What's your favorite .44 Mag. target load.

[brutus51]

Started a similar thread for the .357 and have gotten a lot of interesting feedback so why not do one for the .44Mag.
My all time favorite is a 240gr lead SWC's on top of 8.0gr. of Unique.
When I ran out of Unique during the Obamadama days I switched to Universal and found 7.5gr's yielded the same velocity and performance, meters a little better as well.

 

[.308 Norma]

My all time favorite is a 240gr lead SWC's on top of 8.0gr. of Unique.

If I posted my favorite 44 Mag target load, I'd just be echoing you.
Edited to add: I bought my first can of Universal a few weeks ago because I couldn't find any Unique. I'll be giving it a try pretty soon.

 

[nofendertom]

Me three--- 240gr LSWC + 8.0gr of Unique for over 20 years.

 

[.38 Special]

Yep. I use true "Keith" bullets, which come out to about 250 grains. Eight grains of Unique propels them to about 900 fps in my guns. They group as well as I can hold and are pleasant to shoot.

 

[BC17A]

My all time favorite is a 240gr lead SWC's on top of 8.0gr. of Unique.

Good to know. Been wanting to find a good non-magnum load to use in 44mag cases to get away from using special's. I've recently cast some 240gn SWC's with my latest mold and haven't loaded any yet. I have only used Unique in 9mm and 45ACP.

My favorite full power magnum load is a 200gn XTP with 26gn of H110.

 

[.308 Norma]

Just being a bit of a wise guy here - back in our IHMSA days, when our "targets" were steel silhouettes 50 to 200 meters away, my wife's and my favorite 44 Mag "target loads" were
220 grain FMJ Sierra "Silhouettes" over 22 grains of 2400.

 

[brutus51]

220 grain FMJ Sierra "Silhouettes" over 22 grains of 2400.

My favorite full power magnum load is a 200gn XTP with 26gn of H110.

Back in my youth when magnumitise was all the rage I would load up similar rounds only with 185gr. JSP's.
We didn't have any steel plates but out of my 7.5" Super Blackhawk we would vaporize cinder blocks and laugh with glee.

 

[Erief0g]

my primary target round. Easy shooting, plenty accurate, and not excessive.

Created: 09/04/20 01:29 PM
Description: 44 mag rmr plated FP 240gr,unique 9.2gr 1.585oal
Notes 1: 70 degrees tidioute
Distance to Chrono(FT): 10ft
Bullet Weight(gr): 240
Altitude: 1000.00
# FPS FT-LBS PF
10 998 0.00 0.00
9 1007 0.00 0.00
8 1014 0.00 0.00
7 977 0.00 0.00
6 887 0.00 0.00
5 975 0.00 0.00
4 996 0.00 0.00
3 1022 0.00 0.00
2 1001 0.00 0.00
1 880 0.00 0.00
Average: 975.7 FPS
SD: 50.7 FPS
Min: 880 FPS
Max: 1022 FPS
Spread: 142 FPS
Shot/sec: 0.3

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
Ten grains of Unique with a commercial cast coated 240gr LSWC.

 

[black mamba]

6 gr of 700X with any 200-240 grain bullet works extremely well.

 

[RealGun]

I have a Super Blackhawk Bisley shortened to 6" and prefer to shoot max loads of IMR4227 with 240 gr bullets. It is very manageable, but 2-3 cylinders and call it a day before it is more about controlling flinch than having a good time.

 

[brutus51]

^^^ I can relate to our man flinch.

 

[gonoles_1980]

I have a Super Redhawk 7" barrel. I shoot moderate loads of 8.5gr of Unique 240gr Speer LSWC (Warning: this exceeds the max limit on the Alliant site and the Speer manual of 7gr, but it seems like a moderate load to me when I shoot, oddly a 250gr Keith cast has a max of 11gr). This is a head scratcher to me.

I shoot 11gr of BE-86 with a 240 xTreme LSWC copper plated. I really don't like heavy loads, and this is about as heavy as I like to shoot.

 

[wankerjake]

If I posted my favorite 44 Mag target load, I'd just be echoing you.
Edited to add: I bought my first can of Universal a few weeks ago because I couldn't find any Unique. I'll be giving it a try pretty soon.

Herco is a good substitute for Unique as well

I’m not in a spot to go look it up but mine is a 240gr LSWC with 10ish grains Herco which is about the same velocity I’d guess

 

[TxWolf]

Guys on here have steered me toward 8.0 to 10.0 gr load of unique. Have shot 8, 8.5, 9 and 9.5 thru my model 29 with 8 3/8” bbl. REALLY like the 8.0gr load but the 9.5 so far seems to be a little more accurate. Have 18 more each loaded of 8.6 and 9.2. Was going to shoot the 8.5 again but my measure was throwing 8.6 pretty consistent so I left it there. Went with 9.2 just because it was closer to 9.5 and didn’t want to go in .5 increments. I know. I’m weird. Have high hopes for the 8.5 load. Not wanting anymore recoil than I have to have to shoot plates at 15-20 yards. These are all mild loads for the 44 mag. I like them. All are with a commercial 240gr LSWC.
EDIT: Question here. When y’all say universal are you talking about universal clays powder?

 

[mrawesome22-250]

There is no such thing as Universal Clays. The bottle says Hodgdon Universal "with clays technology".

Hodgdon Universal is almost identical in burn rate to Unique but is cleaner and flows through a measure more consistently.

I just bought a new SBH 5.5" blued model and it's really liking 11.4gr HS-6 under a 240gr Acme coated swc. Plenty of thump without any pain.

 

[Walkalong]

6 gr of 700X with any 200-240 grain bullet works extremely well.

I believe it, since 700X works so well in .44 Spl.

 

[LoonWulf]

I pretty much only run full power magnum loads thru my .44 mag, as I have a .44 special for lighter stuff.
24.5gr h110/240mbc

Before I got the .44 special I shot a lot of 11.5-12gr of longshot and the 240mbcs. That scoots them out at about 1200fps, with very mild recoil from the fairly large sbh.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

This one. Target at 50 yards, rested.

 

[brutus51]

^^ Good shooting, I use a lot of AA#7 in 10mm and 38Super, never tried it in 44.

 

[RealGun]

^^ Good shooting, I use a lot of AA#7 in 10mm and 38Super, never tried it in 44.

Forgot about AA#7. I use it to moderate loads in 357 Magnum and expect it would be great in 44 Magnum too.

 

[Targa]

For a light load, I like 7 grains of Universal with a 240 grain cast round nose or swc bullet. For a little more thump I kick it up to 9 grains. For full throttle .44mag I like 23.5 grains of H110 for the mentioned bullets and 27 grains with a 200 grain flat point (these are a hoot!!)

 

[drband]

7.5gr Unique, 240gr Hitek coated SWC in a 7.5" SBH yields a soft shooting 937fps, accurate load for me.

 

[Hartkopf]

I only shoot full power h110 loads in my 10.5" SBH. The gun is dedicated for "wild hair" shooting only with one load so I never have to adjust for low velocity and a high POI. I have a 357 Ruger BH for enjoyable target shooting (with a medium load of Longshot.) If I ever do try target loads in the 44 Mag it will probably be with Longshot since I like it so much in the 357 and I have several pounds.