I need .44Mag reloading advice

[pullnshoot25]

I just purchased a Taurus Tracker .44Mag to go along with my Winchester 94 Trapper .44Mag and I am very excited about reloading for the both of them. the only problem is, I need a bit of help.

I need a good load for the both of them to eat together. I was thinking the good ol' Elmer Keith load of 21 (22?) grains of 2400 with a 240gr cast wadcutter or hollowpoint on top, as this seems to be the tried and true .44spl load, although it is in a special case.

My questions to you, fellow levergunners, are as follows...

1) Is this a good general purpose load?
2) Will such a load be bad for the throat of my revolver due to the length being slightly shorter than a .44mag? (I heard this from some guy, I am just trying to verify it)
3) If this is not a good load, what load can you guys recommend?

Basically, I want the revolver to be a 25-50yd backup for the 100-200yd levergun. If I can get something that will work for both, then I will be very happy.

Also, anyone in SD county want to get together and split reloading supplies and whatnot? I have a press, scale, .30-30 and .44mag/spl dies. I am going to be adding a lead pot and bullet molds here pretty soon as well. Maybe we can work out a deal, the parentals don't want me reloading in their house.

Thanks guys!

[El Chivo]

I have a buddy who might be interested in the reloading stuff, he needs to get going and shoot more. He does have a workroom in the garage.

Are you coming to the Levergunner's Shoot? Several SD County people will be there.

Feel free to pm me if you like.

[2ndovc]

This doesn't really answer your question but

My Marlin 94P and OM Super Blackhawk both like 240 SWCs over 10.5 grains of Unique. Not a big bang but gets the job done. Both gus have other loads they shoot well but this combo seems to be the most accurate.

[Wrangler John]

Works for me, the only way to get a load is to experiment with several different powder charges and bullet combinations. You are trying to balance two completely different firearms here.

The 2400 loads always worked well for me in an old Ruger .44 Semi-auto carbine. They also worked well in every revolver and Contender. However 19.5 grains of 2400 is maximum with the Hornady 240 grain XTP for about 1,350 fps. Cast bullets will allow slightly increased charges, but start by dropping back 10% and work up. 2400 is different than when Keith was writing, so use current data.

Also use Winchester 296, it's very accurate. You need MAGNUM primers or Winchester WLP (marked for standard or magnum) with 296 - period, don't even try standard primers. 24.2 grains of W 296 is maximum with the Hornady bullet above, giving about 1,400 fps. Never reduce charges below the recommended starting loads in the manuals with this powder.

H110 is another good powder, although it's the same as W296 in different packaging, with some variation in lots. Accurate #9 is another good powder. Both use WLP or magnum primers.

Try Oregon Trail or Cast Performance Bullet Co. bullets. Use a heavy roll crimp on any bullet you use cast or jacketed. Those powders only develop consistent ignition with a heavy crimp, especially in the revolver. I recommend measuring your cases and trimming to the shortest length case in the batch, to make uniform crimps. Be sure to inside and outside chamfer.

Using .44 Special cases in the .44 Mag won't hurt the chambers, but possibly will build up a ring of lead and fouling in the longer chamber, making it difficult to fully seat a longer .44 Mag case. A good cleaning will restore function. There is no reason to assemble the loads in .44 Special cases, absolutely no advantage to it at all.

Try working up an accuracy load in the revolver first, then see how it shoots in the rifle - probably will work well. That's about all I know.

[jdad]

21gr of 2400 is just about max load. I try not to stress things that much. I have had exceptional accuracy with 19.5 gr of 2400 under a 240gr Laser Cast. If you want a powder that gives you almost the exact same velocity per grain weight as 2400, then you may want to try VV N110. It has none of the flash, blast, or messy soot that 2400 is so well known for.

[alnitak]

I'm not an expert, like many here on the forum, but have come up with a number of loads over the last couple of years that work well in my .44 Trapper and Ruger Vaquero combo. In addition to the loads mentioned for 2400, I also like AA #5 (10.4-12.5 gr) and AA#9 (17-19.5) with my 240 gr. SWC lead bullets. AA#9 is similar to 2400. I really like AA#5 though, since it's cleaner burning and more accurate (in my loads and guns) than the other two.

Early on, I decided to just download .44 mag cases rather than use .44 spl and avoid the whole "ring" business. It's worked well for me. I also load cowboy loads in the .44 mag cases (at lower levels than above). In those, I find that the AA#5 and AA#7 work better than 2400 or AA#9.

[Gun Smith]

Don't use any balloon head cases in 44 special when loading hot loads if you have any. I only use solid head cases in any caliber now days. Just a bit of advice.

[Grizz]

I agree there's no good reason to use spcl cases, it'll just foul the rifle chamber and slightly increase the bullet jump distance to the forcing cone in the revolver.

I gave up trying to get a handgun load to perform in the carbine because the difference in twist rates and feeding issues. I use heavier bullets than you mentioned. I think you can get something to work well because of the lighter bullet you're using.

I don't know what your Winnie twist rate is, but Marlin, bless their heart, uses 1:38 barrels and I can't even get mine to stabilize a 300g bullet.

My point is, as long as you keep the bullet weight down to the one that works best in your rifle's twist rate you should get good results with one load.