.44 Special loads

[Tokarev]

H Universal to find a replacement for Unique as that supply seems to be nonexistent at this point.

A little bit of Universal data here, if you have not seen it already:

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44spec.htm

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[Crazy Dane]

A little bit of Universal data here, if you have not seen it already:

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44spec.htm

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Thanks, I have all of Taffin's works on the .44s and .38/357 printed out in a binder.

[jtcarm]

I’m rediscovering my 24-3 after some extensive work by David Fink and experimenting with this Accurate mold:

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...bullet=43-219A

I’m looking for between 900 & 1000 FPS.

So far promising results with Unique & HS6.

Right now I’m casting them with COWW + 2%, but once I find the right powder/charge, I’ll soften it with 50% pure lead. That should give a rivet effect, expanding to full-wadcutter diameter.

I went with the lighter bullet to mitigate recoil since I won’t be tackling anything bigger than feral hogs at 50 yards or less.

I used to hunt TX whitetails with full-house .44 magnums topped with an LBT 280-WFN. I quickly discovered it went though them like they were made of tissue.

All that speed & recoil is useless unless running an expanding bullet, or there’s a need for flat trajectory.

Elmer Keith’ cast his .44 SWCs using 16-1 alloy. At 9-10 BHN, it would be considered very soft by todays standards. They were so effective for him because at the speed he pushed them, they were expanding. The average commercial-cast .44 SWC isn’t going to expand, no matter how fast it leaves the barrel.

[okie john]

I’m rediscovering my 24-3 after some extensive work by David Fink and experimenting with this Accurate mold:

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...bullet=43-219A

I’m looking for between 900 & 1000 FPS.

So far promising results with Unique & HS6.

Right now I’m casting them with COWW + 2%, but once I find the right powder/charge, I’ll soften it with 50% pure lead. That should give a rivet effect, expanding to full-wadcutter diameter.

I went with the lighter bullet to mitigate recoil since I won’t be tackling anything bigger than feral hogs at 50 yards or less.

I used to hunt TX whitetails with full-house .44 magnums topped with an LBT 280-WFN. I quickly discovered it went though them like they were made of tissue.

All that speed & recoil is useless unless running an expanding bullet, or there’s a need for flat trajectory.

Elmer Keith’ cast his .44 SWCs using 16-1 alloy. At 9-10 BHN, it would be considered very soft by todays standards. They were so effective for him because at the speed he pushed them, they were expanding. The average commercial-cast .44 SWC isn’t going to expand, no matter how fast it leaves the barrel.

I agree 100% with your powder choices and your logic on external and terminal ballistics, and that mould looks ideal for the purpose as well. In reference to internal ballistics, I'd use the softer bullet for load work if you can. The results you get between it and the harder one may be different.

Also, pics of the revolver and a detailed description of the work? I'm not seeing them...


Okie John

[Malamute]

I’m rediscovering my 24-3 after some extensive work by David Fink and experimenting with this Accurate mold:

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_...bullet=43-219A

I’m looking for between 900 & 1000 FPS.

So far promising results with Unique & HS6.

Right now I’m casting them with COWW + 2%, but once I find the right powder/charge, I’ll soften it with 50% pure lead. That should give a rivet effect, expanding to full-wadcutter diameter.

I went with the lighter bullet to mitigate recoil since I won’t be tackling anything bigger than feral hogs at 50 yards or less.

I used to hunt TX whitetails with full-house .44 magnums topped with an LBT 280-WFN. I quickly discovered it went though them like they were made of tissue.

All that speed & recoil is useless unless running an expanding bullet, or there’s a need for flat trajectory.

Elmer Keith’ cast his .44 SWCs using 16-1 alloy. At 9-10 BHN, it would be considered very soft by todays standards. They were so effective for him because at the speed he pushed them, they were expanding. The average commercial-cast .44 SWC isn’t going to expand, no matter how fast it leaves the barrel.

Id guess Keiths bullets were not expanding, he often commented about the very good penetration on large animals, including shooting large bulls in the forehead and the bullets travelling back into the neck bones. I believe much of the effect on game is the large flat point. Having shot a few things with them, they cause bruised and bloodshot meat away from the entry hole an inch or more.

Im not sure modern tests reveal all aspects of the bullets effect on live tissue. people that have used dead animals to recreate shot effects they had seen on live animals report that even only dead an hour or two the effect is noticeably different than the wounds they saw on live animals. The testing media we have today is pretty good, but still not exactly like live tissue.

I think you will find a Unique load at around 8 to 8 1/2 grs for the 1000 fps slot. Im interested what you end up with for charge and velocity. I shoot mainly 9 grs Unique in the 44 mag, I was intending to make the 1000 fps point, Ive never chrono-ed them but available info suggests its close. Its a very good general purpose load, noticeably flatter shooting at 300 yards than the 44 spl loads at 800-850 fps with the same bullet. I havent yet but want to make a 44 spl load et the same velocity with same bullets.

Im tending towards lighter bullets in 44 recently. Im going to try the Lyman 429215 mold. With the number of results of shooting deer with 44-40 200 gr black powder loads at 1250-1300 fps and shooting all the way through normally, Im thinking thats enough bullet for most things Id shoot below being in the grizzly mountains task. Even at the lower velocity of the 44 spl, 850-1000 fps range, I think its capable of taking care of most needs.

John Linebaugh commented a number of times that he felt most commercial cast bullets were too hard. Besides the potential of breaking up more (brittle) on large bones, which he said he had reports of from his correspondents, he felt they leaded the bore more often than a medium hardness bullet.

[jtcarm]

A little bit of Universal data here, if you have not seen it already:

http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44spec.htm

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Beware the H4227 data. That powder is discontinued and the IMR flavor is not a grain-for-grain equivalent.

[jtcarm]

I agree 100% with your powder choices and your logic on external and terminal ballistics, and that mould looks ideal for the purpose as well. In reference to internal ballistics, I'd use the softer bullet for load work if you can. The results you get between it and the harder one may be different.

Also, pics of the revolver and a detailed description of the work? I'm not seeing them...


Okie John

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....83#post1474083