44 Special Pet Loads???

[Float Pilot]

Some guys on the castboolits site think that my 207 grain hollow points are from a Lyman mould 429215 which was originally a 210-215 grain semi-wadcutter,,, and somebody managed to get the mould with a hollow point option.

I am not all that nuts about the 180-185 grain full wadcutter. the grease grooves seem too small and I get a lot of leading. Plus they are about as wide as they are long...

 

[Float Pilot]

.430 sized 216 grain Hollow base wadcutter.
4.0 grains Trail boss
ww brass / WLP primer
1.200 col roll crimp
vel = 700 fps from 2.1 inch Taurus
Vel= 735 fps from 6.5 inch S&W M-29 ( 1.0 inch group at 15 yards.) CLEAN

 

[JC676]

OK, here we go... I used the Speer #14 manual for these loads. Speer lists a start charge of 8.4 gr #5 under a hardcast 250 gr Keith bullet for 868 fps. The max charge listed is 9.3 gr for 936 fps with the same bullet. I loaded 8.4 gr, 8.6 gr, 8.9 gr, 9.1 gr and 9.3 gr. under a Missouri Bullet Company 240 gr SWC with a BHN of 12. None of the loads showed even the tiniest sign of high pressure. All cases extracted (just fell out) easily and there were no flattened or pierced primers. Recoil was about that of a .45 ACP with factory hardball.

I should note that I did not fire these loads for accuracy and I'm really kicking myself for that but it was cold and windy (blowing left to right). I will get a couple of these loads on paper ASAP but with my upcoming knee replacement surgery, it may be down the road a bit.

Pertinent Info: Location- Carlsbad, NM Elevation- 3,110 ft above sea level, Temp- 47 degrees.

Weapon: Ruger Bisley Blackhawk (Flattop on the .357 frame) with a 4 5/8" barrel

Brass: Starline .44 Special, once fired
Primer: CCI #300 Large Pistol
Chrono: Shooting Chrony Master F-1

RUGER BISLEY BLACKHAWK:

8.4 gr #5: Avg. Vel.- 838.6 fps, Ext. Spread- 9.2, Avg. Deviation- 3.4, Stand. Deviation- 3.8 WOW!!!!
8.6 gr #5 848.5 105.0 17.2 30.8
8.9 gr #5 865.3 45.1 15.9 18.2
9.1 gr #5 886.3 33.9 8.1 11.7
9.3 gr #5 883.6 37.0 12.0 14.4

I had very similar results when I ran these same loads through my S&W 24-3, just with velocity reduced some because of the 4" barrel. I have never had a handload with the standard deviation being in the single digits!

 

[Float Pilot]

Nice SD for sure.... It sure look like 9.1 grains is the max since it drops off after that...But the extra 50 fps is not worth chasing when your SD is only 3.8 fps... DANG...

 

[JC676]

Nope, not going to be chasing anything! I still can't believe how that load chrono'd out. Three of the other 4 loads were pretty good themselves but 8.4 gr of AA #5 under a Missouri Bullet Co. 240 gr SWC will be THE load for my .44's. Accurate powders have been impressing me...and this load has completely sold me, although I do want to try AA #7 to attempt and duplicate the Skeeter load of 7.5 grs of Unique. What for, I'm not sure except it is fun to work up different loads.

 

[joneb]

I just received some Penn 205gr tcpb sized .429(measured .4295") target grade. I tried a few loads in my S&W 696 ND
Temp 65 f

Penn 205gr
Case, Win. trim 1.150"
WLP
8.6gr Accurate #5
average FPS 846
ES 29.9
SD 11.61
E= 325 ft/lb
Comments, very accurate shells extracted easily no leading, try F-150, work up.

Penn 205gr
Case, Win. trim 1.150"
WLP
8.7gr VV N340
average FPS 1,066
ES 13.16
SD5.91
E= 517 ft/lb
Comments, accuracy ok work down try F-150 minor leading, shells extracted with some resistance, Penn 205 target grade rated to 1,000 fps

 

[Float Pilot]

Almost had some free 44 special brass at the range yesterday but it was swollen beyond use.
The local PD (the worst in the State) hired some guy from another PD and he was carrying (shooting) factory 44 Special loads in a 45 colt / 410 chambered Taurus Judge.

He was puzzled by the poor accuracy...and the smoke coming out the back of the cylinder. What a ding-dong...

