Henery 44 mag rifle load

[marineshooter]

I have been away for awhile so here goes. I just got a Henry in 44 mag with a 20" barrel. All I have is Alliant Power Pistol and 200 gr xtps. I cant find load data anywhere. A friend suggested 15-15.5 grs which should give around 1650 fps. Not looking for screaming loads, just good target loads. Any help???

 

[rg1]

In the Modern Reloading 2nd Edition by Richard Lee they list Power Pistol with a generic 200 grain jacketed bullet. They don't specify what case or primer they tested with, barrel length nor firearm tested in.
For a 200 gr. jacketed bullet they list a start charge at 13.6 for 1402 fps and a maximum load at 15.5 for 1573 fps. Oal tested at 1.590".

 

[marineshooter]

rg1, I am looking at that page right now, I was looking under the rifle section. Will these loads work for a rifle with a 20" barrel?? I have not reloaded for a rifle before but lots of pistol. They show Titegroup and HP-38 which I have lots of . Will these work as well or are they too fast a powder

 

[rg1]

Similar to data from Speer's 13th manual with their 200 gr. JHP bullet. Speer listed 13.5 grains of Power Pistol for 1636 fps and a maximum of 15.5 grains for 1810 fps. They used a Marlin 44 mag rifle with a 20" barrel, Win case, and a standard CCI 300 primer not a magnum primer with Power Pistol. Oal was 1.590". The previous post was from the pistol data section. This info from Modern Reloading and Speer is just for comparison.

 

[rg1]

I load the same loads for rifle and pistol. A Ruger Super Blackhawk 7" barrel and a 16" Winchester Trapper rifle. I use 23-23.5 grains of Win 296 and a CCI 350 Magnum primer and I load all 240 gr. Hornady XTP's. With 296 or H110 use a mag primer and don't reduce powder charges very much at all. I wouldn't go below 22 grains with 240 gr. bullets and 296/H110 powder and wouldn't go above 24 grains. I wouldn't use Titegroup but HP38 might be ok. You don't need a mag primer with the faster powders. For top velocity you need to use the slower magnum powders with a mag primer but for lighter loads the faster powders will work. Sometimes, not always manuals give a slightly higher charge for rifles but I always stay with pistol data for my pistol carbine rifles in 44Mag, 357Mag, and 9MM.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have been away for awhile so here goes. I just got a Henry in 44 mag with a 20" barrel. All I have is Alliant Power Pistol and 200 gr xtps. I cant find load data anywhere. A friend suggested 15-15.5 grs which should give around 1650 fps. Not looking for screaming loads, just good target loads. Any help???

Funny you said you can't find load data, the Alliant site supplies load data for all their powders.

They list a 200gr Speer JHP bullet over Power Pistol with a max charge of 15.5gr. To find the starting charge weight reduce that charge by 10% which is 14.0gr. Alliant is using a CCI-300 primer in their load. They claim 1,573 fps from a 8.3" barrel.
http://alliantpowder.com/reloaders/...=1&weight=200&shellid=33&bulletid=54&bdid=161

 

[marineshooter]

I was just wondering because of the difference in barrel length. When you buy factory 44 mag ammo it works in both rifle and pistol. Just asking the dumb question..I know most pistol powders are fast and hot but rifle powders are a little slower and a bit cooler?? if I use the data for pistol loads, would the bullet be like in the cartoons and come out of the barrel and just fall to the ground. haha. thanks for your help

 

[marineshooter]

I also looked in the rifle section, but it is listed in the pistol section. Again does this data work for a rifle with a 20" barrel?? I seem to find all my questions answered here. Thanks again!!

 

[marineshooter]

rg1, Thanks for the info. I got conflicting thoughts from different people on pistol vs rifle data. As I was taught the only dumb question is the question NOT ASKED!!! Thanks for the help..

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I also looked in the rifle section, but it is listed in the pistol section. Again does this data work for a rifle with a 20" barrel?? I seem to find all my questions answered here. Thanks again!!

A good 44 Magnum load is a good 44 Magnum load. You shouldn't need to use different load data for a handgun and rifle. With sower Magnum powders the longer barrel will usually allow the powder to burn more completely and you will generate more velocity but nothing more.

You do not use a rifle powder in a 44 Magnum case just because the ammo will be fired from a rifle. If you look at the Hodgdon site you will see the load data is identical for the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum under both rifles and handguns except for the velocity numbers. Pressure is pressure and you wouldn't want to exceed the SAAMI pressure limits for any cartridge just because it will be fired in a Carbine instead of a handgun.

Hope that helps...

 

[marineshooter]

ArchAnglel, Thank for the help. As I got different answers to my questions from 'experts" I was really confused. i understand pistol loads but never having loaded for a rifle or carbine it just threw me under the bus. looking in the different books showing a section for rifle and pistol. i thought they were different animals. But factory ammo works in both hense my confusion.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

ArchAnglel, Thank for the help. As I got different answers to my questions from 'experts" I was really confused. i understand pistol loads but never having loaded for a rifle or carbine it just threw me under the bus. looking in the different books showing a section for rifle and pistol. i thought they were different animals. But factory ammo works in both hense my confusion.

You sorta answered your own question at least twice in that post. The fact factory ammo "works in both" should have told you a .44 Magnum cartridge is just that, a 44 Magnum cartridge. You are not loading for a rifle, you are loading .44 Magnum ammo. Changing the gun changes little but the velocity.

Take a look at the handgun and rifle listings on the Hodgdon load data site.
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
You will see the same exact min/max powder charge for both, same primer for both, same OAL and of course the same exact pressures because the ammo is the same. The only difference is the velocity information because one is shot from a 8.275" barrel and the other from a 20" barrel.

 

[marineshooter]

Archangel, Thanks for the great help. I was looking at the rifle and not the pistol sections. It just did not turn the light on. Thats why I ask what seems to be silly questions. Better to ask them than to damage my rifle or do damage to me or someone else. Thanks for the edgeamaction...

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Don't ever think any question is silly, especially when it comes to safety. If you're not sure you should always ask...