Clean burning 44 mag powder recommendations?
- Thread starter Big JJ
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Reefinmike
Member
Loading to proper pressures and avoiding lubed lead bullets will give you clean loads with nearly any powder. If you have any soot going down your fired cases, pressure is too low to expand the brass to seal the chamber allowing gasses to make their way out the cylinder.
Maybe I'm just not picky enough but I have never had a caliber appropriate powder that I found to be "dirty" or inaccurate. Sometimes it only takes a couple extra tenth of a grain of powder to get proper chamber seal and a clean gun. Besides I clean my guns every time I go shooting. It doesn't take but two minutes to do a quick wipe down, bore/cylinder scrub and mop.
I like w296/h110 for anything magnum and w231/hp38 for anything special. I keep a little unique on deck for warm specials/light magnums but I'm not too fond of it's poor metering... Have to weigh every charge.
You will need two different powders to properly load for the two calibers.
Maybe I'm just not picky enough but I have never had a caliber appropriate powder that I found to be "dirty" or inaccurate. Sometimes it only takes a couple extra tenth of a grain of powder to get proper chamber seal and a clean gun. Besides I clean my guns every time I go shooting. It doesn't take but two minutes to do a quick wipe down, bore/cylinder scrub and mop.
I like w296/h110 for anything magnum and w231/hp38 for anything special. I keep a little unique on deck for warm specials/light magnums but I'm not too fond of it's poor metering... Have to weigh every charge.
You will need two different powders to properly load for the two calibers.
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Any powder can be "dirty" (new buzz word among newer reloaders) if not loaded to it's optimum level. I experimented a lot when I was early in my reloading career and once loaded some W296 for a 38 Special, what I figgered was a mid to upper load. It was like shooting a sandblaster; soot, burned and unburned granules spewed out the barrel and cylinder gap with a good bit of smoke (and that could be considered "dirty"). I used the same powder in my .44 Magnum, loaded to Magnum levels and the round barely smoked, with no unburned powder, just normal residue. 
Like the posters before me mentioned avoiding lubed lead bullets and loading to the optimal pressure for a powder and you will be 90% of the way there.
I don't understand the logic behind spending an hour or more reloading up some rounds but then not being able to spend 5 minutes cleaning a gun.
I don't understand the logic behind spending an hour or more reloading up some rounds but then not being able to spend 5 minutes cleaning a gun.
evtSmtx
Member
what reefinmike said w296/h110. I like the results, your mileage may vary.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Gunpowder can be dirty without the proper pressures to burn completely. Using cast bullets with lube will also increase soot from the lube itself. Of course some powders are slightly dirtier than others but are mostly good at top end pressures.
4227, W296/H110, 4100, AA#9, 2400, 300-MP, Enforcer and a few VV or Nobel powders are all full power Magnum class powders that will work in the 44 Magnum, some better than others.
4227, W296/H110, 4100, AA#9, 2400, 300-MP, Enforcer and a few VV or Nobel powders are all full power Magnum class powders that will work in the 44 Magnum, some better than others.
Sport45
Member
I agree with the others. "Cleanest" is jacketed or plated bullet on top of a proper charge of powder. You're going to be very hard pressed to find any combination that leaves your gun clean after firing.
If your revolver is hanging up I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's not crud, but rather unburnt powder under the ejection star that's causing the problem. The cure is to point the muzzle up when ejecting empties.
Nothing new about that particular buzzword. I've been hearing Unique described as "dirty" for as long as I've been shooting (decades).
If your revolver is hanging up I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's not crud, but rather unburnt powder under the ejection star that's causing the problem. The cure is to point the muzzle up when ejecting empties.
mdi said:
Nothing new about that particular buzzword. I've been hearing Unique described as "dirty" for as long as I've been shooting (decades).
Mad Chemist
Member
Don't forget the crimp
Full power magnum loads require a firm roll crimp. A weak crimp can result in a dirty load with inconsistent velocities and lots of unburnt powder.
Full power magnum loads require a firm roll crimp. A weak crimp can result in a dirty load with inconsistent velocities and lots of unburnt powder.
Zeke/PA
Member
I've shot Unique in my .44 Mag for several years with good Whitetail success.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
This is why they added a little smoke to Trail Boss, to make the Cowboy Action crowd smile. (and me too lol)
Thanks for the feedback. I purchased some reloads and the powder was so inefficient burning that it was gumming up the cylender rotation after about 50 rounds. I have reloaded for over 5 years and this was my first experance with this issue.
I have some 2400 on hand so I will try it and may a couple of the others.
I have some 2400 on hand so I will try it and may a couple of the others.
Bama Drifter
Member
Unique is clean* enough for me!
*using coated, plated, or jacketed bullets.
As has been repeatedly hammered out... Wax Lubed cast lead bullets are smoky and dirty, not the powder's fault
*using coated, plated, or jacketed bullets.
As has been repeatedly hammered out... Wax Lubed cast lead bullets are smoky and dirty, not the powder's fault
Yep there's always been talk about Unique's qualities among reloaders and IIRC more were concerned about performance, not how clean their guns stay. But I have been seeing many, many "dirty powder" questions in the last year, more than I can remember in the last 11 years I've been looking at reloading forums. Seems new reloaders think their guns must be pristine after a shooting session, or they overheard experienced reloaders discussing "clean" powders...
Patocazador
Member
I load both 296 and H110 in my .44 mag. loads. I tend to stick with the 296 because it is 'cleaner' than H110.
I get very good results from both but H110 is dirtier. Black soot over fired cases, etc.
I get very good results from both but H110 is dirtier. Black soot over fired cases, etc.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Worrying about this sort of thing, along with avoiding cast bullets are two of the oddest concepts I've ever heard.
That's interesting because the two powders are identical. Only difference is the can.
Patocazador
Member
My H110 is the old stuff not the new Hodgdon "one size fits all" stuff.
It was less confusing when everything wasn't owned by 2 or 3 outfits.
AABEN
Member
Sound like it needs more crimp! The crimp can make a big different a good role crimp can burn up the powder better un burn powder can be very dirty. I know for that happen to me with some Mil powder that I got a good by on and did nit use a tight crimp, good luck
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CraigC
Sixgun Nut
It's always been the same.
TRX
Member
Back when I reloaded thousands of rounds for a friend's .44 Desert Eagle we tried a dozen powders and settled on AA #9 as being the cleanest.
Jay disassembled the gun and cleaned it in a little stainless steel pan full of solvent after every shooting session; "clean freak" barely describes his mania. I, on the other hand, saw little value in cleaning a gun as long as it still functioned reliably...
By "clean" he insisted not just on a minimal level of soot, but minimal grains of unburned powder. 2400 worked just fine, but it left powder all through the gun's action, which drove him fairly mad with frustration, going at it with a little Maglite and a Q-tip...
Jay disassembled the gun and cleaned it in a little stainless steel pan full of solvent after every shooting session; "clean freak" barely describes his mania. I, on the other hand, saw little value in cleaning a gun as long as it still functioned reliably...
By "clean" he insisted not just on a minimal level of soot, but minimal grains of unburned powder. 2400 worked just fine, but it left powder all through the gun's action, which drove him fairly mad with frustration, going at it with a little Maglite and a Q-tip...
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