.44 SP and MAG DEWC loads

[vanfunk]

Hi All:

My recently acquired Charter Arms Bulldog Classic 3” has prompted me to look for a good wadcutter load for general carry and practice. I got a bunch of the Rim Rock 200 grain DEWCs that are apparently the same as what Buffalo Bore puts in their “anti-personnel” line. I don’t want anything that hot; I am looking for 750-800 fps out of the Bulldog and maybe a hotter load (1000 fps) for my .44 Magnums. None of my manuals have reloading data for .44 wadcutters. I was thinking of starting with 5.5 grains of Unique in Special cases with the bullet seated nearly flush in the crimp groove. Can anyone share their experience with .44 Wadcutters? I have tons of Unique so I’d like to use that, but I also have AA#5, a little HS-6 left, BE-86, Ramshot Silhouette, and a pound of Titegroup which I have never used. I don’t want to buy any new powder at the moment. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Hi All:

My recently acquired Charter Arms Bulldog Classic 3” has prompted me to look for a good wadcutter load for general carry and practice. I got a bunch of the Rim Rock 200 grain DEWCs that are apparently the same as what Buffalo Bore puts in their “anti-personnel” line. I don’t want anything that hot; I am looking for 750-800 fps out of the Bulldog and maybe a hotter load (1000 fps) for my .44 Magnums. None of my manuals have reloading data for .44 wadcutters. I was thinking of starting with 5.5 grains of Unique in Special cases with the bullet seated nearly flush in the crimp groove. Can anyone share their experience with .44 Wadcutters? I have tons of Unique so I’d like to use that, but I also have AA#5, a little HS-6 left, BE-86, Ramshot Silhouette, and a pound of Titegroup which I have never used. I don’t want to buy any new powder at the moment. Thank you in advance for your help!

That’s a very light load of Unique. You are probably going to see a lot of signs of low pressure - soot, poor grouping and a lot of smoke. I shoot a 190gr BNWC in the .44Spl seated to the crimping groove over 10.5gr of Blue Dot for a good general purpose load.

I would start with a 7gr load of Unique. That’s the starting load for a 205gr LTC in the Lyman’s 48th. You will be probably be using more case volume with the DEWC seated a bit deeper so 7 is going to be pushing midrange. I don’t have my notes for the BNWC anymore and I don’t recall why I didn’t use Unique for that load. The Blue Dot just has always worked well.

 

[vanfunk]

Thanks! I forgot to mention before that I tried 7.5 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain LSWC and I felt it was too much for the 19oz Bulldog - and my hand! I didn’t have my chronograph that day but my internal one felt like it was doing about 825-850 fps. I am fearful that 7 grains is still going to be too much for a practice load (but perhaps not for a carry load). They’d be no problem of course in my Anaconda and 29’s.

 

[vanfunk]

Forgot I had these massive 185 grain hollowpoints. I am going to try these first over 7.5 grains of Unique to see if I have a controllable load.

 

[vanfunk]

This morning’s session. I loaded up some trial rounds of Rim Rock 200 grain DEWCs and 185 grain LSWCHP bullets. Man, those hollow points are huge. The 200 grain wadcutter loads with 6.5 grains of Unique were surprisingly fast, averaging 860 fps. ES was a pretty low 32 fps. Those rounds cut a nice, clean big hole and were pretty controllable; not punishing, but brisk. I think these would make a good carry load. Next, I found the 185 grain hollow points did best with 7.5 grains of Unique. These grouped well at 25 yards too, about 5”. More airspace in the case led to these having the same average velocity as the wadcutters. I have no idea if these are soft enough to open up at that velocity but they sure look mean in the cylinder. Either way, a .44 slug of either variety is formidable in my estimation. Now the hard part, but loads shoot low and 4-5” left at 25 yards. I know it’s not my flinch as I am very used to big bore recoil. The elevation will be an easy fix with some judicious filing but the left-shooting is not. I am going to the LGS today and they have a full-time gunsmith; I’m going to see if he can turn the barrel for me. I shot this 15-round group while holding on the top right of the black circle.

 

[Mark_Mark]

This morning’s session. I loaded up some trial rounds of Rim Rock 200 grain DEWCs and 185 grain LSWCHP bullets. Man, those hollow points are huge. The 200 grain wadcutter loads with 6.5 grains of Unique were surprisingly fast, averaging 860 fps. ES was a pretty low 32 fps. Those rounds cut a nice, clean big hole and were pretty controllable; not punishing, but brisk. I think these would make a good carry load. Next, I found the 185 grain hollow points did best with 7.5 grains of Unique. These grouped well at 25 yards too, about 5”. More airspace in the case led to these having the same average velocity as the wadcutters. I have no idea if these are soft enough to open up at that velocity but they sure look mean in the cylinder. Either way, a .44 slug of either variety is formidable in my estimation. Now the hard part, but loads shoot low and 4-5” left at 25 yards. I know it’s not my flinch as I am very used to big bore recoil. The elevation will be an easy fix with some judicious filing but the left-shooting is not. I am going to the LGS today and they have a full-time gunsmith; I’m going to see if he can turn the barrel for me. I shot this 15-round group while holding on the top right of the black circle.
View attachment 1198014

cool looking gun!

 

[Walkalong]

Back in the day, I cast and shot a bunch of these Lee 208 Gr WCs in .44 Spl.

 

[Charlie98]

That’s a very light load of Unique. You are probably going to see a lot of signs of low pressure - soot, poor grouping and a lot of smoke.

Thanks! I forgot to mention before that I tried 7.5 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain LSWC and I felt it was too much for the 19oz Bulldog - and my hand!

Although I generally dislike TiteGroup in revolver loads, I did use it with reasonable success in my brief stint with the .44SPC... that might be a reasonable avenue to explore. TiteGroup is very fast... and unforgiving... so caution dictates, particularly with the bullet taking up that much case volume. I looked in QuickLoad... the Lee file does not include the 429-208-WC bullet, unfortunately. If you have the length measurement from that bullet, I can plug it in and let QL work up a reasonable place to start.

 

[vanfunk]

Walkalong, I like the look of those soup cans! Charlie, you’ve illuminated the reason I’ve never touched my pound of Titegroup; honestly it scares me a little because it’s so unforgiving. I’m trying to stick to powders that are a little bulkier, not only for safety but also to minimize ES /SD. TG has a reputation for not being position sensitive, but every powder I’ve used that is allegedly not sensitive, is. With all that said, I may try TG after all. I might try Silhouette first as I’ve had such success with it in .38 Special.

 

[vanfunk]

I tried 50-60 of my 200 grain DEWC and 6.5 grains of Unique loads in my 4” 629-6. Really nice load! With an extra inch of barrel, these bullets were doing 925 fps per my Garmin Xero. Here’s 15 rounds at 25 yards offhand. Love those big, perfect holes!