Cowboy loads for a 44 magnum

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  • Last Post 01 December 2021
99 Strajght posted this 23 March 2020

I have been invited to shoot some cowboy pistol but the only pistol that I have that will work is a 44 magnum. Does anyone have any loads in the 700 to 800 fps range that are accurate. I have both  the Lee 240 swc and the Lee 240 round nose bullet mold. Thank You for any help.

Glenn

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Eddie Southgate posted this 01 December 2021

I thought  I would let you know what I found out. I loaded up 100 rounds of each of the following just to see what the accuracy was. 5.5 gr. Bullseye, 240 gr. round nose bullet in a 44 mag. case and 6.9 gr. Unique. 240 gr. round nose in a 44 mag. case. Both shot under 2 inches at 25 yards but the unique was a little more accurate for all groups. Now I am all set up for the cowboy shoot.

Thank You

Glenn

 I assume you will be shooting the load in both a rifle and handgun . What is the velocity out of the rifle . CAS maximum used to be 1000 fps or under . You will probably be under but should check just to be sure .

Grumpy Old Man With A Gun......Do Not Touch .

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Eddie Southgate posted this 01 December 2021

I agree with Larry on 5.5 grains of Bullseye.  It gives more uniform velocity in reduced loads than Unique.

I've always had better accuracy in the .44-.45 LC guns with the Unique . I tried the Bullseye and got good accuracy but not better than Unique, Herco or Red Dot . I use a lot of Bullseye in .38 SPL wadcutter loads and .45 ACP  where I do seem to get measurably better groups . That said , extreme accuracy is not needed for CAS shooting so about anything that reliably stays under 1000 fps in both the rifle and SA handgun of choice will do nicely .

Grumpy Old Man With A Gun......Do Not Touch .

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Little Debbie posted this 29 November 2021

Bullseye is the ticket, works in big cases. I’d look for a 200 bullet too. No use in wasting more lead than that for cowboy action shooting. W231 or HP 38 would be my second choice. Third would be Red or Green Dot. Last would be Unique. If you’ve got it I’d try Trail Boss from what I’ve read. Never used it myself

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nitro-express posted this 29 November 2021

I abandoned the 44 mag for Cowboy use several years ago. I had a load with Speer 240 gr swaged bullets and didn't find any other combos that worked as well.

Fast forward several years, after selling off all but two 44s, I was about to sell off the remainder when I happened on a post. I was sceptical, but it's only powder and lead, so I tried a few of the suggestions. Amazing results with Trail Boss and a LEE 429-200 RF. 

Here's the "Why did it work?" I've gained a bit more experience with Trail Boss and what it prefers for a primer. Trail Boss doesn't like anything less than 70% load density. As far as primer, at the about 70% load density, A CCI 500 LP or a Fed 150 LP are my first tries. 

Bullets vary, so i checked the internal volume. Seat a bullet in an empty and unprimed case, weigh it in grams. Then fill the powder cavity with water, just to the point where the water is showing in the flash hole and weigh again. The weight in grams is equal to the volume in cc (Cubic Centimeters). I just looked at the LEE dipper chart and my measured volume was 1.6cc, and LEE has a 1.6 cc dipper. It holds 7.4 grains of Trail Boss. X 70% = 5.2 grains. 

It was a decent load, so i went down a bit, to 5 grains and it wasn't quite as good. I could have fooled with primers, but instead I'll just go back up to 5.2 or a bit more as velocity is still in the Cowboy range. The nice part is that the OAL is still in line with what my '92 Rossi likes. 

Calibre

44 Remington Magnum

Date Loaded

2021-11-25

Powder

Trail Boss

Weight in Grains

5.2

Bullet

LEE 429-200 RF

Weight in Grains

206.5

Primer

CCI 300 LP

Loaded OAL

1.53

Case

W-W SUPER 44 MAGNUM

Weight in Grains

110

Times Loaded

 

Number loaded

 

Firearm

Little Tony

Barrel clean/fouled

 

Velocity Av

 755.6/751.5

Es

20.5/25.36

Sd

8.24/11.13

Shots

5>/5<

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99 Strajght posted this 30 March 2020

Thank you. I will try about 6 gr. of unique.

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BigMan54 posted this 30 March 2020

That load of 6.9grs of Unique is going to be a bit hot for Cowboy Shooting.  

