Powder and Primer recommendation for 357Mag and 45LC (Possibly 44Mag)

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296 / H110 will take them to maximum and should be used with magnum primers. 296 / H110 must be loaded as published and performs badly if taken down below minimum published data. It is not advised to try and decrease charges with H110 / 296 to below published data, as well. These 2 powders are the same, and they are only for those who desire full house magnum loads, nothing less.

2400 on the other hand can be worked with, as in tailored to a desired velocity and doesn't require magnum primers, far more user friendly in this respect than the above powder.

GS
 
I plan on spending a lot of time loading when I get back from Afghanistan next month. I will load .357 Mag, .45LC (and probably a few .454), .44Mag, and .38, as well as 9x19mm. I've bought 8 lbs of HS6 (I was told after the fact that was overkill :rolleyes: :D), and large magnum and small handgun primers.

I plan on loading the Colt with 300 grain lead flat-nose bullets I'm getting from blarby at around 1000-1100 fps from a 5.5" barrel. Will the HS6/magnum primers work well for that, or do I need some 296 or Li'l Gun?

In the .44, I plan on shooting 240 grain loads, as god intended. They'll be from a 4" S&W, so I don't plan on making those overly stout, either. Again, HS6 will work okay?

Thanks,

John
 
I've been a fan of HS-6 (W540) for a very long time. I'm glad to see so many in this thread are with me...

I don't think 8 lbs of HS-6 is overkill when using it for so many calibers. It will go faster than you think. Safe trip home John and thank you...
 
I have never loaded 38/357 so can't answer on that however 45 Colt I do load a lot of. I use either WIN231 or BP-38 (same powders really). I also load with black powder for CAS events as well as Trailboss. For small game hunting loads in my 45 Colt rifle I load with Universal Clays.
 
I've never loaded 45LC but I do load a fair amount of .357 regularly. As mentioned above, 2400 is good for medium to sizzling loads, and Herco is another good one. In my opinion Herco is outstanding for medium-warm .357 rounds with cast bullets on the heavy-ish side; I refer to it as a more magnum-friendly version of Unique. If I'm loading jacketed 125's for medium-strength rounds I also like TiteGroup, though it does tend to burn on the hot side (but very clean in my opinion).

I'll shut up for now.
 
since no-one mentioned it I'll say that .357 cast slug 'practice' rounds I load with RDot. it's clean, cheap and low flash if needed when low-light shooting. MOF I use the max listed charges with 158gr cast swc as my hog hunting load. don't push the max charge as it is spikey.
125gr jhp I like Power Pistol which is the clean Unique. good bit of flash though.
I've never tryed any of the others mentioned except aa9 for 158gr sjhp which does well IMO.
 
I was using a lot of W231 in the .45 Colt but I'm using almost nothing but HS-6 now. HS-6 produces good velocity with lower pressures than most other powders and it's accurate, especially with lead bullets.
 
I'll throw in with those recommending 2400. I love it, especially with cast boolits. I've used it in .45 Colt with 250 grain XTPs as well as cast stuff with excellent results.

Also, would magnum primers be recommended with these powders?
Click to expand...

Get some Wincheser WLP primers. They are labeled for standard and magnum loads and I can vouch for both.
 
If H110 / 296 must be used as published, it is going to produce full house magnum, flame throwing, set the woods on fire, performance. If taken down below published data it begins to indeed produce erratic presures and ignition, thus risking a stuck bullet. And anyone who desires to try H110 shoud be aware that it is not a flexible powder, and in all reality, it is not a powder that would carry the term of "work up". There is no work up with this ball powder, one should simply load it according to the published data, and use magnum primers as indicated in the manuals to avoid inconsistent ignition.

2400 is on the other hand, a good powder for working up various loads ranging from middle of the road, to near full house action, and does not require magnum primers to get consistent ignition.

GS
 
jshirley,

hs-6 in the 44mag should work fine. just under the max (h110) load level.

the 300 grain lead bullet and 1100 fps in your 45lc is a "ruger only" load. you won't be able to get there with hs-6. you may have to splurge on a pound of h-110 for that one.

hs-6 also works well in the 9mm with 124 grain bullets.

haven't tried it in the 38, but works very well in the 357mag.

safe trip,

murf
 
One of the best powders for these calibers, from medium to good and hot is VV N110. Its biggest drawback is price. Maybe as much as 2X 2400. But its clean flexible and accurate. 18-19 gr behind a 270gr bullet in the 45C can show some interesting groups at 100 yd.
 
