Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Suggested loads for the Lee 310 WFNGC from a 44 Magnum.

I would like to share with the group a little example of a couple popular 44 mag loads.

During my time as a Bear control manager, I bought a .357 mag King Cobra. Although I killed a few bears with it, it was lacking in a very big way on many of them. It made me uncomfortable to shoot the bears that were at point blank. Aftrr being hit there was still far too much fight in them.

I shortly after that bought a .44 magnum ruger Redhawk 7.5" barrel. With the fella that worked for me at the time we were able to get the heads of young pigs for a bait source on a population study we had to do. They were all frozen and about twice the size of a football.

On the way up to the management unit I suggested we see the difference on tissue close up that we could examine. So we stopped at a roadside stump, set a pig head on it. Then backed up to 20-25 yards and I put a bullet into the head with the 357 mag shooting 158gr softpoints.

The head rocked a little bit, but that was about it. If you blinked it might have appeared as a miss. Upon examination the bullet did not exit! So next we placed another Pig head on the stump.

I shot it with the 300gr garrett cast bullets, this was prior to his 310 grain loading. I'm not even sure he sold these to the public at the time. It was however no less amazing then his later rounds. At the shot the skull jumped up and rolled off the stump. It looked like a 1/2" auger bit drilled right through the skull.

The comparison or power between the 357mag and the .44 mag was significant. The hole was big enough to look through. As an additional comparison, I loaded a jacketed 240 grain hollow point into the redhawk because this was the "standard" much like using the 158 gr in the 357 was. It would be more apples and apples

Another pig head was on the stump, the redhawk fired and the head had exploded with meat flying through the air 20feet high. The skull was at the edge of the stump, but some of it was hanging by the hide and tissue down the side of the stump. The explosive nature of the HP was stunning. Here I really thought that that big hole from the 300 grain bullet was amazing. However it had nothing on this simple 240gr HP.

The amount of exploded tissue from that HP at about 1500fps was insanely powerful and destructive. As the years followed with use on Bears trapped, treed and or otherwise dispatched. The results remained the same. A very fast 240HP created more damage then the solid hard cast heavy bullets.

This is not always the case, bigger animals like Brown bears, Male wild boar, Bison, moose, bull elk, many species of African Game will be a more appropriate use for the big heavy bullets. Just as thinner lighter species are far more devastated by an explosive fast HP bullet.

When you see several nice size bears, or deer, antelope and cow elk, vanish into the bush after being hit with these massively powerful 300 grain loads it just makes you scratch your head. Then doing the same with a 240gr quality constructed HP as fas as possible from your gun. The impact it has on game is impressive. Less so on the bigger cow elk, but very much on a big black bear, deer or antelope.

No surprises there. I don't remember where I got it or why I had it, but I did something similar with a big block of modelling clay one time. It made me pretty sure .. as if there was any doubt .. that I don't want to get gut-shot with a Remington 240 grain JHP factory .44 load.

Effect on game .. well, mostly I'm hunting deer. I couldn't see a practical difference in speed of kill between a 240 grain JHP and a 300 grain LBT WLN. What I did see was a definite difference in meat loss to bloodshot. I quit shooting JHPs at game in the .44 and .45. .357 is a different story, I haven't been real thrilled by performance of cast bullets on game with it. (Same with .32 mag.)

Tom

I guess i gave the impression that I was looking for reduced load data. I should have been more specific and said that I wanted upper end loads, but maximum loads aren't necessary.

That said, tonight I had just enough time after work to load up 3 rounds and shoot them over the chronograph. Powder was 19 grs H110, bullet was seated to the rear crimp groove for an OAL of 1.685". Velocity at 10 feet was 1,060 fps fro. My 7.5" Redhawk and 1,380 fps from the 16.25" barreled Marlin guide gun.

My target velocity is around 1,150 or so from the Redhawk so long as accuracy is there. I'll try 20 and 20.5 grs H110 next and will probably try a couple other powders I have on hand, most likely Li'l Gun and Longshot and see how they do.

be sure to post the results on accuracy using a heavy bullet through the marlin, i am interested. Marlin's are .431, not .429. The guy at the L.A. Gun Club has written that that combined with the twist rate in the marlin means bullets heavier than about 240grains don't fly real well. I have some 300grainers that i haven't loaded up yet, curious to see what your marlin does.

Will do. The heaviest bullet I've shot through theMarlin before today is the Speer 270 gr Gold Dot SP. It seemed to shoot pretty well, but it's been so long since I shot a target with it I don't remember just how well.

I believe i have the same mould that you are using and need to go look. Which is where part of the interest is.
Interesting enough about a week ago i was in a discussion with a rather well known nationally pistolsmith and he made a comment about the youngins all going o heavy bullets in this caliber. His comment was you just didn't need much more that 240 grains with the right bullet and properly loaded. Now his wall was decorated with the heads of all kinds of african big game taken with one of his custom pistols. He certainly is friends with taffin, bowen, and some of the others. Interesting comment nomatter if one agrees or not.

For the most part I agree with the pistolsmith. In my case, I'm trying the heavies out of curiosity.

IVE USED THOSE lee 300 GRAIN GAS CHECK BULLETS SIZED .431 OVER 20 GRAINS OF H-110 ever since that mold first came out and its very accurate in my marlin carbine,(under 1.25 inch 3 shot hundred yard groups off the bench are common)
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/94...0-diameter-310-grain-flat-nose-gas-check

You clearly stated that you were not. You stated that you were not looking for a max load.

I finally got around to loading a quantity of ammo for this deer season using this bullet. I settled on a load of 21 grs of H110, large pistol primer and a Starline case. Bullet was seated in the rear crimping groove for a COAL of 1.685". Velocity at 10'from the muzzle of my 7.5" Redhawk is 1,220 fps and about 1,550 from my short barreled Marlin guide gun. I haven't accuracy tested this load in the Marlin, but it turned out to be pretty darned accurate from the Redhawk.

This target shows 8 total bullet holes - 4 fired at 25 yds and 4 more (2 in one oblong hole) fired at 50 yds. I was shooting from a rest with only the heels of my hand resting on a sand bag and the gun not touching the rest at all. I'm quite happy with the results and after firing 3 more shots to confirm zero after adjusting the scope down a bit I'm done with load development. Next step, putting one of these big, blunt beauties through some whitetail vitals.

I will tell you of my experience with 2400.
I loaded some of those lee 310grain gas checks with 17.5grains of 2400. I didn't really find any loads for that bullet anywhere with that powder charge and type of powder, but since a jacketed 300grainer showed a minimum load at around that number, i thought it would be all right. The idea being lead flies easier with less resistence through the barrel.
The revolver was a smith model 29 four inch.
O.A.L. Was 1.660
through a chrony:
1. 1217
2, 1249
3, 1207
4, 1180
5, 1193
6, 1226fps.
I had very sticky extraction, and what to me were flattened primers.
I uncorked the rest of them and lowered the charge to 13.5 grains of 2400, which i have seen used in several places.
Didn't seem to hurt the gun at all, but like i said real sticky extraction and the primer part.
I would be careful about running it up there with that powder.