Need help with 44 special loads

[rbylo1]

Hello everyone - just found your site and am happy to be here. Have done a good amount of reloading for my rifles and shotguns,44 magnum revolver and .45 pistol but won't pretend to know as much as I need to. Here's where I can use some help / thoughts - mentioned to my buddy I was thinking of selling my Ruger SuperRedhawk .44 magnum, 9 1/2" barrel with scope. Can handle the recoil,but can't say a full day of shooting doesn't take its toll. He asked why I didn't shoot 44 specials out of it - remember I said I am still learning - didn't realize this was an option. If it is, I'm thrilled at the idea of keeping this revolver and building some 44 special loads when I just want to do some target shooting. Any suggestions on loads for this purpose? Thanks,,,,

 

[waidmann]

Why not first try loading .44 Mags near minimums. I assume you already have hulls. It will be less bullet jump and your chambers will stay a little cleaner.

Yes, you can shoot specials in your magnum.

 

[BCRider]

Exactly my thoughts on the low loaded Magnum rounds. Nothing says you have to load the darn things to max pressure. Pick a lower pressure powder and lighter bullet and load up some rounds that send the bullet out at Special speeds out of the Magnum cases.

The brass will thank you as well. It'll last for many, many dozens of reloads until the headstamps become pounded smooth and the rims oversize so they don't fit into the cylinder any more instead of cracking the skirts with Magnum loads after 8 or 10 reloads....

A while back I loaded up some 240gn cast in front of about 6.5 gns of Trail Boss with a regular large pistol primer. They were soft and rather nice to shoot from my Super Blackhawk. I used them all up before I could try any out of my short barrel Super Redhawk.

The recoil of them was very much like regular power .38Spl from my S&W Model 19 if that means anything for you.

 

[rbylo1]

Appreciate the help

Thanks guys for the helpful info. Gonna give that a try.

 

[pendennis]

You could also consider putting .44 Special loads in your .44 Magnum brass. You get the advantage of the milder recoil, and you also don't get the "crud" built up in the cylinder face.

 

[Deanimator]

I shoot almost nothing but Specials out of my 4" S&W Model 29-2. .44 Special cases are shorter and therefore more efficient with Special loads.

The less excess powder space, the more consistent the ignition.

The more consistent the ignition, the more consistent the velocities.

 

[rcmodel]

.44 Spl cases.
240 LSWC Keith style bullet.
7.5 grains Unique.

That has been the famous "Skeeter Skelton .44 Spl load" for half a century.

I've never seen a gun it wasn't accurate in.

And it will kill anything that walks or crawls without pounding you doing it.

rc

 

[CraigC]

.44 Spl cases.
240 LSWC Keith style bullet.
7.5 grains Unique.

That has been the famous "Skeeter Skelton .44 Spl load" for half a century.

I've never seen a gun it wasn't accurate in.

And it will kill anything that walks or crawls without pounding you doing it.

Yep!

 

[sig220mw]

Ruger also makes 4 or 5 models of the 44 special now also if you no longer want to keep the 44 mag.

 

[PapaG]

What RC said. For my 624 I cut it to 7 grains and for my Charter Bulldog and Rossi I go to 6.5. Still plenty of punch and a big hole.

 

[zxcvbob]

Try 240 grain cast bullets (SWC or RNFP) and Red Dot powder. Either .44M or .44S brass, it doesn't matter. Start at about 6 grains and go up or down from there til you find a load you like. Stay under 8 grains.

 

[rbylo1]

appreciate so much help

I am really glad I found this website / forum - thanks to everyone for all your help. I'm learning more everyday! Thanks again, Rick

 

[joed]

I have a few .44 Spl and Mag revolvers in the safe, it's my favorite revolver cartridge. There are 2 loads that I use, both with 250 gr LSWC bullets. The first is 7.5 gr of Unique and 15.0 gr of 2400.

Since I got my first .44 Mag revolver I have never fired any mag level loads in any of mine.

You can use the above loads in Mag or Spl brass.

 

[just for fun]

The older I get the more lite 44 magnum loads I shoot! Plus cleaning that 1/8 inch carbon ring in the cylinders is a PITA! This is from using special cases in magnum cylinders. Two favorites are 6.5 of 231w/240 lead or plated bullet. Same bullet and 5.5 grs of Bullseye. Leaning more towards the plated bullet as it's easier to clean the gun afterwards.
Back in the day (when I could still "see") eighter one of those loads and a Smith 29-2 with 8 3/8's inch barrel would shoot the centers out at 25 yds. Still my fav. lite load.

