full power loads are not needed or when I'm using lead bullets I bypass W296 and use HS-6 instead. That is the reason I don't need 2400 but there is nothing wrong with using 2400 for everything I use 2 powders for.

With those three powders I agree, you could load any handgun cartridge.

If I could only have three it would be AA#2, power pistol, and 2400. If I were to add two more it would be #5 and #7.

 

[ljnowell]

I use W231 for my light lead loads, and H110 for my jacketed full magnum loads. I've always read that 2400 is good for a wide range of velocities.

2400 will get pretty dirty if you get down there in pressure. For example there is data for standard pressure 45 colt with 2400 and a 255gr bullet. It's absolutely filthy burning though. Bump it up 2-3gr and it burns clean as can be. It's best in the 25k and up range. That's still a wide range in 357 or 44 mag though, like you said.

 

[HighExpert]

I have had good results in a plinking load with Bullseye. Not the best choice but I have 40+ pounds so might as well get some good out of it.

 

[GaryL]

A number of guys mention H110 as a favorite. I loaded a few hundred rounds in H110 early on. I moved away from it for 3 reasons:
1) I tested loads from 23gr-24gr. The 23gr loads showed more pressure signs than 24gr.
2) I ran H110 and 2400 loads over a chronograph, and found only 100fps between my mid-range 2400 and full house H100.
3) I don't like to beat up my hardware. I have a couple of broken semi-autos from a steady diet of upper range rounds. One of them needs to get repaired soon - its too valuable to have sitting idle. Granted, a Super Blackhawk doesn't seem to care, but I prefer to get a long life out of all my toys.

Anyway, I found I have plenty of headroom with the 2400 to challenge H110 when I want, and H110 has a very narrow working range.