The brass looked like a blunderbuss muzzle. I am amazed it did not split.

 

[JC676]

I tell you, I am so impressed with Accurate #5 in .44 Special. Your results with it were outstanding too! Personally, I have found my powder of choice for this caliber and now it's just about loading and shooting!!

Regards,
Jon

 

[joneb]

well I down loaded those 205gr Penn TCPB.
Case Win. trim 1.150"
primer WLP
Bullet Penn 205gr LTCPB
Charge 7.8gr VV N340
average velocity 991 fps
ES 40.5
SD 15.09
E @ 15' 446.7 ft/lbs
comments, accuracy ok, shells extracted easily, no leading.
I would suffer the 25fps and go with Accurate # 5 with this bullet for better accuracy.

 

[Float Pilot]

Can you post a photo of that bullet?

 

[joneb]

https://www.pennbullets.com/44/44-caliber.html

 

[3006mv]

Almost had some free 44 special brass at the range yesterday but it was swollen beyond use.
The local PD (the worst in the State) hired some guy from another PD and he was carrying (shooting) factory 44 Special loads in a 45 colt / 410 chambered Taurus Judge.

He was puzzled by the poor accuracy...and the smoke coming out the back of the cylinder. What a ding-dong...

The brass looked like a blunderbuss muzzle. I am amazed it did not split.

Got me thinking (wont comment on the PD though) I got some brass from a friend she got at ayard sale, I loaded them up and they were a tight fit in my CA Bulldog cylinders. Never had an issue before w/ my own once fired brass. Using Lee dies, including fcd. Even stuck some recently loaded .44 mag just to see; no prob w/ those ( used same dies).
Do you think if I fire the unknown source brass, they would be okay ( bounce back down to size) and reusable? I'll give me a try; if they are still tight, do you think my cylinders are out of spec a tad large? I hope not, and wouldn't think so as my other once fired brass seems okay, it was mixed brass but mostly FC headstamp.


edit, nevermind, reset my dies and crimped better, now all fit better. thanks to Tony from Charter Arms for the assistance.

 

[joneb]

I should add, if someone was considering these Penn 205gr tcpb bullets and wishing to push them at 20 k psi I would opt for the premium grade.
My S&W 696 throats measure .429" so I ordered .429" sized target grade, with spring back they measure .4295".
I will likely run these bullets at 850 fps using W-231 or Accurate #5.

 

[joneb]

I ran another batch of Penn 205gr TCPB though the 696 using WLP and 8.6gr of Accurate #5
The average velocity was 850fps, the ES was 13.93 and the SD was 5.65
The accuracy was very good, that's why I did the chrono check.
I had poor results with F-150 primers with this load

 

[Float Pilot]

It was cold and rainy today, which is very odd since we should be butt deep in snow...

So I took some more 44 Special loads to the range.

One thing I noted was that AA#5 is pretty sensitive. Just look how much difference two tenths of a grain makes.

Both these were shot from the 2 inch Taurus at 15 yards.

240 grain Keith style SWC9.0gr AA#5WW brass, WLP, Roll CrimpVel= 803 fps and a 1.0 inch group 1 inch low

240 grain Keith style SWC9.2gr AA#5WW brass, WLP, Roll CrimpVel= 825 fps and a 0.60 inch group ragged hole point of aim
Very good load.

While HP-38 can get the same velocity, it has more recoil and more brass expansion.


So far my two favorite loads are 7.5 grains of Power Pistol or 9.2 grains of AA#5. Both are very accurate and give exactly the same velocity. Both have acceptable pressure for a lightweight alloy gun. Power Pistol works better in longer barrels than AA#5.

 

[greyhaven]

.44 Special rifle loads

I have a mini-Sharps that Bobby Hoyt rechambered for .44 Mag. Shoots great with 20.1 g IMR 4227 under a 240g LSWC; 3/4" group @ 50 yds. The gun was chambered for .45 Colt originally, but had a bore like a railroad track, and shot dinner plate-size groups @ 50 yds.

I haven't done so well with Special loads, and I want to shoot long range silhouette, which requires that I use the Special instead of magnum loads, since original black powder cartridges must be used, even though smokeless powder is okay.

My question is, can I load Special cases up to magnum pressures with low volume powders, such as Titegroup or Unique, for use in a rifle chambered for magnums? How high can I go safely? I need to reach out to 200 yards and knock down a silhouette.

Any suggestions?