What's your favorite .44 Special load?

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Rclark

Hunter
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Jan 1, 2009
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3,533
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Butte, MT
When you compared 7.5 gr. of unique in 44 special brass to 8.5 gr. of unique in magnum brass; both with the same bullet, what kind of numbers did your chronograph yield?
Same chronograph recorded the following:

.44 Mag 6 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
8.5g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1053fps
.44 Special 5 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
7.5g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1033fps

.44 Mag 6 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
10.0g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1136fps
 
Last edited:

Bad Barlow

Blackhawk
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Apr 3, 2022
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Norcal
Same chronograph recorded the following:

.44 Mag 6 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
8.5g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1053fps
.44 Special 5 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
7.5g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1033fps

.44 Mag 6 1/2" barrel 240g SWC
10.0g Unique, CCI-300, AVG 1136fps
Very interesting!
 

buckeyeshooter

Blackhawk
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Nov 8, 2004
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856
Location
Ohio
I shoot 7 grains unique under a 200 grain cast. My gun is a Smith and Wesson 22 Thunder Ranch with 4 inch barrel. It chronos at 860 fps.
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
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Location
FL
I'm glad I saw this thread because it gives me hope. I've not had great accuracy using any weight of jacketed bullets in my 44Spl (but I do in my 44Mag). Sounds like I need to use cast bullets like I do in my 45Colt. I see several loads for cast in 240gr and 250gr in my load books, but the castings differ from they types I can find available. Is the consensus that as long as the cast bullet weight matches then I'm good to go (as long as book value is for cast but shape differs)?
 

HW11

Single-Sixer
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Apr 9, 2014
Messages
334
270 gr cast flat nose bullet pushed by over 17grs of H110. Won't say how much over. Work that to your own firearm as always. It will shoot through the deer we have here, which are around 120 - 130 lbs, long ways. Probably overkill.
 
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
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Alexandria, LA USA
I have to join the 7.5 gr Unique crowd, with the 240gr LSWC. I've never shot jacketed bullets in 44spl. Always saved them for the mag loads. I have started using 8gr Herco as a substitute for Unique. I picked up 4 one pound cans from a LGS going out of business a couple years ago and it works just as good.

I wondered if anyone else is using Herco for any handgun loads?
 

Rclark

Hunter
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Butte, MT
Herco does work just as good :) . I grabbed 1# can a couple of years ago. It's gone now, but found it worked well in every caliber I tested in. As you, in .44 Special, I'd load 8.0gr under 240gr SWC if I was still using it. Have plenty of Unique, so will continue to use that.
 

Paul B

Hunter
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Dec 4, 1999
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Tucson, AZ
Jimbo, I do not shoot jacketed bullets from most, if not all my handguns. I say from most because currently only my self defense handguns run jacketed. However, that may soon change as the supply of jacketed bullet dwindles.

I tried Skeeter's pet load in .44 Spl. brass early on before I had a handgun chamber to the Special. Made for a nice load for the .44 magnums. Was easy on the S&W 629 which is in semi-retirement due to it's inablitity to work with Elmer's load. (22.0 gr. 2400) Gun shot loose in 250 rounds. Sent back to S&W, returned fixed and crapped out again after a little over 200 Rounds. I have God only knows how many new and old model Rugers I have plus a couple of Redhawks in .44 mag. and the only problem I had was with the 5.5" Redhawk my late wife took over. Some form of debris somehow got inside the firearm and tied things up. My gunsmith just said something got inside but never said what he thought it might be.

Probably the easiest one to pack is the 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum. It has the smaller Blackhawk grip and frame and flat out beats hell out of my knuckle. A very painful gun to shoot with heave Elmer Keith type loads. Elmer probably would have loved it.
Paul B.
 

putnro01

Bearcat
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Dec 28, 2021
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10
Love the combo of a cast SWC and Unique. That's my favorite. Tried Bullseye, TiteGroup, 2400, 4227, and so on. Always come back to Unique.
 
Joined
Jan 10, 2005
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Alexandria, LA USA
Is the consensus that as long as the cast bullet weight matches then I'm good to go (as long as book value is for cast but shape differs)?

I would say if the bullet type and hardness are similar I would not hesitate to use the listed data and work the load up using the tried and true practice of starting 10% below max and working up. A 240SWC is a 240SWC and should shoot the same. Accuracy will vary from style to style of bullet, due to gas sealing and flight characteristics.
Where you can get into trouble is trying to use lead bullet data in loading jacketed bullets.
 
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