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Going to Start reloading 44 magnum powder help

nheric

nheric

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I already load 357 magnum , 38 special, 45 acp i am going to take on the 44m. The gun that I'm going to load for is a 7 1/2 inch barrel single action Virginian Dragoon it has a huge beefy frame and from what I read on the dragoon it can handle heavy loads.

I was looking to see what powders people on here use for there 44's and why. Just need a little info to help me decide on a powder.
 
2400 is my favorite, but also run 296 powder in good volumes with 44 mags. For a light kicking round, also try some Trail Boss. It will be about the same recoil as a .38 +P
 
looks like everyone agrees on 2400 i will grab a can of 2400 and also some trail boss i have been wanting to try trail boss in 45acp with 230 gr lrn , and in some 38spl loads now i have an other reason to buy a can
 
Follow the guidelines (for Trail Boss) here:
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

The listings they show are rifle calibers, but the same rules apply to pistol... you can fill up the case to the base of the bullet as a max. DON'T CRUSH THE DONUTS! Go 75% of the full-to-the-base-of-the-bullet weight as a starting weight. You need to measure with a scale to get the weight of that volume. Then, set your powder measure to dispense that weight. I love Trail Boss for my .500 S&W Magnum. Can shoot it all day long!


nheric said:
looks like everyone agrees on 2400 i will grab a can of 2400 and also some trail boss i have been wanting to try trail boss in 45acp with 230 gr lrn , and in some 38spl loads now i have an other reason to buy a can
Click to expand...
 
Mostly since I always seem to have 2400 available that it becomes my usual go to powder for 44 Magnum (also versatile for 357/ 30 Carbine and others). Lil Gun looks impressive, but I can't say I've used any to date.
 
I have massive qtys of 2400, Lil Gun, and Trail Boss, and have used all for 44 mags.... They all serve their purpose....

I think of 2400 as the go-to for more OOOMPH...

I think of Lil Gun as kind of in the middle..

And, Trail Boss is so mild that it's almost laughable.... POTENT, and accurate, but mild..
 
DukeInMaine said:
I have massive qtys of 2400, Lil Gun, and Trail Boss, and have used all for 44 mags.... They all serve their purpose....

I think of 2400 as the go-to for more OOOMPH...

I think of Lil Gun as kind of in the middle..

And, Trail Boss is so mild that it's almost laughable.... POTENT, and accurate, but mild..
Click to expand...

Middle of what?

The velocity for a max load (24.5 grs) of Lil' Gun (per the Hodgdon website) for a 240gr HP is 1582 fps
The velocity for a max load (21.0 grs) of 2400 (per the Alliant website) for a 240gr HP is 1434 fps

For magnum revolver cartridges, Lil' Gun usually gives you the most power.
 
Off the top of my head, I can't remember what the Lil Gun recipe is that I use with the cast lead bullets I load. However, to me the Lil Gun loads seem to have less recoil than the 2400 rounds that I load. I'd rather not post any recipes that might get others in trouble. Again, it's my perception of the amount of recoil for the recipes that I use.

I'm NEVER loading to max velocity. Always loading for comfort. (suffice it to say that a LOT of .500 S&W Mag loads, no matter what they are, are POWERFUL recoil loads, and only with Trail Boss are they "comfortable" to shoot all day.)
 
DukeInMaine said:
Off the top of my head, I can't remember what the Lil Gun recipe is that I use with the cast lead bullets I load. However, to me the Lil Gun loads seem to have less recoil than the 2400 rounds that I load. I'd rather not post any recipes that might get others in trouble. Again, it's my perception of the amount of recoil for the recipes that I use.

I'm NEVER loading to max velocity. Always loading for comfort. (suffice it to say that a LOT of .500 S&W Mag loads, no matter what they are, are POWERFUL recoil loads, and only with Trail Boss are they "comfortable" to shoot all day.)
Click to expand...

Even the minimum load of Lil' Gun (22.5 grs) gives you a higher velocity (1465 vs, 1434) than the maximum load for 2400 with that bullet. You shouldn't be loading light with Lil' Gun. It's one of those powders (like H110/W296) that you SHOULD NOT download.

Anybody reading this should not load light with Lil' Gun. It is not safe. Don't use it unless you intend to load hot, and don't go outside of the data in the reloading manuals, including below the minimum load.
 
Last edited:
Seems to me it (Lil Gun) listed higher velocities with lower pressures, but I'll have to recheck the data.
Again, since I haven't used it yet, I can't vouch for any loads over a chrony either. My plan for this season is to get some and load up some .44 Magnums and 30 Carbine, but my chronograph is still out of service. I'll post whatever data I eventually record.
 
NavelOfficer said:
Seems to me it (Lil Gun) listed higher velocities with lower pressures, but I'll have to recheck the data.
Again, since I haven't used it yet, I can't vouch for any loads over a chrony either. My plan for this season is to get some and load up some .44 Magnums and 30 Carbine, but my chronograph is still out of service. I'll post whatever data I eventually record.
Click to expand...

Lil' Gun is my favorite powder for the .460 Magnum.
 
Lil' Gun does get higher velocity at lower pressure, but it's got to be one of the touchiest powders around. If you look at the data, the difference between the minimum and maximum charge weights is only a 2 to 4 grain window - even when the charge is over 40 grains!

I've had squibs with it when I didn't put a really strong crimp on a minimum load, and I've had badly flattened primers and hard extraction with loads below the max when I used a different primer brand (brand, not type - they were both lg rifle magnums) than the one specified in the manual.

It's a great powder for magnum handguns, but it's not something you want to get creative with. I've used about 40 pounds of it to load .460 Mags, and plan to continue using it for that caliber.
 
I concur with EC, Lil' Gun is a great powder for heavy magnum loads, but not recommended for lesser velocities. It's the only powder I use in .357 Maximum.
 
I just checked the tracking number and my 44 die set will be delivered tomorrow :). Then this friday after work i will head up Riley's gun shop for a bottle of 2400 , primers, and 240 gr bullets.
 
For a comfortable plinking load I have been using 11.9gr of Blue dot under a 240grJHP in my Blackhawk, for no other reason than I had the powder lying around so I tried it.
 
my ruger vaquero 357m loves 9.8 gr of blue bot under a 158 gr lswc it shoots right on p.o.a and very tight at 20 to 25 yards. my son was getting a kick out of watching me blast empty 12 hulls at 25 yards with this load
 
nheric said:
looks like everyone agrees on 2400 i will grab a can of 2400 and also some trail boss i have been wanting to try trail boss in 45acp with 230 gr lrn , and in some 38spl loads now i have an other reason to buy a can
Click to expand...

I don't get my 44 mag for a week or so, but with the 357 stable I have, I am also trying trail boss, and (now, I guess) 2400 too. Thanks, guys.
 
I've tried H110,trail boss,2400 and I think unique or some other very fast powder for powder puff loads.
I use 2400 and trail boss now and usually shoot both each time I bring out a .44.
I'm also having good results with cast coated bullets. 44 is by far my favorite to reload and shoot.
 
Ive been using H110 for most my .44MAG loads, anything from 180 to the 300gr XTP bullets. I have been playing with CFE pistol with 180gr XTPs and it seems to shoot very well and cleaner than H110.
 
H110/Win 296 is my go to full house mag load powder. But I've made 44 spl loads in 44 mag cases using bullseye. I save 2400 for my 357 mag loads since it doesn't require a magnum primer.
 
The .44 magnum seems to work well with many powders. I use 4227 and 296 for full loads and for mild loads I use unique and VV N340. If you can hit a 12 ga. shell at 25, it's time to move to 100.
 

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