 

[ultramag44]

A 240 to 255 cast bullet over 9 grains of Herco is a good medium load.

Herco won't burn lead off the base band of a cast bullet like some other popular powders might do.

 

[DC Plumber]

I don't use special brass in my .357s or 44s due the the crud ring. I just use low end magnum loads. I do the same for my Alaskan 454. I have a great load for my casull brass, and as a result I end up shooting my Alaskan alot. If I want to stick in some full loads, the crud ring isn't a concern.

If I didn't have a model 24, I wouldn't even have any 44 special brass. I traded all of my 38 special brass for 45acp brass for the Kimber.

Don't mean to go on and on, but that's the beauty of handloading.

 

[unspellable]

Like many above I do not like special length brass in magnum length chambers. My pet 44 Magnum load runs a 240 grain bullet out of a 6.5 inch S&W at 1000 fps. This is heavier than a factory 44 Special but falls into the lite category for a 44 Magnum.

445 brass is too long to fit in Ruger, you would have to trim it back, which would be pointless since 44 Magnum brass is cheaper.

 

[skidder]

For plinking I use 240 hard cast with 700x, Red dot, Green dot, Bullseye, etc... When powder is sold by the pound, why not use 5.5 grns of 700X instead of 20 grns of 2400? The faster burning powders can save you lots of money for plinking. Hiking and hunting are a totally different beast.

Here is a handy powder burn rate chart. Pick your poison.
http://www.hodgdon.com/burn-rate.html

 

[Frank V]

Welcome to the forum.

Rick, you could always keep your Super Redhawk for the really heavy duty shooting & buy a nice lighter .44 Special for everyday shooting.
See we are a bad influence, we suggest buying more guns.
Really, though, lighter loads in your SuperR will make shooting it much more enjoyable.
Good shooting.
Frank

 

[rbylo1]

Thanks again -

Going downstairs to try out a light load - thanks to all above for your replies and suggestions. Really appreciate the help

 

[rbylo1]

1st results for lighter .44 mag loads

Okay - its in the teens here in Michigan,not ideal target shooting weather! But here's what i tried - Ruger SuperRedhawk SS with a 9 1/2" barrel,ported. Safety glasses and ear protection on! Built a load using 5 gr of CLAYS powder,Hornady 240 gr XTP bullet. Then built a load with 6 grains Unique,same bullet. Federal #155 mag pistol primer. OAL 1.575". Put the target on a 10" diameter dead stump at 20 yds. Blew right thru it with both loads (so happy nothing got stuck in the barrel!). Accuracy was great - too cold to chronograph it - will do that when it warms up a bit. But it appears I have 2 loads to choose from - both with less felt recoil then my Springfield Armory XD .45 CLAYS casing appeared to be cleaner on the inside of the spent casing then the Unique but not by much. Thanks again to everyone who replied and helped me out here. I almost made the mistake of selling that revolver!

 

[DC Plumber]

Better stop for a minute.

I think that load of 6g of Unique is way toooo light with a 240g jacketed bullet. Experts, step in here, but 6g with a 240g Lead SWC in a 44 special case is probably doing 750 to 800 fps, just guessing quickly.

I personally wouldn't go less than 9g of Unique with a 240g Jacketed bullet in a 44mag case.

But I am happy for you that you are seeing the advantage of light loads. You will get lots more use out of you handguns with target loads than hunting or self defense loads, in my opinion.

 

[rbylo1]

reply about case

Guess I forgot to mention it was a regular .44 magnum case - not .44 special case. But thanks for following up. Anyone else have thoughts? Am I going too light here? It was very light on recoil so upping it a bit would not be an issue. Thanks - Rick

 

[PapaG]

If you're having problems with a crud ring, you might try lubing with the old Lyman or the NRA formula lube of Alox/beeswax. I've been using those in my cast bullet revolvers since the fifties and never had a ring that took more than a few brush strokes (and a good solvent) to remove. I tried the new stuff that looks like crayon wax and gee whiz did they leave a ring.

 

[rbylo1]

crud ring

not sure what you mean by a crud ring, but had no residue - revolver didn't even look like it needed to be cleaned after this initial testing.