first time loading the 44mag

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rozziboy18

rozziboy18

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ok guys, i just picked p a 629-6 the other day, shot a 150 rounds, tumbled the brass, re-sized it, primed it and im ready to rock. my question is am i going to screw around and blow up my new gun. im loading 240 xtp's with h110, and im wanting 1200 fps or less as to avoid catastrophic arm breakage:what:.

questions (more so about loading for a 629)

if i stay within saami spec will i be ok and not shake the gun apart
do you have any load data? still waiting on my new hornady book to show up
how low of a charge weight can i go to with h110?

i was thinking of starting at 19g and working up.

any thoughts?
 
I've loaded a few thousand 44 mag but never used h110. The things I have read of h110 are that it requires magnum primers and to NOT go below the minimum!

H110 is for full house loads. I prefer alliant 2400 for my full power loads since it does not require magnum primers but h110 is supposed to beat the 2400 a tad in velocity.

Honestly it sounds like you want some lighter loads and I highly recommend a different powder. I have loaded tons of Universal Clays for medium power 44 mag loads. A lot of people will recommend Unique as a for lighter 44 mag loads and it does very well. I prefer the UC because in my experience it meters better and burns MUCH cleaner.

Also, be careful with loading non jacketed bullets with that h110. If the bullet is not a good fit for the barrel or the lead is not hard enough you can get some serious leading.

There you have it! That's the help I can give.
 
weeeeellll looks like a trip to bps is in my near future. i will pic up some universal tomorrow and give it a shot. and i just freekin gave 2 pounds of it to a friend of mine....great... and yes i do want lighter loads for practice ill save the hotter stuff (240's running 1300)for the woods and 100 yard stuff.
 
im wanting 1200 fps or less as to avoid catastrophic arm breakage.
Click to expand...

Get some 240 grain cast bullets and a pound of Herco. 1200 to 1300 fps with heavy cast bullets is where Herco really shines. (I've never tried it with jacketed bullets) You'll use about 1/2 as much powder as H110 (approx 12 grains instead of 24), and it's bulky enough to fill the case well.
 
my lee manual is showing a minimum of 9.1grains unique for a velocity of 1,048 and a max of 10.3, 1175fps. minimum oal 1.575". no data for the h110 with a 240xtp though.
 
man thanks guys! i now have a nice shopping list! ima back burner the h110 for a later date it seems to be a little mean for me just starting out. the only reason im loading jacketed instead of cast is because i haven't had time to make my 100 mile trek to the reloaders bench in nashville to grab some cast bullets yet. plus i dont have any magnum primers for the h110 so its a no go but the loads you guys mentioned sound very nice! im loading up a few with unique at 9.2g to see what will come of it. i have had the powder a while and want to put it to good use!
 
IMO: After about 50 years reloading.
If you can't do it safely with Unique or 2400 in a .44 Mangle-um?

You need to start breaking out the big-bore rifles and 12 ga shotguns!

rc
 
I guess I typed reply while you were typing your 2nd post on this thread. I was not very clear in my unique/Universal Clays comparison. They are right next to each other on the burn chart and basically do the same thing.

Since you already have Unique I say load it up!

For my full house loads I run 2400 and nosler jsp. For my UC load I run Missouri bullet co's 240 grain Keith LWSC bullet. It's very accurate an I'm getting 1102 FPS for a 10 shot average out of my 4" Taurus tracker with 8.3 grains of UC. So out of your 6" gun I think you will be right where you want to be with either.
 
I have been handloading for ~ 13 years, and hardly ever do the same handload twice, except for 44 mag.
240 gr JHP 24 gr H110, roll crimp into the cannelure, 1.6".
That will shoot sub moa 1750 fps with a 20" Marlin barrel welded on a Ruger rifle at the range.
Quickload thinks that is 1740 fps 30 kpsi.
My 6" barrel S&W 29-4 [1988] will do ~ 1400 fps.
I have been shooting that load exclusively in that revolver. That revolver is still like new.
Your revolver should be more solid than mine
http://books.google.com/books?id=VD...DADQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=29-6&f=false

With Unique there are a wide range of loads for that revolver.
10.3 gr Unique 240 gr JHP is 29kpsi 1230 fps
6.0 gr Unique 240 gr JHP is 10 kpsi 850 fps
And everything in between
 
In my 629 4" I'm loading Missouri bullet co 240gr Keith over unique or blue dot. Very fun round to shoot. Yes it's dirty. Yes it's smoky. I don't care.

