Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 magnum reloading question

Brand new to reloading. So this probably going to sound like a really stupid questions.

I'm look at reloading my 44 Magnum but what to start at 44 special levels for recoil reasons. However, looking at the 44mag reloading books, I'd have to go under the minimum starting load.

Does the mean, I need to by 44spec brass?

Or can I use 44mag brass and just use 44spec load quantities and be safe?

Thank you for your help!

First thing is to use powders that are suitable for low load densities. 231 or HP38 come to mind real quick, but I'm sure others can suggest powders as good or possibly better.

You can load the .44 Special loads in the Magnum brass, but velocity may be slightly lower due to the larger case volume, and that can be compensated for by a slightly larger charge. If you have a chronograph, it can guide you to book velocities.

It is not a problem to use .44 Special brass, either. The cartridges have the same relationship as .38 Special/.357 Magnum, in that the shorter cartridges can be fired in the longer chamber.

Trail Boss would be a good place to start with 44 mag brass. Check the web for recommended loads.

I agree 100% with Vic, I've down-loaded thousands of .44 Magnum brass to Special levels.

My first suggestion would be to not use Special "starting" loads but jump to high end loads as you don't want the pressure to drop too low and stick a bullet. This might not be a problem, but I've become rather cautious in my dotage.

Second suggestion would be to avoid the slower powders like the 4227's and 2400 if you are looking for light target loads. Someone will flame me for that, but really 231 already mentioned, TiteGroup, Unique, Universal and Trail Boss are all more appropriate. I've also used Red Dot and a half-dozen others with success.

The only thing I would to the above is to avoid powders like H110 and 296. They are not meant to be loaded down to slower velocities.

Thank you everyone for your help so far.

I have one pound of unique and one pound of 2400. That's it! Reloading components are tough around here for pistol powder!

Unique would work just fine...

Yeah, they are here, too. The good news is those 2 will do all you need to do.

Yep, 8.0 to 8.5 grains of Unique in magnum brass will push a 240/250 gr. bullet to 900 to 950 fps. depending on barrel length and whether or not a jacketed or cast bullet is used. This is a very comfortable load to shoot. With the two powders you mentioned, standard large pistol primers are what you will want to use. I like to use magnum brass even for reduced loads so I don't have an extra powder ring in the chamber to clean out. Just my way of doing it.

If you decide you want a little more power, 10.0 grains of Unique is a good medium load with the same bullets. Use your 2400 for max to near max loads. Have fun..........

8 grains of Unique with a 240gr Keith style cast semi-wadcutter is my go to .44 "lite" load. It's also very accurate in all of my .44 mag revolvers.

I load a lot of sub sonic .44 "mag", 1100 fps - 1050 fps, and have had the best luck with Universal. I have also tried H110 and magnum primers when using 300gr Barnes all copper bullets sub sonic with some success - know a guy who hog hunts "professionally" with suppressed .44 mags who uses H110 and 300gr XTP's exclusively for velocities of 1050 - 1100 fps. Remember with Trail Boss that it is for lead bullets only. Some of my sub sonic loads with Trail Boss and 240 gr Lead SWC produce 800 - 900fps. I am loading some "light" .44 mags now with 300gr Nosler JSP and Titegroup that should give a little under 1100 fps - I like big bullets at lower velocities for my .44 use most of the time, shoot a lot of 335gr Hard Cast ahead of Universal sub sonic, also. The Barnes bullets and H110 are the only loads I use magnum primers on, the rest just get Large Pistol Primers.

Just my results, and what works for me. As mentioned, anytime you load light like this, be careful of a bullet lodging in the barrel.

I've been reloading the .44 Magnum since late 60's. You've had good advice so far. Play with the powder charges at one grain intervals if you aren't happy with the gun's accuracy. I prefer cast lead bullets for reduced loads.
One of my favorite light loads I got from an Elmer Keith article. It is 5 grs. of Bullseye under a 250 gr. cast keith bullet. At about 750 fps. with "cream puff" recoil, it hits alot harder than you'd think.
The only thing you might find it that reduced loads won't shoot where your full power loads will. Many have found that the Big 44 works quite well with 240-250 gr. bullets at a mere 1000-1100 fps. however. E

In a mag case I like 9.0gr's of Unique and a 240-260gr bullet.




Travis

I have used 14 grains of the old 2400 with cast bullets. I have no idea what they clock though.

Unique is a good bet for special loads in mag brass, along with others listed above. I also know that clays works for cast bullets, along with HS-6, Longshot, 2400, and a several others. Playing with the pressure/velocity gamut by altering powders and charges is much of the fun of handloading, for me. Big bores and big bullets don't need speed to be effective for all applicable purposes, and loads can be tailored to niches, or one-size-fits-all.

Can't beat Unique for this purpose, especially since you have some. Starting loads can be whatever gets the bullet through the bore, up to some fairly good speeds, as it is forgiving in big cases. Once you've gotten Unique figured out, step up to the slower burner.

^^^^

This. Exactly.

I prefer Titegroup for all of my reduced loads. With 44 Mag brass, seven grains behind the 250 gr Lyman 429421 as sold by Western Bullet Co shoots very well in all of my 44 Mags.

My 240 SWC load of choice in mag brass of late has been 6.8 gr Int Clays. Guessing the speed is 950-1000. It dirties the brass a bit, but it's plenty accurate and mild for practice/plinking/utility. And I get a whole lot of shooting done with a little bit of powder.

Thank you, Gentlemem for all your help!

I have 500 240gr swc lead bullets from Meister.
CCI and WLP primers to try.
Have 100 once fired winchester 44mag brass.


Thank goodness for these frugal loads as I've only have 1 lb of Unique. Hope some more pistol powder come back on shelves soon!