Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
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    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    (Dauphin County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Here is the Hornady FTX 225 Gr. Out of a 7 1/2" Redhawk. Through two gallon jugs of water a basspro catalog and captured in the 3rd-gallon jug of water. The bullet certainly expanded and the copper jacket did separate but both lead core and jacket were in the 3rd-gallon jug and passed through a bass pro catalog. TRYING TO POST PICS HAVING DIFFICULTY.

    Try These links to see pics

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/17RH...ew?usp=sharing

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yEg...ew?usp=sharing
    Last edited by PAwhitetailbowhunter; August 5th, 2020 at 03:18 PM.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Richboro, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Quote Originally Posted by PAwhitetailbowhunter View Post
    Funny you ask...I was just loading up the 225 grains FTX today with 21 grains of W296.

    Is that a load for a .44 mag? If so without doing any research (so check) that sounds like too low of a charge. H296 and H110 need a full charge to burn safely. The older manuals had a special warning saying that for these powders your start load should be max -3% not like max -10% for the other powders. And to complicate things the modern manuals now list max loads much lower than the minimum safe load 20 years ago! But lets get real, one session over a chrony will tell you.

    Let us know but I will bet you are not within 300 FPS of the expected velocity.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
    (Luzerne County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Hodgdon web site lists 21.5gr of 296 as the max for that bullet, so it's not too low.

  4. #14
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    Apr 2012
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    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    (Dauphin County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Quote Originally Posted by Delkal View Post
    Is that a load for a .44 mag? If so without doing any research (so check) that sounds like too low of a charge. H296 and H110 need a full charge to burn safely. The older manuals had a special warning saying that for these powders your start load should be max -3% not like max -10% for the other powders. And to complicate things the modern manuals now list max loads much lower than the minimum safe load 20 years ago! But lets get real, one session over a chrony will tell you.

    Let us know but I will bet you are not within 300 FPS of the expected velocity.
    Screen Shot 2020-08-06 at 12.08.04 AM.jpg

  5. #15
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    Richboro, Pennsylvania
    (Bucks County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Fair enough. The books says it is a max. But let us know how it chrony's and see if you get anywhere close to those velocities. Also check the velocity spread. When W296/H110 is not loaded to max the velocities are all over the place.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    North East PA, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Quote Originally Posted by PAwhitetailbowhunter View Post
    Did you trim the cases like they recommend? I guess the OAL is too long for a standard chamber. I never trimmed mine since I only shoot them out of my SRH and the full length cartridge fits my gun. I believe the reduced powder charge is due to the shorter case length and lower case volume. Since I never cut my cases I loaded mine above the recommended charge for the FTX bullet. I have to check my book to see the exact numbers I loaded for COL and powder charge. For a standard JHP bullet they recommend:

    Win 296 COL 1.575 Diameter .429 23-25 Gr Vel 1468-1617 fps

    This is the powder charge I went by and seated to the cannelure. I stayed toward the low end of this range. I don't recommend this since it doesn't specifically say it in the manual. The way I see it, the only difference between the bullets is the length. Shooting it out of my revolver is not an issue. It's nowhere near touching the rifling or the cylinder wouldn't close. I could see how they could possibly blow up in a rifle if jammed into the rifling or just not fit. Also the SRH is so overbuilt for the .44 magnum round I think this is completely safe. I haven't seen any over pressure signs in fired brass and the cases are easy to extract.

    I came to this conclusion looking at the reloading data for different weight bullets and the FTX numbers were extremely low compared to all the others. Just something to think about. If you blow up your gun, don't blame me.

  7. #17
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    Jan 2013
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    Richboro, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    W296/ H110 is kind of a unique powder. It is very slow for a straight walled pistol cartridge and needs to reach a certain pressure for it to burn efficiently. That is why the older manuals said start at max -3%. For cartridges like the 44 Mag or a hot 45 Colt load that means 100% case capacity and preferably slightly compressed. You can not fit enough powder in these cartridges to get into pressure problems (famous last words but I am correct). If you are not loading these powders to at least 100% case capacity then use another powder (try 2400). It is also probably also the safest powder to push in a straight walled case if you are an experienced reloader and have a chrony.

    Like I mentioned earlier. I would be very interested in hearing about the actual velocity of this load. And my -300 fps guess still stands.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    (Dauphin County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    Quote Originally Posted by Yoder View Post
    Did you trim the cases like they recommend? I guess the OAL is too long for a standard chamber. I never trimmed mine since I only shoot them out of my SRH and the full length cartridge fits my gun. I believe the reduced powder charge is due to the shorter case length and lower case volume. Since I never cut my cases I loaded mine above the recommended charge for the FTX bullet. I have to check my book to see the exact numbers I loaded for COL and powder charge. For a standard JHP bullet they recommend:

    Win 296 COL 1.575 Diameter .429 23-25 Gr Vel 1468-1617 fps

    This is the powder charge I went by and seated to the cannelure. I stayed toward the low end of this range. I don't recommend this since it doesn't specifically say it in the manual. The way I see it, the only difference between the bullets is the length. Shooting it out of my revolver is not an issue. It's nowhere near touching the rifling or the cylinder wouldn't close. I could see how they could possibly blow up in a rifle if jammed into the rifling or just not fit. Also the SRH is so overbuilt for the .44 magnum round I think this is completely safe. I haven't seen any over pressure signs in fired brass and the cases are easy to extract.

    I came to this conclusion looking at the reloading data for different weight bullets and the FTX numbers were extremely low compared to all the others. Just something to think about. If you blow up your gun, don't blame me.
    The trim length listed in the Hogdons Load data is standard length 44 Mag Brass 1.280". I did not trim my brass and looks like Hodgdon's didn't either. It worked fine in my Ruger Redhawk. I know the Hornaday Factory 44 Mag ammo using the FTX is trimmed to 1.255" so that they cycle properly in a lever action. I will say that 21 grains of W-296, while close to max, did seem to be rather light on felt recoil compared to what I am used to when shooting max loads of w-296 or H-110 with other 44 Mag Bullets and other magnum calibers using those powders.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Dillsburg Area, Pennsylvania
    (York County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    I carry my S&W 686 6" Barrel open sights I have it sighted in to 70 yards and if I do my part it's going to drop a deer within that distance.

    Underwood Ammunition 180 Grain Lead Flat Nose


    • 1,400 FPS Muzzle Velocity
    • 180 Grain
    • Flat Nose Bullet
    • Nickel-plated Brass Casing
    • Boxer Primer
    • 783 ft-lbs. Muzzle Energy


    I hunt with my rifle but always have the revolver for close up shots.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Every day's a Saturday

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Allentown, Pennsylvania
    (Lehigh County)
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    Default Re: Handgun Hunting for Whitetail- Gun, bullet, load, range??

    This year I am going to be hunting with my Magnum Research BFR 6.25" barrel chambered in 500 JRH.
    Load will be a 440gr RFNGC (Leadhead Bullets) pushed by 16.5gr of Longshot. I haven't chrono'd this load yet but I expect it to be around 1150-1200 FPS.

    The sight is a Holosun HE507-GR red dot.



    Under field conditions with this setup I am good to about 80 yards.

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