First shots with new .44 Spl Bisley Flattop

[Teddydogno1]

I took my new Ruger FT .44 Special out to the range after work and gave it a bit of a workout.

First shots were Very high at 7 yards (barely on paper). I adjusted the rear sight down 6 clicks to no effect! Turns out the the rear sight adjusting screw was barely in and wasn't holding the sight leaf down at all. Corrected that to a good center-hold.

Next issue was that the base pine worked out during the second cylinder. After that, it didn't do it again. Something to keep an eye on.

Finally, after about 60 rounds, I had my first-ever sqiub load in my handloads. I've been handloading since I was about 16 with many thousands of handgun and rifle rounds. I had dusted off my Lee Pro 1000 progressive and was fighting priming issues and clearly missed the powder station with at least this one round. I felt the primer-only discharge and the bullet lodged in the barrel just enough to prevent turning the cynlinder. I didn't have a rod to try to tap it out, so my shooting of the .44 ended there (I was only going to shoot another 10 rounds probably anyway). [At home trying to tap out the bullet, I had some trouble and couldn't figure out why it seemed to be stuck so hard. Discovered that the cylinder HAD turned just a smidge and it was hitting the face of the cylinder, not just popping back into the charge hole. A little force allowed me to turn the cylinder to line up and it then came right out. No damage done.]

So here's a representative target, offhand at just 7 yards. Center group was first using my "standard" .44 Special load of a 250 gr Keith, 6.0 grains of Unique and a Winchester LPP (or a 240 gr SWC bullet...I load the same powder but don't always have the same bullets). Then I was also trying some Trailboss powder and had two different loads under a 240 gr SWC: 4.1 gr on the left and 4.9 gr on the right. I KNOW the Unique load works well, as you can see, but even "new Unique" is still smokey and dirty. I think the Trailboss has promise, but I have to say after this first experience I'm not loving it--couldn't really say why, just a feeling.

I've not been shooting a lot lately, so my shooting stamina is pretty low. I also wasn't seeing the sights very well that day. Not to make excuses, but this range is NOT good for precision shooting: it is indoors; the lighting is not good at all; you are two feet from "other guys" blasting away and barely putting holes in targets a yard wide and two long at 15 feet.

Overall, a good time at the range (I also shot my Mk I pistol and an ATI STG-44 .22 rifle that I hadn't had out before). The Bisley shoots well and I have several loads that it appears to like. I'll probably load up more of the heavier Trailboss loads and try to find a substitue for Unique in my "go to" load (have some Titegroup which I understand can stand in for Unique pretty well, but will need to be developed).

Any and all comments are welcome.

Rob

 

[Rclark]

Looks good to me! Always fun to have 'teething' problems out the gate . Just part of shooting. You need to try the Skeeter Load (7.5g of Unique/Universal under the 240-250g SWC). It is my goto load. You might want to try Universal if Unique 'bothers' you. I have no problem using Unique or Universal in my .44 Specials. They get cleaned at home anyway .

 

[Teddydogno1]

Ah...I left out that I am virtually OUT of Unique but have plenty of other powders. About an inch in my powder measure, so it is too low to meter. I have Universal (very new to me), Titegroup (never used it before), Blue, Red and Green Dots, 2400, Bullseye, 700x. Plus rifle powders, of course. To be clear, I'm not saying there is really anything WRONG with Unique...just looking to see if it can be replaced with something I have and that might be a little cleaner. : )

Edit: Hodgdon shows a MAX load of 5.6 gr of Universal with a 240 LSWC.

Rob

 

[Cholo]

That's some great shootin', Teddydogno1! You'll get the powder thing worked out.

I'll bet it shoots like a .38 with those light loads.

The Skeeter load is my load of choice for the Special.

Yeah, where would we ever be without the Skeeter load :roll: I have 3 dedicated .44 Specials; a Colt New Frontier, a S&W 696 no dash, and an old Charter Arms Bulldog. I get by just fine with 6.5 grs. of Unique and an appropriate SWC.

 

[Rclark]

Try Universal. You load it just like Unique. Check your loading tables and you'll find them usually with the same ranges (or very close). My experience has shown that indeed you can sub one for the other.

Example my .44Spec tests show :

6.0g __Unique, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 874fps
6.0g Universal, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 847fps

7.5g __Unique, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 993fps
7.5g Universal, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 1037fps

.44 Mag

8.0g __Unique, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 998fps
8.0g Universal, 240g SWC, CCI-300, 1001fps

I get by just fine with 6.5 grs. of Unique and an appropriate SWC.

