.44 mag powder choices

[Dufus]

With the narrow ~1.0 grain window off the H110/W296 I think I'm going to avoid that. Seems a little touchy to be using through the Uniflow.

Don't be bashful about either one of them. They are great powders for the 44 Mag. I have been pushing out loads with the Uniflow for nigh on to 43 years with those two powders and they meter fantastically accurate.

4227 is a great powder for the caliber as well, but I don't get the velocities that I do with H110/WW296.

 

[totaldla]

Add Enforcer to your list

AA#9, Enforcer, 2400, H110/296, LilGun

Everything except 2400 works best with a magnum primer. Absolute highest velocity will be with H110/296 & LilGun.

 

[Nick_C_S]

I had great luck with W296/H110. Makes bullets go fast and smells good burning . But it does have the drawback of not performing well when you turn it down. If you only want wide-open-throttle, it's a great way to go.

But now that I'm a little older and don't care for the recoil so much; I moved down to 2400. Won't quite get to top velocity, but is much more versatile by behaving nicely when turning it down a little.

 

[Jbotto]

Ok, another question: For those of you who are recommending H110/W296 for speed, is there anything I should worry about as far as bad leading with cast bullets (BHN~18)?

 

[riverratt]

The over book max load of H-110/296 that I mentioned earlier pushes that 265gr NON-GAS CHECKED bullet (I actually said it was a 260 gr pill in my last post) an average velocity of 1434 fps, taken from a 10 shot string from my 7.5 in Blackhawk. My bullets are cast at around a BHN of 12-13. When I shot with traditional lube I uses ben's red (see cast boolits page for info on this lube) and had no leading. I now powder coat everything with better results.

The key to eliminate leading is bullet fit. Without proper fit you will lead your barrel... PERIOD!! It doesn't matter how hard or soft your bullet is. You need a bullet that is at least .001 OVER groove size. Your cylinder throat need to be reamed to about .001 over bullet diameter. EX. My groove dia. Measures .4295 my bullets measure .432 and my cylinder throats have been reamed to .433.

Before I really had an idea of what I was doing I was shooting the lee tl 240 gr bullet sized to .430 in my gun. My barrel had a nice layer of lead covering it after 20 or so shots of full power loads using 2400 or H-110/296. Then I tried some 4227, that powder cut my leading down dramatically. I feel the reasoning behind this is that it is a slower powder which doesn't "slam" the bullet into the rifling as hard allowing it to engage the rifling without skidding.

 

[Road_Clam]

I played around with mild cowboy loads in my 357 mag and my 460 mag but in the end i saw no added advantage of light loads. If i am in the mood for a mild recoil range trip i just grab a more approiate gun such as my SA 1911 in 9mm. The exception is when my wife wants to shoot my 357, she prefers mild loads. So where i load full bang my go to mag powder is H110. Like others commented you need to stay close to max loads (or load no less than 90% case capacity). H110/W296 do not like excessive air space within the case.

 

[Nvreloader]

JB

You might want to try this trick, it may help,
made very consistent loads with Win 296/2400 powders,
in my scoped 29, 8-3/8" bbl, I use for hunting.

You will have to punch the primers out before hand,
I use a universial RCBS decapping die, fits 22 cal on up.

When you resize the cases, do NOT use the expander plug, to decap afterwards,
this will promote a stronger bullet pull,
providing all the resistance to the bullet possible in the case neck.

Then use a .357 expander pistol die to just slightly expand the inside of the case mouth,
to allow the bullet to be seated, without shaving the bullet bases,
reload as normal and when you crimp, you'll remove the case mouth slight belling etc.

I use this method on all my pistol (straight walled cases) when loading for certain powders like, 2400/296 etc.

Tia,
Don

 

[Jbotto]

Thanks Don, I'll maybe have to give that a try later.

I made it to the gunshop today and was really looking for 2400. They had none in stock, so onto the next choice of either H110 or W296. They had both with the Winchester powder being a dollar less per can. So that's what I went with for this project. I received my 500pc of Starline brass in the mail today, I picked up my powder, found a brick of magnum large pistol primers, and now just have to wait a few weeks for my bullets to get here. Today's been a good day! Oh, and I scored a like new RCBS Uniflow at the gunshop's "used table" for $30 in box. Hard to complain about any of this!

Thanks for advice and conversation about this project guys! I really appreciate it!

 

[Dufus]

When you resize the cases, take the expander plug out, before sizing,......

All the handgun dies that I have or have seen do not have an expander plug in the sizing die. Am I missing something????

 

[stagpanther]

How times r a changin--wasn't too long ago H110/W296 was nigh impossible to find for a couple a years and worth their weight in gold--now it's meh, it's OK

Am I missing something????

an expander die.

 

[Hunter Customs]

My go to powder for both the 44 and 357 mag cartridges has always been heavy doses of 2400.
This is partly because I am a big fan of Elmer Keith, I still enjoy reading his writings when ever I can find them.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

H110/W296 w/ magnum primers for heavy loads. Boom!

 

[ShootistPRS]

H110 and WW296 are the same powder under different names and are simply the best powder for 357 and 44 magnums in my opinion. They provide the highest velocity and the best accuracy in my guns. I have been using these powders for 40+ years in my 357 and 44 magnum with the original higher pressure loads that were originally the SAAMI standard before the pressures were lowered twice to make them compatible with weaker pistols.

 

[Real Gun]

Without gas checks you will be pushing lead bullets too hard. Good luck with that. I can't do it. My mid level load for 240 lead, what I call "cowboy" for my Sauer Montana Marshall, uses 9.5 grains of Unique and should be able to stop anything that doesn't really require a heavier gas check or jacketed bullet. My hunting load, an activity that is only in theory for me, uses a 300 grain XTP.

I have been adding alox to these lead bullets, which I bought from Oregon Trail (Lasercast) hardness 20 or higher. They lead like crazy. Alox helped. Coated bullets didn't work well either.

My favorite high powered load is IMR4227 but I am also a big fan of Enforcer. I was impressed with my trial of H110 also (kaboom!). AA4100 is the same as Ramshot Enforcer. I have an adequate supply of A2400, but it doesn't need the supply of large magnum primers that I would like to work off a bit. I like it in 357 Mag. with small primers. I save my AA#9 for 327 Federal Magnum, which is a great match with 32-20 lead.

 

[Real Gun]

Am I missing something????

an expander die.

Don is missing a roll crimp die or a real "roll" with the one he has. All that neck tension business is for loading semi-autos and necked cartridges typical of rifles.