.44mag rifle reloading questions

[Joshboyfutre]

I'm wanting to reload for a henry big boy in .44 mag. Can I just use pistol reloading data? Also I'm trying to figure out a min & max charge for hp-38 powder with a 200g xtp bullet. All I can find is Jhp data for hp-38. How big of a difference is there between a jhp and an xtp bullet? Is the data interchangeable like w231 and hp-38?

 

[Shaq]

Yes, you can use pistol data for a pistol-caliber rifle, with one important precaution:

Do not use light target loads. The bullet has to clear a 16" or longer barrel & light loads meant for a handgun may result in a bullet stuck in the barrel. When I load light for my Marlin 1894, I keep velocities at around 1,000 fps with cast lead & a minimum of 1,100 fps for jacketed or plated bullets. There is more friction with jacketed or plated bullets, so I'd stick with medium loads.

 

[MEHavey]

There's a "light target load" for a 44Mag ??

 

[noylj]

Consider, the chamber in your rifle is the SAME as a pistol—same SAAMI tolerances. Pressures generated in the chamber will be the "same."
If they say you can load to higher pressures (see Ruger .45-70 vs Trap Door), then you could load to higher pressures. Otherwise, the only change you might make is to use the slower powders in the reloading manual.
Of course there are light target loads, facetious as you may be.

 

[MEHavey]

Of course there are light target loads, facetious as you may be.

Facetious ? Uuuuuh, No.
Not in any manufacturer's guide that I can see offhand.
Everything's in the 30,000 psi (MIN) regime.

Now.... if the OP is a handloader -AND- has a chronograph -AND-
something like QuickLoad, he can produce the 44-PIPSQUEAK

 

[CZ9shooter]

Some manuals have loads in the pistol section and then again in the rifles section. The data is pretty smilar between the two. The rifle section may tell you velocity numbers for longer barrels rather than standard handgun length. You might possibly see a different powder or bullet.

 

[quaid]

The xtp is a mighty nice bullet to shoot at the slower velocities that that fast powder would toss them. But HP bullets do tend to be more accurate... And that HP should be nice and safe in a tube feed...


Did you try your Hornady manual for load data?

 

[SmokingFrye]

I load both pistol and rifle for .357 and all of my manuals have separate data. Meaning that they have .357 data in the rifle section as well. The loads are significantly different for both. I'd recommend you look around for rifle data to ensure you don't stick a bullet in the barrel and that the round is effective at a usable range.

 

[MEHavey]

I just looked at Lyman 49th/Pistol for the lightest-pressure/-
fastest powder (21,000psi/W231) listed for 200gr bullet.
I matched up QuickLoad's burn rate for the 4" barrel pistol's listed
velocity (914fps) and then ran the barrel out to 20" .... for 1,310fps

I'm going to go waaaaaaay out on a limb to state that no Min load
from a loading manual is going to even come close to sticking in
the barrel.




postscript: and if someone would point me to a manufacturer's listed 44 Mag "light target" load, I'd appreciate it.
post postscript: The "Cowboy" 44 Mag loads sold by HSM, UltraMax, etc, are just barely under Min loads as above.

.

 

[macgrumpy]

Wow, talk about all over the place, use the same loads, don't use the same loads, no such thing as a light target load (ever heard of the .44 Special?)...it sounds to me like not too many of you guys have any idea about what you're talking about.

To the OP, yes, you can use the pistol data or better yet use the rifle load data that Hodgdon shows on their reloading web site. They indicate that you can use from 5.8 to 7.4 grains of HP-38 using a 200gr cast bullet. The XTP bullet will probably produce slightly higher pressures than the cast so you might try a few tenths of a grain less to start with and then work your way up taking the usual precautions for pressure signs.