Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading .44 Load Results

A few days ago I tested three different .44 loads: .44 Russian, my ".44 Special +P", and .44 Magnum. Primers were all Winchester Large Pistol. All bullets used were coated cast lead SWC Keith style 240 grain. Gun used for firing all loads was a 4.25 inch barrel S&W M-69 .44 Combat Magnum. Results were:

.44 Russian - 4.2 grains Titegroup - average of 25 rounds fired - 744 FPS average

".44 Special +P" - 7.7 grains Universal - average of 20 rounds fired - 961 FPS average

.44 Magnum - 10.1 grains Universal - average of 25 rounds fired - 1125 FPS average

Accuracy was very good with all loads. The Russian load had very mild recoil. Frankly, I had hoped for and expected an additional 75-100 FPS for the Russian load.

Note that the ".44 Special +P" load is not an officially recognized load and should not be used in pre-1950s era .44 Special handguns, nor in any Charter Arms .44 Special chambered arms.

I like to run some factory loads through my guns to use as a benchmark for my handloads. I'm wondering what kind of MV you would get with a factory 240 gr 44 Mag. out of that short barrel.

I think I chronoed a factory Privi-Partisan .44 Mag through it at one time. I'll look back through my notes and see if I recorded it.