Need a little help with The .44 Mag load.

[Buck13]

Just looking for some not much kick in .44.

OK, now we can do business!

For light loads, I like the 429421 or 429667 here
http://westernbullet.com/44caliber.html
or a Nosler 200 grain JHP
over a starting charge of 231/HP38 (as shown at Hodgden's site for the appropriate bullet).

With a fast powder, max .44 Special charges in .44 Magnum brass should cause no trouble (unless you double-charge!!!). For the 200 gr JHP, the starting charge shown for .44 Magnum is still pretty hot, so you could use the max charge shown for .44 Special for a real light plinking load (you have to select HP-38 or you don't get the data, even though 231 is the same powder)

You could replace the Nosler with a plated bullet for economy, but I'm convinced I've seen slightly worse accuracy even at low velocity, so it's a trade-off.

 

[Buck13]

Also, if he just wants slightly less recoil and blast than commercial ammo, the published starting load for almost any powder (other than H110) and a typical 240 grain bullet should do. Using anything slower than CFE Pistol would be something of a waste of money due to larger charges and incomplete burning, but I'd go as slow as Blue Dot or Longshot if that's all I could find.

Universal seems easier to find than Unique these days and is fairly similar. I started using it recently, and it hasn't replaced HP-38 in my affections. It's doing OK, but I don't find it to meter any better than Unique. If he can find it, AA#5 would be perfect (meters like I imagine liquid mercury would) but the manufacturer doesn't have data for it in .44 magnum. But Nosler does...

 

[Bula]

Standard light to middle weight load for .44 mags is 8.5 (less and I get sooty cases) to 10 grains of unique with any cast 240-255gr bullet. I shoot them from pistol and a Marlin carbine. Very enjoyable. Lately with the powder availability, I just worked up a bullseye load with 200 grain home cast. 7.2g of bullseye and they shoot very good. Sized to .431 they are plenty accurate and light on the shoulder. I know bullseye gets very little love for the big bores, but I have about 11 pounds. I just loaded about 200 rounds for the 1894. Fun round and it moves football sized boulders pretty good. Do get your buddy a reloading manual.

 

[Stumper]

Skimming the thread it seems you want a"proven" load that is well within handbook specs but not full throttle and not just a .44 special in the magnum case. Here is mine. 11.2 grains of 800x under pretty much any 240 grain bullet (99% of mine are cast). It is a very manageable load, way below max but giving all the performance I desire-about 1100 fps out of a 4 inch revolver.