For my 357, my experiments using powder manufacturer data have been quite promising with both H110 and 2400. Recoil in my GP100 has been pretty manageable but definitely noticeable. In both cases, I found the most accurate load was about .5 to 1 grain below published max, both with 158 grain bullets (haven't tried the 180's yet). Measured velocity with 2400 from a 6" bbl was about 1270 fps, the H110 was about 1490 fps.
 
"Measured velocity with 2400 from a 6" bbl was about 1270 fps, the H110 was about 1490 fps. "

I just dont get it. I have tried from 15.5 all the way to 17.0 H-110 with a 158 grain nosler JHP, from a 6" GP100, and have never been able to get over 1300FPS, and most average 1250-1270 range

JIM
 
jim8115 said:
"Measured velocity with 2400 from a 6" bbl was about 1270 fps, the H110 was about 1490 fps. "

I just dont get it. I have tried from 15.5 all the way to 17.0 H-110 with a 158 grain nosler JHP, from a 6" GP100, and have never been able to get over 1300FPS, and most average 1250-1270 range

JIM
Click to expand...
Jim,
Every revolver is different and there are a few different factors governing velocity. For one thing your revolver may have a wide cylinder/barrel gap and that's where you're losing velocity.
 
"Jim,
Every revolver is different and there are a few different factors governing velocity. For one thing your revolver may have a wide cylinder/barrel gap and that's where you're losing velocity. "

I understand that, but it seems for me, that I just dont get the velocity from H110 from any of my revolvers that I should- 158 grain JHP's. On the other hand, 13.5 Grains of AA#9 gives me the same, or slightly better than a full load of H110....

The exception is with a 125 Grain XTP, a max load ( from lyman and wwpowder ) gives me 1700 FPS from the GP

JIM
 
jim8115 said:
I understand that, but it seems for me, that I just dont get the velocity from H110 from any of my revolvers that I should- 158 grain JHP's. On the other hand, 13.5 Grains of AA#9 gives me the same, or slightly better than a full load of H110....

JIM
Click to expand...
Another possibility, are you using magnum primers when loading H110? If not that may be another reason for not getting the most out of that powder.
 
jshirley,

if you are going to use that data for loading your 45lc cases, understand that pressures will be higher. the case volume is less in the 45lc than the 454 casull.

how much higher can be determined by muzzle velocity increase. that charge of powder is not compressed in the 45lc case, so you should be ok.

guess i'm trying to say, "keep your eyes open on this one".

murf
 
Jshirley, I load 300gr LTC bullets in my 45 colt blackhawk over 18.5-19.0 gr of 2400, whatever i am in the mood for at the time. There is a pronounced difference between the two weights, but both are violent.
 
300gr LTC bullets in my 45 colt blackhawk over 18.5-19.0 gr of 2400,
Click to expand...


Wow. I bet those are violent.
I shot some 250 grain XTPs with 26 grains of H110 last weekend. They were a hoot. Chronographed them at just under 1,300 fps.
Just in case someone is new to this, that load is WAY above SAMMI specs, and should never be used in any gun, other than Ruger, Freedom Arms, or TC.
 
Wow. I bet those are violent.
I shot some 250 grain XTPs with 26 grains of H110 last weekend. They were a hoot. Chronographed them at just under 1,300 fps.
Just in case someone is new to this, that load is WAY above SAMMI specs, and should never be used in any gun, other than Ruger, Freedom Arms, or TC.
Click to expand...

Yep paul, those are a hoot! The same charge under a 255 is what you were loading right? I love that load for fun shooting with something that thumps.
 
FWIW the velocity with H110 was the same as 2400 until I be cleaned the bore (had shot a few hundred rounds before the H110 rounds). Never would have thought that would make a difference.
 
I use 2400 for my 45 lc carbine loads and AA#5 for my 357 snubby and 45 colt Ruger loads . Standard primers for all loads.
 
I also- come to think of it- need to make some sedate loads for a Model 25. They will be carefully marked vs the Magnum Resarch "rhino rollers"! :D
 
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