.44 Special 200 Grain RNFP Plated Loads in Bulldog or Smaller Frame .44

[wcwhitey]

Hey all, its been a while. I have been loading .44 Special for decades and have rarely strayed from classic loadings for my larger frame .44 Magnums. By classic I mean 429421 and 429244 cast bullets over 6.9 - 7.5 grains of Unique and the same bullets in .44 Mag over 10 grains. They have always been super accurate and mild to shoot in my SBH. A few years ago I came into some 200 grain RNFP plated bullets and loaded quite a few using the same 7.5 grains of Unique. They have also been accurate and very soft shooting. They were at the time somewhat of a guess and an attempt to make a light shooting load for the .44 Mag revolvers. The issue is that I would like to add one of the smaller frame .44 Specials to my roundup and I am not sure if these would be an issue for the smaller guns like the Charter Arms, etc. Hopefully someone has experimented with such a combo and can provide some feedback. I will shoot them anyway in the Magnums but it would be nice to have a head start in working rounds given all the shortages now. I have plenty of 240's and 250's to make new tailored rounds for the little guys but no 200's.



P.S. I originally chose 7.5 based on LYMAN 48 and data on the the 200 Grain 427098 RNFP bullet, Min 7.0 Max 8.2 at 14,000 CUP

 

[Barbaroja]

I think I’ve got just the ticket for you.
http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian Pearce on the 44 Special.pdf

great article that had a number of loads that will work in the guns made for “ category one” loads like the charter arms.
From what I’m seeing there is a load using a 200gn gold dot hp that he’s using up to 8.5gn of unique and staying under the 15,000psi limit. I’d think the 7.5gn loads with the 200gn plated rnfp would work just fine.

hope this helps

 

[joneb]

For a S&W 696 with a 200 grain jacketed, coated or lead I use WSF, VV n-340 or Accurate #5 all at the upper end of the load data. For a milder load in this bullet weight I use W-231 for the above mentioned bullets.

 

[Riomouse911]

I really like loading “sub-Skeeter” loads for my two .44 Specials; a 5.5” Flat top Blackhawk and a 3” GP 100.



The Olive Drab bullet is an Eggleston 200 gr coated RNFP over 7.3 gr Unique, the Electric Red bullet is the same Eggleston 200 grainer over 5.4 gr IMR Target and the Lime bullet is another 200 gr Eggleston over 6.8 gr Unique.

The 7.3 gr Unique load has a bit of oomph in a lighter gun, it may be a bit much in a lightweight revolver. The 6.8 gr Unique load is a bit more pleasant, while the 5.4 gr IMR Target load is a great one in lighter guns.

The Gold bullet load is a 165 gr TCFP from Missouri Bullet Co over 5.6 gr IMR Target. This is an even more pleasant and accurate load in the GP and should work well in a Charter or similar .44 Spl. .

Stay safe.

 

[Grizzly2]

200 gr cast and factory loads seem to all print about an inch low in my older 3" Bulldog. 215 gr cast shoot to point of aim with anywhere from 4.5 to 5.5 gr Bullseye.

 

[dpote]

This may not help you, but it works for me. Shooting factory ammo or reloads using Ideal mold 429241 for an extended time with my older Charter Bulldog will split my knuckle open. I got two boxes of .44 Colt ammo and use that brass and HP-38 or Trailboss powder and a 200gr Mav Dutchman bullet.
I don't know if Black Hills Ammo is making .44 Colt ammo, Starline makes the brass. The Mav Dutchman mold is available, but you can still use your plated bullets. Hodgdon's site has .44 Colt load data. I load these on a single stage with either a .41 Magnum or .30-30 shell holder.
I treat is as .38 Special in a .357 Magnum and clean the cylinders really well after shooting to prevent sticky chambers.
It is a much softer shooting cartridge.

 

[Typetwelve]

I don't load 200g in 44 special, but I do load 240g and its for my Bulldog. Looking at the Lyman book, they list a Unique charge of 7-8.2g under a 205g lead projectile, 5.8-6.5g for a 240g lead projectile. It's my understanding that running a load higher than 15.5K PSI in a Bulldog is a really bad idea so I say on the beaten path. (None of the loads I listed are rated higher than 14K PSI)

Personally, 7.5g "skeeter" loads don't bother me one bit, but I have no want to run that through a Bulldog. My typical load for it is 5 to 5.5g of Unique under 240g and they're about as comfortable as you're going to get through a Bulldog.

If I need anything hotter than that, I go to magnum loads. Personally, I love a 240g projectile over 9-9.5g of Unique. Very solid shooting, light magnum loads.

(EDIT)

Here's a link to a rather interesting article about 20K PSI loads in the Bulldog from older Lyman manual listed loads. Interesting reading. Personally, I really don't wan to try them, but I've read many times that plenty of people have ran Skeeter loads in their Bulldog. and if my math is correct, they are probably in the 20K PSI range loaded that way.

https://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/reload_44spc.html