44 Mag Plinking Load Request

[sawacs]

Hello fellas..

I have been reloading a bunch of 44 Mag 240 gr LSWC plinking loads and was wondering what you guys use..

Basically, I am loading for volume and not necessarily accuracy. Currently, I have loaded 500 rounds of 44 mag this weekend with 6.2 grains of w231 powder and winchester large primers. I have another 1500 rounds to go on the 44 mag side and was wondering if any of you had any alternative loads that might be useful... Im trying to keep the speed down since these are always a plinking round. However, I would be entertained by a low velocity, somewhat accurate, round..

Also, I am in the same situation with 38 special as I am currently in the process of cleaning 2k of once fired winchester brass.

My wishful loads are as follows..

38 SPC=158 gr rnfp.......plinking load

38 SPC=158 gr lswc.......plinking load

44 mag=240 gr lswc.......cowboy/plinking load

44 mag=240 gr lrnfp......cowboy/plinking load

My current powders are Bullseye and W231 and I am thinking about adding Unique..

Advice would be appreciated,

Shawn

[Joe4d]

Better accuracy is gonna come from filling the case, bulleseye and 231 probably arnt bestr choices, Unique will be better its a fairly high volume powder and a bit slower so will use more. There is no reason not to have superb accuracy as well as light recoil. check out CAS forums,,, cowboy action shooting, lots of experience on loading light but accurate loads in big revolver cases.

I would expect Trail boss, Universal, Unique, maybe WST to work well,

[Modoc]

Sawacs,

I used to shoot the 44 Russian Extra Long (Mag) in SASS. I started out using a 240gr cast Semi-wad cutter and 6.0gr of Unique with a roll crimp in the crimp groove of the bullet. I have gone on to using Trail Boss for my reduced loads since it is even bulkier than Unique. Best bet is to look at the Aliant and Hodgodon web pages under Cowboy Action.

For the 38spl, I have been loading 4.0 gr of Unique, crimped in the crimp groove. Both are ignited by Winchester primers.

[regal41]

For light loads in the 44 Mag with 240gr LSWC I use 6.4gr of Win 231 and 7.6gr of Unique. My preferred light load though is 6.0gr of 700X.

For plinking loads in the 38 Spc with 158gr LSWC I use 3.5gr of Bullseye or 3.6gr of Win 231.

Enjoy.

Randy

[sawacs]

Fellas,

I wanted to say thank you for the replies and advice.. It is funny that I have went from bullseye, 231, unique, and then to trailboss powder and will probably stop with trailboss as it meters perfectly in the 650 with absolutely zero powder spillage.. To top it off, TB fills the 44 mag case up so I can create a semi cowboy load using a 44 mag case: I love this stuff! From here on out, I really cannot see trying a different powder other than TB although I have a substantial amount of 44 special loaded with "bullseye" and "unique".

Cheers,

Shawn

[parisite]

6.0gr of Bullseye is hard to beat behind a 240gr LSWC in 44 Mag for a plinking load. Case filling or not makes no difference to Bullseye. Lots cheaper to use than Trail Boss also.

Edited September 7, 2011 by parisite

[3gunnah]

Clays is also a great powder for low recoil loads in .44 mag and special cases. It also has some of the lowest pressures.

[TonyT]

Trail Boss powder will provide nice mild plinking loads with either lead or plated bullets. You will obtain lower velocity with a plated bullet of the same weight using the same powder charge. I tend to use the minimum loads on the Hodgdon website for lead bullets and approach the maximum loads with plated bullets.

[g56]

I've been using Trail Boss in 38 special for the last 3 or 4 years, I tried it for 38 spec loads for Cowboy Action and I really like it. On my 38 special loads I intentionally dispensed a double load to see what it would look like, it filled the case to the very top, leaving no room for a bullet, so it assured me that there was no reasonable way to double charge a case except intentionally, since you would have to compress the powder just to set a bullet in place.

I need to load some more 44 mag loads for plinking and shooting at paper targets, and figured I'd try Trail Boss for that.

As far as cost is concerned, I had read on some of the cowboy forums about how people thought it would be more expensive to load than most other powders, 231 as an example. So one evening I took the time to figure out how much it would cost using my standard 231 load, compared to my Trail Boss load in the same caliber, the price difference was pretty substantial, it was about 2 or 3 cents per hundred rounds more expensive to load Trail Boss compared to 231. Moving up to 44 magnum plinking loads, cost would probably skyrocket to maybe...5 cents a hundred.

Now I'm pretty cheap, but I figure its worth the incredibly small difference in cost, if nothing else for the 0.00% chance of a double load happening.