44spl

[smkinguntracy]

Ive got one of the old charterarms bulldogs,with no hammer. A friend gave me some hornady hpxtp's 180gr to try. The gun has a 2" barrel. Ive got 2400 & green dot powder on hand. What loads will work good in this gun? Thanks SMKGTracy.

 

[LAH]

I can't speak to Green Dot as I've never used the stuff. 2400 is wrong for that firearm for sure. Those are lite weight and not made for the pressure range in which 2400 should operate. For the long life of this handgun and the mercy of your shooting hand, think lite load and no more than 12 to 15 thousand psi........Creeker also from Southern WV.

 

[Slamfire]

The revolver is not the same, but I did load up some 180’s with Green Dot and shot them in a 5.5” 44 Spl. All I used them for was to blow the leading out of the barrel, and this load was reasonably accurate and mild to shoot.

Somehow I end up with a can of Green Dot from estate sales and have to figure out what to do with it. Currently I am shooting it in 38 Special. I do not recommend Green Dot for pistol cases, while it is not a “bad” powder, Unique is a better choice, especially for the 44 Spl.

You will find that your Bulldog will hurt your hand if you try to hot load the thing. I have one, it is a light framed pocket pistol. In my opinion it is a “shoot little” , “carry much” firearm. Hot loading will very quickly beat the thing out of time. Lots of Bulldogs were bent into scrap by folks trying to use N frame magnum loads of 2400.

Incidentally, your pistol will shoot to point of aim with 240 grain bullets. Try a load of 6.0 grains Unique and 240 LSWC or LRN. Any case any primer.

5.5” USFA Single Action Army 44 Spl


180 JHP 6.7 grs Green Dot thrown, Mixed Brass CCI 500
10-May-03 T = 85 °F


Ave Vel = 825
Std Dev = 32
ES 115.8
Low 759
High 875
N = 17

 

[joneb]

I've found W-231 works well with jacketed bullets (180-200gr) for short barreled .44 spl's.
I would start with 6.3gr and call 6.7gr max using WLP for the 180gr XTP's.

 

[Walkalong]

There is no reason Green Dot should not work OK. I like 700X with cast bullets in the .44 Spl. I am experimenting with powders and plated bullets.

I have a 3" Bulldog and it is a handfull with stout loads. I put some Pachmayrs on it which helped.

 

[nitesite]

I did up some 200-gr LRNFP .44-Specials for a friend who shot them thru his two Charter Arms 3" guns.

I tried Red Dot, Green Dot, Unique, Titegroup and AA#5. The best of the loads we tried was 5.3-gr Red Dot, and {edited} 5.8-gr Green Dot was a close second.

If I recall we got ±675-fps with the Green Dot and it was a very nice mild load. Your 185-gr XTP might need a bit over 5.0-grains for a similar velocity.