A variety of bullets in .44 Special

[RidgwayCO]

I'm working up some loads in my .44 Specials, and it dawned on me what a nice variety of bullets is available. I took these photos for my own amusement, and thought the sophisticates of THR might enjoy them.

Left-to-Right: Fireball 165gr RNFP, Penn 185gr DBBWC, MBC 200gr RNFP, Leadheads 255gr Keith, and Action Bullet 290gr LSWC. The 290gr LSWC is shown just prior to seating in the .44 Special case.

And now I realize that I've forgotten my Hornady 180gr HP/XTP, Speer 200gr GDHP, Speer 225gr SJHP, Speer 240gr LSWC (swaged), Action Bullet 240gr LSWC, and MBC 300gr Silhouette. Time to fire up the camera again!

 

[Walkalong]

Nice. I have shot 180 to 240 Gr lead in .44 Spl. (RN, SWC, WC), but never tried any heavyweights. Let us know how that 290 Gr bullet does.

I kind of settled on 200 Gr for all around plinking, but do still load other weights.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Same here, Walkalong. I've got a LOT more 200gr LRNFP than all of the others combined. They're great teamed with Trail Boss for .44 Special plinking!

The 290gr LSWC is a neat looking bullet, no? Kind of like a .44 Keith bullet on steroids. I've had these for years, from when Action Bullet was located in Denver. I'm slowly working up a load for it, using QuickLOAD as my guide, because I just can't find any heavy-bullet loading data for the .44 Special. I'm only trying to get it to about 850fps while staying within normal SAAMI pressure levels (15,500 psi). While it might be OK in my other .44 Specials (M396 Mountain Lite? Ouch!), I'll be reserving this load for my 5-1/2" Ruger Bisley Flattop.

 

[Walkalong]

Here are some 200 Gr D&J Cast bullets loaded up over 700X. I have not tried TB in .44 Spl yet. Just haven't gotten around to it.

 

[PapaG]

I use one or the other of two variations for my 44s. Lyman 429421 solid or the same in hollowpoint. First is cast of wheelweights, second is pure lead with a special loading technique I have come up with. First is loaded "warm", not hot, and used in my 624 and 29(plinker here). Second is loaded to "starting" level, expands all out of proportion to reality and is used in 624 and an old, old Charter Arms Bulldog. Shot a groundhog in the back of the head with the pure lead hp and blew its eyeballs out.