I use 6.3g with 240g SWC in my CA Bulldog. Works good too. 7.5 though works fine as a general load (easy shoot'n yet hits with some authority) and if I need some heat (very rare) I like 17g of 2400 under same in .44Spec (the Keith load).... We each have our pet loads . Enjoy them any way you like ... that is what is great about reloading ... Choices!

 

[rangerbob]

I see where you were having priming issues with the Lee press. I have the same issues with the hand toold and use and own all four generations of the handtools. That's why I got a Dillon 550. I use 5.5 grains of TrailBoss in the 44 special with 240-250 bullets. At least with TrailBoss, one can tell if there is powder in the case. I use it in the .41 magnum &45 Colt as well. I have no complaint with any of the other powders mentioned, but with TB there is very little air space and the loads are very consitent. I have 2 S&W M24's, a 44 specail Vaquero, and 2 Flat top Blackhawks. Enjoy! Bob 8)

 

[Rclark]

Yeah, I have marked 5.5g of Trail Boss as accurate at 780fps load. I liked 6.5g a bit better at 874fps though. 240g SWC shot out of Ruger 5 1/2" .44Special Flattop for these velocities. Nothing wrong with TB except there is only so far you can go with it velocity wise. Extreme spread in both cases was around 40fps over the chronograph. FYI 4.5g is at 703fps.... True 'puff' load.

 

[Teddydogno1]

I hadn't realized that Hodgdon's load data was THAT conservative. They show a MAX load of Trailboss at 5.2 gr (or was it 5.4). As indicated above, their MAX for Universal was also WAY lower than several of you have mentioned for your "standard" loads.

Rob

 

[Cholo]

Most reputable reloading sources, as in manuals and powder companies, show loading data that's safe to use in most all .44 Specials. The heavier loads are fine to use in guns like the Ruger Blackhawk. For instance, my Lyman manual states 6.9 grs. of Unique with a 245 gr. SWC. For a 255 gr. SWC they state 6.6 grs. It doesn't mean you can't go hotter in your Bisley.

 

[Rclark]

For those 'new' to the .44 Special, check out the Treasure trove of .44Special Articles . Especially those by Brian Pearce, Seyfriend, Taffin. Lots of good reading and loads.


As for Trail Boss... Well, I've done a bunch of testing with this light fluffy powder . I've moved a bit outside the max in the manual because I could and was comfortable in doing so knowing my guns. For example, in .44Spec, my BH flattop is good to 25,000psi at least. Loads given in a loading manual are good to less than 15,500psi. So I have quite a bit of wiggle room. In .45 Colt, my flattops are good to 23,000psi and my test revolver 30,000psi .... My loads were not compressed loads with one exception. Basically up to touching the base of the bullet or a slight bit more. The exception is .44Mag, I loaded up to 9.5g which is a compressed load, but the Hornady Manual said 9.6g was okay under a 240g SWC (Quickload confirmed it was okay too) .... BTW, 9.6g of TB in a .44Mag case is almost to the top of the case before seating the bullet. Trail Boss does have a steep pressure curve, but as long as you don't compress it, you'll be fine from .38 to .45 Colt.... My take is if you are trying to get the last little bit of power out of TB, you are using the wrong powder. I was just trying to find accurate loads and try different primers with it for consistency sake over the whole range and a bit beyond for fun (I like TB). Basically kicks all it's wheels and see what pops out. Trail Boss is a 'wonderful' powder especially for beginner reloaders as really you just can't 'goof' up with it. Light loads are 'obvious' and a double load is overflowing the case. Then abide by rule of thumb to not compress it and your golden.

 

[CMH]

Had to sell my reloader while I was layed off and will be glad to get another to try the Skeeter load myself........... Im not real happy with factory ammo lol..............

 

[rangerbob]

rclark is right on with the info on TrailBoss. It works well in the old black powder volume style cases such as the 38 & 44 special, 45 Colt, 44-40, etc. I've used it in the 41 magnum as well. I even loaded some lite 10mm cast bullets for my Glock 20 with it. The load worked the slide and the brass landed at my shoes. A must have for reading is Keith's Sixguns, Taffin's book of the 44, and anything written by Skeeter. Bob!! 8)