Did anyone here load .44 Mag with Winchester 571 / Hodgdon HS7 ?

[IMtheNRA]

I loaded up some experimental .44 Mag rounds to see if this obsolete Winchester 571 powder is any good in the .44 Mag cartridge. I used HS7 data from an old Hodgdon booklet, which someone at Hodgdon was kind enough to photocopy for me. (The two are the same powder). The data range is 11.0 to 13.0 grains for 240-grain JSP.

I loaded 240-grain Speer Gold Dots with 11.5, 12.0, and 12.5 grains, using CCI Magnum primers, mixed cases. I have a chrono and I'll go to the range in a few minutes to try them out in my 8" scoped 629 at 100 yards.

In the meantime, if anyone here uses or used this powder in .44 Mag, I'd love to get your opinion and experience with Winchester 571 / Hodgdon HS7.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've only used it in heavy bullet 10mm loads, where it excelled. I'm down to about 5 pounds of it and getting nervous........

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[murf]

Should work fine as a medium power load in the 44mag. I use hs-7 as a high-end load for 124gn xtps in my Browning hipower.

murf

 

[IMtheNRA]

At the range today, I observed a surprising departure from velocity data in Hodgdon's loading pamphlet. I expected my results to be somewhat lower than Hodgdon's 7" test barrel velocity range of 1,149 (11.0 gr) to 1,223 (13.0 gr), but I did not think they'll go so much slower from my 8" 629. Here is what I got:

11.5 gr - 950 fps
12.0 gr - 992 fps
12.5 gr - 1,034 fps

There was also a stunning difference in 100-yard group sizes, given only 0.5 grain steps in my three sets of test loads. The best 12-shot group was from the 12.0 grain set. After subtracting the diameter of the bullet, the group was 4.0" tall by 2.7" wide. All groups were shot from a less than perfect bag on a pretty windy day at our outdoor range. Below, is a photo of the 12 shot 12.0-grain group. The groups that were shot with 11.0 and 12.5 grains were twice as large!



I am concerned about such low velocity because I use this revolver for shooting targets as far as 350 yards, and I'm afraid of running out of vertical adjustment. My usual load, using H-110, goes about 1,450 fps.

So, what do you think about increasing my charge weight in an attempt to increase velocity closer to Hodgdon's 1,223 fps, provided that I can maintain acceptable group sizes at higher velocities? Extrapolating today's data, I can see that I'll have to exceed the published max of 13.0 grains to get a paltry 1,100 fps and I should probably forget 1,200 fps.

I suspect that I should stay somewhat lower than the 1,223 fps anyway, because Hodgdon tested a jacketed bullet and I'm using a Gold Dot, which is plated.

What do you think?

 

[jmorris]

I really like HS-7 t load "major" 9. I am in the same boat is Fred, have less then 10 pounds myself.

Its a little slower than what I use for my plinker 44 rounds and a little faster than my hotter 44 loads.