44 mag SRH Alaskan loads

[Anonymous]

I picked up a box of Hornady 300g XTPs and thought about running them through the Alaskan. This is a 2.5" barrel so no help from the barrel in the velocity department.

Anyone load for 44m snubs?

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Plenty of info on the 300gr XTP on the Hodgdon site: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

I would probably load with Universal or HP-38/W231 in a snubby, but that is just me. :D :D

 

[Anonymous]

Plenty of info on the 300gr XTP on the Hodgdon site: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

I would probably load with Universal or HP-38/W231 in a snubby, but that is just me. :D :D

I was looking for something that was calculated for the short barrel. I have a Speer book that has addition listings for them but I can't find it. Clay is often mentioned from what I remember.

HP38 has worked well in 4" 44 specials plus I already have some.

Thanks.

 

[anachronism]

Nothing is calculated for short barrels. The physics are the same as for long barrels, just the time in the barrel is difference. If it weren't so, everybody with short barrels would only be loading Bullseye or Titegroup. Load it like any other 44 magnum and test your results.

 

[WESHOOT2]

Not guessing: AA9.

 

[stevemb]

With the RH 's cylinder, that XTP just begs to be seated 1.755 OAL. My data, copied from a mag article yrs ago, uses H110/WW296. This in a 4 5/8 SBH.. stevemb

 

[David Bradshaw]

Suggest you speak to Hornady and Hodgdon tech for guidance.

I would not load fast powder with a bullet of so much inertia as the jacketed 300 grain .44. Also, you may want to consider a cast 290 or 300 grain WFN or LFN.

Unless you want top possible velocity----with concussion grenade blast----which comes with magnum ball propellant H110/296, suggest you look for a medium burn rate in the range of HS-6, HS-7, Accurate #7, possibly Alliant Blue Dot.

Particularly speak with Ron Reiber at Hodgdon, if he is there. Reiber goes way back at Hodgdon, and further back at Hornady. Reiber knows handloading and pressure testing intimately, as well as being a handgun hunter and knowledgeable on silhouette.

Do not try for velocity with fast powder like HP-38 (HP-38 is Win 231). Pressure spikes wreck guns faster than slow rise. In fact, except for a light charge under a 240 grain or lighter cast bullet, I will not allow HP-38/231 in my .44 magnums.

Please make those phone calls.
David Bradshaw

 

[Anonymous]

Suggest you speak to Hornady and Hodgdon tech for guidance.

I would not load fast powder with a bullet of so much inertia as the jacketed 300 grain .44. Also, you may want to consider a cast 290 or 300 grain WFN or LFN.

Unless you want top possible velocity----with concussion grenade blast----which comes with magnum ball propellant H110/296, suggest you look for a medium burn rate in the range of HS-6, HS-7, Accurate #7, possibly Alliant Blue Dot.

Particularly speak with Ron Reiber at Hodgdon, if he is there. Reiber goes way back at Hodgdon, and further back at Hornady. Reiber knows handloading and pressure testing intimately, as well as being a handgun hunter and knowledgeable on silhouette.

Do not try for velocity with fast powder like HP-38 (HP-38 is Win 231). Pressure spikes wreck guns faster than slow rise. In fact, except for a light charge under a 240 grain or lighter cast bullet, I will not allow HP-38/231 in my .44 magnums.

Please make those phone calls.
David Bradshaw

Thanks. I got the hi-velocity out of my system not too long ago but I'm done with those cannon loads.

I got a deal on the Alaskan but not so cheap I don't care if I bust it open.

 

[Rumrunner]

Garrett was making a load that was suited for the S&W 329. I see he has retired now, but sold his company to Ashley Emerson. I believe he had velocities cited for short barrel 44's.

 

[David Bradshaw]

Simmer Down and Rumrunner... Although both are .44 mags, the SRH Alaskan and the S&W M-329 occupy opposite ends of the loading manual. With guys talking about earthquake .500s, etc., the .44 Alaskan Derringer is so soft it has fur on it.

Not the M-329, however. That thing would turn me into a rattle about the same time it turned itself into a rattle. It is a far cry from a real Model 29. If one just must shoot an M-329 full house, he should expect some downtime. In the early days of S&W J-Frame Airweights, some folk considered them 100 or 200 shot revolvers. One may call an aluminum gun "scandium." That doesn't change the fact that scandium is a strengthening alloy, and the percentage of it used in aluminum is small. Perforce, the aluminum frame is doomed to a much shorter service life than a steel frame.
David Bradshaw

 

[Rumrunner]

Exactly. Garretts load was not a full bore mag load like most of his were. I referenced it because I believe he listed velocities in short barreled guns. This load was made mostly for the 329 because it didnt have the recoil of the heavier loads, yet it was a hard cast bullet so it still was a dependable stopper of dangerous game.