Hodgdon Lil Gun, a .410 powder, is supposed to be a good load for .44 Mag in a rifle, where the slow powder (a bit slower than the old standby 2400) takes advantage of the longer barrel.
Anyhow, I ran some test loads yesterday; all loads were Starline Brass, CCI large pistol magnum primers, and a Speer 240 grain JHP loaded to 1.600 OAL. Chronograph results from a 96/44:
23.0 grains: 1763, 1793, 1780, 1796, & 1772 fps
23.5 grains: 1779, 1806, 1802, 1795, & 1799 fps
24.0 grains: 1798, 1833, 1836, 1825, & 1847 fps
24.5 grains: 1810, 1868, 1846, 1877, & 1853 fps
And, just for the heck of it, the fouling shot was 12.0 grains of Longshot with a Ranier Ballistics plated 240 grain.... 1435 fps
The best group was the 23.5 grain load at just under 2" at 100 yards if you don't count the flyer. Counting the flyer, it's a 3-1/2" group. Must be the rifl's fault - couldn't have been the shooter :wink:
Anyhow, I ran some test loads yesterday; all loads were Starline Brass, CCI large pistol magnum primers, and a Speer 240 grain JHP loaded to 1.600 OAL. Chronograph results from a 96/44:
23.0 grains: 1763, 1793, 1780, 1796, & 1772 fps
23.5 grains: 1779, 1806, 1802, 1795, & 1799 fps
24.0 grains: 1798, 1833, 1836, 1825, & 1847 fps
24.5 grains: 1810, 1868, 1846, 1877, & 1853 fps
And, just for the heck of it, the fouling shot was 12.0 grains of Longshot with a Ranier Ballistics plated 240 grain.... 1435 fps
The best group was the 23.5 grain load at just under 2" at 100 yards if you don't count the flyer. Counting the flyer, it's a 3-1/2" group. Must be the rifl's fault - couldn't have been the shooter :wink:
