It has begun!

[Squatch]

Last night I sat down at my bench and started setting up my reloading stuff and built a few dummy rounds to check die set up before I add powder and primers. I used several similar factory loads to compare against. These are the 1st bullets I've built since I used to reload with a friend in the early to mid '90's!
The 3 on the left are very close and will be used for now as dummys to check cycling and fit in the rifle. The one on the right I think is just about perfect on bullet depth and crimp and will be a set up pattern for now. My dies are set for this.
44 mag


I have a bunch of clean cases. Last night I:
Set up the sizing and decapping die. I then sized and deprimed about 80 clean R+P 44 mag cases.
Cleaned the primer pockets.
Used my Lee handheld case trimmer and trimmed and deburred all the cases. It didn't take much they were once fired.
I then set up my Expanding die and used the .430 lead cowboy expanding plug and expanded a few cases to check fit. Perfect for my .430 hard cast lead SWC 240gr. No shaving of lead and nice just snug fit.
Then I set up the bullet seating and crimp die. This took a few tries and quite a bit of time. I built some dummies and compared the crimp to some factory cartridges. I think I got it just right. Bullets sit right at 1.6" OAL and the crimp is tight and lines up perfectly with the canalure of the bullets.

Next step is to load a few live rounds and shoot them over a chrono with someone standing nearby in case something goes wrong. If they feel good I'll load a few more and shoot them at 50 yds for accuracy out of both the rifle and revolver.

For now I'm going to keep it simple. I have several bullets for the 44 including 500 Alpha Bravo hard cast 240 gr SWCBB. I'm going to just stick with these for the time being.

I have a couple of bottles of Unique. I'm NOT going to start reloading with HOT 44 mag loads. I have a couple of manuals and all list a wide range for this powder. Plus I've been reading a lot. It seems Unique is very versatile and forgiving.

In my reading it seems 8.5gr and 10gr are very popular loads under 240gr lead bullets with regular primers. These loads fall in the middle in most of my data. So I think I'll build a few of each and try them out.

I'm basically looking for something with enough punch to reach 100yds accurately. But mild on the hands in the revolver.

Has anyone here used these loads in 44 mags? I welcome your feedback.

[Steve51]

I will share my experience with Unique in my .44 magnum rifle.
When I first started shooting .44 magnum with my handgun, I used 10.3 grains of Unique with 240 grain plated RNFP bullets. They seemed to work fine in my Super Blackhawk. When I purchased my Henry Big Boy .44, i used the same rounds in it. I could not get them to group worth a nickel. I did some research and evidently some powders that do not fill the case well are position sensitive (not sure if Unique falls into that category). Anyway, I went back to my range and did some more shooting, this time taking note of how I held the rifle before shooting the next round. If I consistently held the barrel up and then came to my shooting position, I could get a decent group but if I pointed the barrel down and then came to position the shot would not fit with the group. I am not saying this was very scientific - just my experience.
Anyway, I purchased some 2400 (a slower magnum powder) and my groups got much smaller and more to my liking. I am having trouble getting 2400, so I recently purchased some Accurate #9 that I will try when the 2400 is gone.
I also had good groups with IMR4227 but it seemed pretty dirty to me.
I use a lot of Unique but it did not work for me in the Big Boy for magnum loads.

Hope you have a better experience.

[Squatch]

Thanks for the response. It's my understanding that Unique is not position sensitive and that's why many use it for light loads. The link in my Data thread talks about that. But like anything you read YMMV. So I'm open to any info. For the hot mag stuff I'll probably use H110. I have some and from back in the day we had a sweet load with 23grs of that behind a jacketed 240 hp bullet. I just shot the last of them up over the chrono. Been holding them for years.

I also have some Tite-group. But for now one powder at a time.

Just looking for modest loads at the moment. I still have several boxes of factory mag stuff.

[Travlin]

For light loads you might want to check out Trail Boss as it is designed to fill up handgun cases,.44 and .45 Colt .

[Squatch]

I've heard good things but it's unobtainium around here. I don't really want to order powder online. Access to powder is bad here in the Peoples Republic of Maryland. The Gettysburg show had a huge powder vendor there. I'll try to hit the next one in late May. I'm looking for another powder for the 45/70 I can't find as well. 5744

[Squatch]

Tonight I loaded "25" 44 mag rounds. Odd number for what I'm doing but it left me 50 prepped cases to load the winner in.
10 rds 7.5 gr of Unique.
5 rds 8.5 gr
10 rds 10 gr.
All are 240 gr hard cast SWCBB and use Winchester WLP primers.

I set my powder measure just a tad light. And then used the powder trickler to top off the load on the digital scale. Then verified on the beam scale. I weighed every load spot on. I figure this tested the scales against each other and they stayed right on. Though the digital is sensitive to slight shifts of position of the tray.
I was pleased with the seating and the crimps. Shooting will be the real test. This stuff is time consuming when you 1st start out and triple check everything. Better safe than sorry!