If you are shooting at steel, it won't make the Match Director happy. Those targets are big & close. 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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99 Strajght posted this 28 March 2020

I thought  I would let you know what I found out. I loaded up 100 rounds of each of the following just to see what the accuracy was. 5.5 gr. Bullseye, 240 gr. round nose bullet in a 44 mag. case and 6.9 gr. Unique. 240 gr. round nose in a 44 mag. case. Both shot under 2 inches at 25 yards but the unique was a little more accurate for all groups. Now I am all set up for the cowboy shoot.

Thank You

Glenn

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skeet1 posted this 25 March 2020

I have just started shooting reduced loads in my Marlin and decided to use IMR Target at 5.0 gr. So far it seem to do very welland very pleasant to shoot. 

 

Ken

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BigMan54 posted this 24 March 2020

I've been loading .44Mag Cowboy for/with a Buddy for 18years. Same Bullet weight; 240grs. Use the data from the Hodgdon "Cowboy Action Data" handout #5 dated 1/03.

With 240gr Bullet: N.O.E #432-240-RF; 

Titegroup 4.7grs - 6.2grs , He uses 5.3grs,  very consistent. 

Clays 4.3grs - 6.2grs

HP38 5.5grs - 7.2grs  (Same as W231)

Lee RN is a very fine Bullet, almost duplicates the ancient Lyman #429251.

 

If you do get to shoot some Rifle, PLEASE DON'T USE ROUND NOSE BULLETS IN A LEVER RIFLE.

Here are suggestions.

 

If you roll crimp over the front driving band on the Lee  SWC it should be short enough to feed in any Lever Rifle w/o a problem. Regardless if it is old style or new TL style.  Best to make up dummies to check cycling. If you're using a Win 16" Trapper, make up 10 dummies. If the loads OAL is short enough, you might get 9rds into the Magazine. 

A lot of Cowboy Shoots call for 9rds. His Win Trapper WILL NOT feed even a long bullet loaded in a .44Spl case. We've only tried the Lyman #429667, and He doesn't like .44Spl loads.  

Have found through Experience that Titegroup performs well under both Cold and Hot conditions. 

Have add'l data for Hodgdon Universal & International powders too.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Bud Hyett posted this 24 March 2020

 S&W 696 .44 Special practice load:

  • 6.5 grains Unique
  • Federal Large Pistol primer
  • Lyman 429215, Sized .430
  • Wheelweight alloy

This is light for double action practice. 

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

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Eutectic posted this 24 March 2020

44 Special cases will give lower velocity spreads than magnum cases with light loads.

I find TightGroup equal to Bullseye, These loads are TightGroup in Special brass in a 5 1/2 inch 629 with 429421. 12 BHN alloy

3.7 grains 560fps, 4.0 grains 623 fps, 4.5 grains 660 fps

The 4.5 grain load is accurate in several revolvers.

Steve

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Ed Harris posted this 23 March 2020

I agree with Larry on 5.5 grains of Bullseye.  It gives more uniform velocity in reduced loads than Unique.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Michael S posted this 23 March 2020

To solve the case volume problem, trim some 44 mag brass to 44 spl to 1.150" load the 240gr SWC

  Unique 6.9gr @ 767 fps 13,300 c.u.p.  that is the max load listed in Lyman 4th edition page 272.                               I find that load to be most accurate with my Lyman 429421 of #2 alloy and sized .430 blue carnauba lubes shooting out of my Ruger 44mag 4.5"  big frame vacaro and my Ruger 44spl 5.5" flat top and both my Ruger 44mag 3" birdhead revolvers.  It will also clear my Marline rifles

 

  The starting gr for Unique is 6.0 @ 649 fps 10 300 c.u.p.

GOD, United States of America, US Marine Corps, Family, Self

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RicinYakima posted this 23 March 2020

 The only load that I have that slow is 5.5 grains of WW231 at about 800 f/s with a 250 grain 429421. You may consider 5.0 grains of Bullseye or Titegroup with a 200 grain bullet, but don't know if that would be less than 800 f/s. Case volume is your problem for reasonable ignition.

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Larry Gibson posted this 23 March 2020

With the Lee 240 SWC; 5.5 gr Bullseye

LMG

Concealment is not cover.........

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