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Thread: Reloading 44mag
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April 12th, 2012, 07:35 PM #1Active Member
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Reloading 44mag
So I'm looking for a little advice here. I recently got a super blackhawck hunter in 44mag. I want to use it some groundhogs this year as practice for deer season. I reloaded a couple 185 gr hollow points (forget what brand an I'm not home to look) with 23 grn of imr 4227. They are OK but not grouping as well as I like. Part of this I think is because its not burning all the powder. I've been thinking about trying magnum primers to see what happens. I used the primers specified in my reloading manual for this load. I'm also probably going to switch to another bullet. Probably a cast one. Im looking for someone to give me an idea on some loads that have worked for you. I'm not looking for really hot loads more for an accurate target/groundhog load.
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April 12th, 2012, 10:30 PM #2Super Member
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Re: Reloading 44mag
The fun thing about loading is the hunt for the best load .... and that's something that comes from the act of loading, shooting and documenting your results. A couple tenths of a grain either way can have big effect in accuracy, and that's something you'll have to have to find out for yourself.
While 23 grains isn't full load, it's still a lot of slower burning powder so a magnum primer is a must. Another must is a good crimp on the bullet. A lot of people overlook the crimp and wonder why their POI is all over the place. From experience, I'd say check your crimp first.
Some bullet/gun combinations like a slightly faster burning powder. I've had good results with Hodgdon H110 and HS-6 through my S&W 29 with a 8-3/8 barrel.
If I'm preaching to the choir, sorry. The 44 mag is the 1st round I really paid attention to when reloading ... so I've got a few favorites ... all very accurate and consistent.
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April 13th, 2012, 01:39 PM #3
Re: Reloading 44mag
The only thing I shoot out my .44 anymore is lead. Have two bullets I cast for it, a 245gr keith SWC and a 224 gr HBWC. For all out I use the 245 with a decent charge of 2400. For plinking I use the 224 gr with a charge of faster powder. Due to the hollow base I worked up loads with unique and Win231 for velocities under 800 fps. When I did use jacketed my best results came with Win 296 aka H110. The following link shows the versatility of this round. I do not endorse any load mentioned there and suggest strongly to verify any advice given. http://handloads.com/loaddata/defaul...Powder&Source=
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April 13th, 2012, 01:52 PM #4
Re: Reloading 44mag
Quoted For The Truth..
Mag primers will help a lot with that much powder.
And I concur about the crimp. A nice roll crimp will help the burning powder to ramp up it's burn rate and pressures before pushing unburnt powder and bullet down the barrel. A loose or no crimp will blow more powder down the bore thus increasing the possibility of it not burning at all.
I use 15.7gr of BlueDot, CCI mag primers, and 240gr slugs and I'm consistently at 1650fps with my 10.5" Dragoon. Even though BlueDot is notorious for unburnt powder or burning dirty - if burnt at higher pressures it burns thoroughly and quite clean.RIP: SFN, 1861, twoeggsup, Lambo, jamesjo, JayBell, 32 Magnum, Pro2A, mrwildroot, dregan, Frenchy, Fragger, ungawa, Mtn Jack, Grapeshot, R.W.J., PennsyPlinker, Statkowski, Deanimator, roland, aubie515
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April 14th, 2012, 11:05 PM #5Grand Member
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Re: Reloading 44mag
Cav, when you started with 4227, you started with the all-time king of the unburnt powder. I've never had such problems with any other powder quite like the remaining granules that IMR 4227 left, especially with barrels under 10".
Aliant 4227, Win 296 are the most suitable powders I have found for 44MAG, and as has been stated earlier, the crimp is especially important in this round, particularly when approaching higher-velocity loads.
Flash"The life unexamined is not worth living." ....... Socrates
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April 14th, 2012, 11:26 PM #6
Re: Reloading 44mag
I have a love affair with IMR4227 and the .44 caliber. I`ve tried 2400, 296, but always come back home to IMR4227. IMR 4227 is a rifle powder and works well with .44 handgun loads but likes the heavier bullets in my experience, 240 grns and up.
I`ve only loaded down to 200 grn with this caliber and below that I would go with a faster powder. I think someone mentioned Unique which would be a good choice I think.
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