44 Special load in 44 Mag case.

[Steeltown Joe]

I just got a deal on some 44 Mag. brass (free) and would like to work up a 44 Special type load in 44 Mag.cases. Meaning low recoil and Vol fps. somewhere from 750 to 1000 fps. Need a good "cowboy load" to run in my Winchester 94.
It can shoot both 44 Sp. and 44 Mag. but the Mag. cases run a little smother in "Cowboy Action" mode. The bullets I have are 200 gr. cast lead RNFP's and the powders I have on hand are 231,Clays and Bullseye. The Hodgdon website (Clays and 231) has a Winchester 231 load of 5.8 = 875 fps. to 7.4 for 1039 fps. This looks like a good place to start.


Steeltown

[max384]

Just to clarify, you are trying to develop a light load for a .44 remington magnum, right? You're not following the loading data for a .44 special in a .44 mag case, right? If you do so, you will have to seat your bullet excessively deep to get the correct OAL for .44 special, which will cause the case to grip the bullet excessively, which will raise pressures. And, it would be even worse to follow the .44 special load data nd keep the .44 magnum OAL. Sorry if this is all common sense to you, I just wanted to throw that out there just in case.

You could always trim your cases down to .44 special, since the rest of the case dimenstions are identical, AFAIK, and then just load a .44 special load. If you do still want to load it as is, I would start near the max load (a little under, as I never start at the max) recommended by Hodgdons. I looked through my reloading manuals and there was some conflicting data as well, which is common. But this particular loading seems to have more variation in loading info than normal.

Did you see what type of barrel that Hodgdon used as opposed to Lyman to test their loads? If one used a short barrel, and the other a longer, that would affect it some.

What condition is your model 94 in? If it's older and not in the best condition, you may want to start a little lower. You could always call Hodgdon and tell them what you posted here and see what they recommend. This is from right off their website:

If you have a safety problem or concern - DO NOT EMAIL - CALL US DIRECTLY 7:00am to 5:30pm Central Monday-Thursday : 913-362-9455

I'd say that being unsure of a load could certainly be considered a safety concern.

Good luck!

[Steeltown Joe]

Just to clarify, you are trying to develop a light load for a .44 remington magnum, right? You're not following the loading data for a .44 special in a .44 mag case, right?
Good luck!

Right ! I picked up some 44 Mag. brass for free ! I don't usually load 44 Mag. just 44 Special. My 94 is about 5 years old I got it just before they stopped making them. The load data I'm looking at is for 44 Mag. I don't need a hot or even a Std. Mag. load. I need a "Cowboy" load in 44 Mag. cases !
Thanks,
Steeltown

[Flash]

Having access to a chronograph would certainly simplify your situation.

Flash

[Brick]

If you want to duplicate .44 Special loads in a .44 Magnum cartridge case you should be able to do so without much problem. So use the .44 Special load data you want for the powder and bullet you've chosen. Dump the correct powder charge into the primed and prepared .44 Magnum cartridge case and seat the bullet to the crimping groove and crimp as required. You now have a .44 Magnum length cartridge loaded to .44 Special power level. It can only be fired from a .44 Magnum caliber firearm because of the longer case length. If you're concerned about "flash-over" and want some way of holding the powder back against the primer you can use kapok or dacron fiber (buy it in a fabric store they sell it as pillow stuffing), light card board wads cut to the inside diameter of the case or a product called Pufflon see www.pufflon.com or make your loads using Titegroup powder.


If you want to make .44 Special cartridges from .44 Magnum cases you must trim the cases such that the sized case is the required trim to length for .44 Special. The .44 Magnum is 1/8th inch (0.125") longer than the Special.

Last you should go back and read the section of Lyman and Hodgden that cover how they conduct their testing. Hodgden's pressure and velocity information are both based on their results from their 18" barreled pressure test fixtures

[Xringshooter]

What ever load you come up with, check the case to see how full it is. If it's a light load, there may not be much powder in the case and when the case is on its side, the powder will disperse through the case and in extreme circumstances you may not get reliable ignition. So what you can do is pick up some fiber fill material, like what is used to fill pillows, quilts, etc. and pull off a very small amount. When you load the powder, then put is small piece of the batting in the case and tamp it down slightly. This will keep the powder around the primer hole and help with ignition. It will either burn up or be dispelled from the gun with no ill effects.

[Steeltown Joe]

I reread the data and edited my post to remove the stupid questions !

Steeltown

[smitty56]

If you want to duplicate .44 Special loads ......

If you want to make .44 Special cartridges from .44 Magnum cases you must trim the cases such that the sized case is the required trim to length for .44 Special. The .44 Magnum is 1/8th inch (0.125") longer than the Special.

I would put a different slant on Brick's comments.
Although a 44 special case is just a shortened 44 mag case, it still says Rem 44 MAG on the bottom of the case. You can shorten case as Brick says but what if? What if some one else ends up with one of your cut down cases and then mixes it in with his reloads? What if he is not paying attention and loads a 44 mag load into a reduced size case?

Yes, I know that die settings for 44 mag would not push the bullet deeper into the case than the 44 mag settings but I would hate to create a piece of brass stamped as 44 mag but actually be 44 special.
It's bad enough IF you only have 44 special guns at your house but if you have both, it is worse.
Again, just my opinion.
I would say load it the existing 44 mag case to LIGHTEST load OR trade the 44 mag to someone else for 44 special brass.
Smitty56.

[woody]

How about trying Trail Boss powder. It was made for low velocity
revolver loads with lead bullets Very bulky, fills up the case and you probably won't
be able to get as much velocity as you would with 231 . www.hodgdon.com
should have the info.

[Flash]

Or, after you have shortened the cases, deform the headstamp ??

Flash