Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 44 mag powders for lighter loads

I've used both Universal and Titegroup with 240gr SWCs with great results.

I shoot 335 gr Hard Cast in my suppressed .44 mag Contender, and even at 1050 - 1100 fps, it does NOT feel like shooting a .22! Will also shoot through 2 hogs and keep going, and I really don't need more penetration than that. I have also shot full power .44 mag loads for many years in various handguns, just don't feel the need to push the limits of the gun or me that much anymore. Will be looking at a .480 Ruger this week, and I don't load for that one so it will probably be shooting full-power factory loads for at least awhile.

I just loaded some 44mag 240gr JHP and used HS6 powder. Referencing some handloaded articles by Pierce and Haviland shows a variety of mid range loads using medium burners as mentioned so far.

When in doubt about the 44 mag, do what Mackey Sagebrush says, as the guy knows what he is talking about....

Tom

Mack has certainly flung a fair share of lead downrange......it usually pays to listen to advice from folks like that.

I have used a lot of SR-4756 it is a very clean Unique. Alas I don't think it's still available.

The 44 Magnum is perfectly capable of shooting 300+ grain bullets at palm-numbing speeds. By the logic of some, one should therefore stick only to that stuff. Horse pucky I say! There is absolutely no reason not to spend even more time in practice with less than full steam loads. Less lead, less powder, less blast, less recoil; I don't know what's not to like? If a person needs to burn and launch the maximum loads a particular gun is capable of to somehow prove his manhood, I'm sorry.

W231 and Red Dot are two of my favorites for easy shootin' with 240-250 grain bullets in the 44s and 45s.