In my super Blackhawk and marlin I'm loading 240 gr xtp's over W296. They will bust a rock well and will make two holes in anything I might run into in my woods. I don't run these through the 629. I don't think it would hurt the gun. Its just my preference

Have fun!
 
.44 mag handloads

agree with Clark,
I use 24 grains of H110 with a speer 240 grain JHP in my Ruger Redhawk
with a red-dot scope, very accurate load, no problems or pressure signs,
I have taken 33 whitetails, 2 hogs and a coyote with this combo and not
wounded anything.
 
I also use 24 grains of H110 with 240 grain bullets in my 629s. Only difference is I'm shooting lead.
 
If you want some really light plinkers follow the load for a 240 grain lead SWC with Unique from Hornady. Out of that gun you could shoot hundreds of rounds and not feel it.

For full house loads I use a cast 270 grain bullet and 296. I am just above the minimum.
 
Last edited:
I was taught to use powder - when possible- that give you at least 60% case volume.

It keeps one from ever having a double load

2400 for .44 has worked for me. It has a softer recoil impulse but is a bit dirty.
 
I used to use 2400 religiously in my .44 mag loads. IIRC I used 20.0 grains over a 240 grain bullet. I ran out of 2400 one day and tried H110. It was just accurate and MUCH cleaner... There is a bit more recoil though but not as much as you would think. This is out of a 4 inch and a 7.5 inch Redhawks.
 
I'm a very experienced H110 -er .
Here is what you'll need to know:

H110 is not a flexable powder and should not be reduced to below book published charges. Some say you can reduce charges by 3%, but that is unnecessay and causes H110 to produce inconsistent velocities and pressures. It's impossible to get enough H110 in a case to cause a catrostrophic failure.

Use only magnum primers, H110 is a harder powder to light up, it's a ball powder. If you look at the published data for H110 it clearly states use magnum primers.

Apply a firm roll crimp into the canelure of those XTP's or you'll have unfired rounds with bullets jumping out of the case mouths resutling from recoil. This is a basic rule of thumb with any wheel gun cartridge, just more pronounced with H110.

All wheel guns eventually experience some wear and tear, however H110 isn't gong to just destroy your action. It does produce full house magnum performance, but nothing your revolver wasn't built to handle. I've been using it almost exclusively in all my magnum wheel guns for 30 + years with no issues at all.

GS
 
rozziboy18 said:
ok guys, i just picked p a 629-6 the other day, shot a 150 rounds, tumbled the brass, re-sized it, primed it and im ready to rock. my question is am i going to screw around and blow up my new gun. im loading 240 xtp's with h110, and im wanting 1200 fps or less as to avoid catastrophic arm breakage:what:.

questions (more so about loading for a 629)

if i stay within saami spec will i be ok and not shake the gun apart
do you have any load data? still waiting on my new hornady book to show up
how low of a charge weight can i go to with h110?

i was thinking of starting at 19g and working up.

any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I HIGHLY recommend 17.3 Grains of Bluedot. It will work on anything from 180 Grain JHP to 265 Round Nose. The 240's will get abbout 1725 at the muzzel of a 6" Barrel, extremely accurate. But if you drop to 17.1 or go up to 17.5, accuracy go to ****.

I have shot 1K's of these and they are very accurate out to 125 Yards, then they fall out of the 3" tube. (From Barrel to 125 yards, staying in a imaginary 3" tube, makes it very good for hunting).

Give it a shot, it is impressive (Fire out the barrel), and I recomment something besides wooden grips. A custom loader gave me the data, and it is superb.

Dan
 
IMO: After about 50 years reloading.
If you can't do it safely with Unique or 2400 in a .44 Mangle-um?

You need to start breaking out the big-bore rifles and 12 ga shotguns!

rc
Click to expand...

Yup.

OP- I'd be a little careful in the basement of H-110... as noted, its not recommended for downloading. It doesn't even work that well at starting loads for some people- but out of safety, start there anyway.

I'd make 6 shots of each .1 from start to max, and see what suits you best.

You'll be needing magnum primers....

I'd do side-by-sides with unique, as its more than healthy in 44.

11grs behind a 240gr jacketed is one of my go-to's for comparison testing.

Have fun !

I HIGHLY recommend 17.3 Grains of Bluedot. It will work on anything from 180 Grain JHP to 265 Round Nose. The 240's will get abbout 1725 at the muzzel of a 6" Barrel, extremely accurate. But if you drop to 17.1 or go up to 17.5, accuracy go to ****.
Click to expand...

BE careful with this one......... Thats a little out of spec for my taste......
 
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