If you put all my legit loading manual info together this powder should be good and safe behind 240gr lead bullets from 6 grs to 11.7 grs. From what I'm reading you can probably go higher but for higher power levels I would switch powders personally. The info varies greatly from book to book. I understand that the old Skeeter Skelton 44 spl load was a 240-250gr hard cast with 7.5 grs of Unique. Most say in a 44 spl this is technically a +P spl load. His 44 mag load was 8.5 grs. From my reading these should be at the top end of a soft Cowboy action type rnd.

I plan to shoot 5 each 7.5 and 10 gr in the rifle and pistol just for feel and function. Then I'll check the bore for leading. If one stands out I have 50 prepped cases waiting to be loaded for further testing.

The disclaimer: when reloading the responsibility is YOURS! it's up to you to know your Guns, data, and equipment. I'm just reporting what I'm doing and make no recommendations of loads or equipment. Neither myself nor this website is liable if you follow something I did and bad things happen. I am just starting out with this.

[Squatch]

I got to shoot my 25 test rounds today. I have to say I'm quite pleased. All did well.

I shot over my chrono at 25yds. I shot 1/2 through my BB and 1/2 through my 10.5" Ruger Super Blackhawk. I didn't feel I was shooting my best but well enough for some quick data. I haven't shot the SBH much in a while and don't really like the new front sight. Just wanted to see if I saw any trends. I did. When I shot the 7.5gr loads I shot 5 rds through the BB. When I went to look I only found 3 holes. In 2 places I had shot the same hole once I looked close. Not bad for 1st reloads!. They 8.5gr I think shot even tighter. But I only had 5 of them (2 SBH,3 BB). The 10gr loads started to open up. This seems to mimic the data on this site.
http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm
Velocity wise I also got similar numbers.
I had a couple of flyers with the SBH. All me!

In the SBH the 7.5 + 8.5 were not abusive at all but were stiffer than a cowboy or 44 special round. Considering 7.5 grs is a HOT 44 spl. Once I got up to 10gr I was pushing mid 1,200fps in the SBH and my old arthritic hands felt a little sting. Not abusive but these are moderate not light mag speeds for a 240gr bullet. Remember I have a big heavy 10.5" bull barrel. A lot softer shooting than a shorter gun.

I shot the revolver 1st. I figured the SBH is crazy strong and at arms length. If something went wrong it was a hand not my face like the rifle might be. I was in the woods by myself! Remember I haven't loaded for almost 25 years. No worries though.

In each gun I shot 5 rounds of 7.5. Then cleared the weapon and ran a dry patch down the barrel to wipe out soot and checked the bore for leading. I did this at each level. No leading at all in either weapon. No pressure signs on any of the cases as well. The rounds were slightly sooty but no real filth. These are lubed lead bullets. So no complaints on that score.

So the results:
240 gr bullet. 7.5 gr Unique
10.5" Super Blackhawk
1024 fps
1026
1010
1038
1007

Big Boy
1119 fps
1099
1088
1089
776 Probably a light load.

It's a fairly fast powder. Numbers tell me that at this load level it's all burning in the barrel of both guns. The speeds are very close.

8.5 gr Unique
SBH
1106
1123

BB
1215
1222
1226

Just enough powder to get a longer burn in the rifle.

10gr Unique
SBH
1269
1248
1238
1260
1225

BB
1007
1314
1353
1363
1366

Into the MAG zone with these.

Revolver target. I'll take credit for the wide spread.


Rifle target.


A sharpie circle is 7.5gr
With a tail up is 8.5 gr
With a tail down is 10 gr

When I shot the loads I loaded 5 in the cylinder or magazine to check my crimps. No issues.

My quick conclusions are 10 grs is too hot for these rds in both MY guns for accuracy. Funny this the starting load in the Lyman cast manual.

7.5 + 8.5 are sweet loads. I think I may build 50 more in either 8.5 or maybe 9 grs.

I'm guessing that 6 or 6.5grs will be a great light load in my 44 spl cases. I'll start there when I get to those.

It seems that I can shoot these "hard cast" bullets to at least the high 1,300's without leading issues.
http://alphabravobullets.com/
I also have some coated versions of similar.

With a little practice on the scale I should be able to get rid of the couple of off numbers.

Read my disclaimer in last post. You reload at your own risk. My info for demo purposes only.

[Squatch]

I have to correct myself here. I just cleaned both guns. Both had some miner leading at the throat area. Nothing a bronze brush wouldn't fix. But enough I got some glitter after brushing, especially in the SBH. So I'll keep the next batch under 8.5 grains and see what happens.