44 mag powder choice?

[kar298]

i think i have my powder choice narrowed down can you please tell me which one would be better
imr-4227
alliant unique
alliant 2400

these will be used in my ruger redhawk .44 mag with 240 grain jhp.

thanks
kevin

[Ronald J. Snow]

My personal choice is Unique and I have used it in my S&W 29 for the past 20 years with both cast and jacketed bullets in weights from 200 to 250 grains. I don't believe you can go wrong with Unique and I find less residue with Unique than with 2400.

[inplanotx]

Since you are using 240gr JHP, I would look at Hodgdon H110 and Winchester W296. When you find the load, use exactly as shown. These are great and clean burning powders and I love them! Also used Unique and 2400 for many years and find as Ron did above. The two I mentioned are very clean burning and great for magnum pistols.

[TF118]

My favorite for 44 mag is Winchester 296 ...it's the faster burning powder so with magnum pistol loads you get the most out of your powder before it leaves the barrel...I hunted with my 44 for years and I liked 200 grn Hornady XTP for dear & black bear as you can really crank'em up ...I also had to change from the S & W model 29 & 629 to a Ruger Super Black Hawk as firing the hotter hunting loads would warp/bend the ejector rod so that you couldn't open the cyliner ...the other powder's mentioned are good also and much of it depends on what type of shooting you'll be doing and personal preferance ...Unique is an excellent choice if you want more performance with less recoil it can tame the recoil so you can shoot all day but for hunting I would go with Win 296, 200 grn XTP max load

[kar298]

so you are saying i should use the unique powder for target practice and i should then use the win-296 for hunting. also the win-296 will need the use of magnum primers right?? and how much more of a recoil do you get with the win-296 compared to the unique powder

thanks
kevin

[Craig]

WW296 works best for me.

[TF118]

Actually my advice is to choose the powder & load that would best serve your purpose and once you decide on a peticular load always shoot that load so that you don't need to re-zero your sights and you get use to the same load ...
My preferance is Win. 296 because I wanted max consistancy, velocity and ft.lbs energy for hunting...you can handle the recoil, if not (just my opinion here, nothing personal) maybe change from magnum loads to .44 special, that would only be one option if recoil is an issue ...also Unique in a magnum will tame your recoil significantly compared with 296 and Unique is also very consistant , if you are mainly target shooting then I think Unique would serve you well ...you may want to try several different loads with different powders until you fine the one YOU LIKE best. Always stay within the suggested loads for each bullet wgt/powder combination and you will always want to use Large Magnum Pistol primers, my choice was always CCI 350 L.M.P.
If you plan to hunt with your 44 then my recomendation would be 296 and ALWAYS use the same load even / especially when target practicing

[inplanotx]

Actually, if you look at a burn rate table, this is from Hodgdon, they go like this.

#23 - Unique (fastest)
#43 - 2400
#46 - H110
#47 - WW296
#53 IMR-4227 (slowest)

The greatness of WW296 and H110 is the fact that they use up a great deal of air space in the case. With minimal air space you velocity is more uniform from shot to shot, increasing accuracy. It is also impossible to double charge a case with those two. Make sure you use a load specifically called for in the book and do not deviate. I use 296 and Winchester LP primers and have never needed a magnum primer for it. In fact that is what Winchester recommends. It is a push type of recoil instead of a sharp wrap on the wrist. Make sure you use a firm crimp on those loads. I use unique (8.5 grs) for a target load with a 240gr Keith type SWC.

[kar298]

sounds good it looks like i will use unique with CCI larger pistol primer, well for at least now maybe i will try something else later on
thanks everyone

[TF118]

I stand corrected on the burn rates (it's been a while) but recomend Magnum Pistol primers for max performance as does Winchester ;
296


This propellant was developed for Winchester factory loaded ammunition for 357 magnum, 44 magnum and 410 bore. Its high loading density provides optimal velocity. 296 is widely accepted as the standard for 410 bore shotshell. However, 296 is not suitable for most rifle cartridges.

Symbol Primer Type
W2961BP Mag. Handgun

[inplanotx]

Winchester 14th edition reloading manual states under load data for the 44 magnum:

"Note: 296 powder is considered to be one of the best powders for use in magnum revolvers. Recommended for these loads are the use of a Winchester OR magnum primer and a very heavy crimp!"

Winchester does not make a Large Pistol magnum primer:

Winchester Primers

WLP primers

[kar298]

hmm plano now i think i might switch to the 296 which primers would you remomend with that the winchester large pistol of the CCI magnum pistol?

[inplanotx]

Plano said:

I use 296 and Winchester LP primers and have never needed a magnum primer for it.

Like I said above, I use the Winchester WLP primer!

[TF118]

44 mag
Submitted by: RugrRdhwk@aol.com
Firearm: Ruger Redhawk
Caliber: .44 Remington Magnum
Barrel: 5-1/2"
Twist Rate: stock
Powder: Winchester 296
Powder Weight: 22 grains
Bullet: Speer
Bullet Weight: 270g Gold Dot
Primer: CCI Magnum Pistol
Trim to Length 1.275"
Cart. Overall Length 1.610"
Average Velocity: 1350 f.p.s.

[TF118]

.44 Rem. MagnumBULLET
Weight: 200 gr. Manufacturer: Hornady Style: XTP
POWDER
Charge: 28 gr. Powder: Winchester 296
DETAILS
Primer: CCI 350 C.O.L.: 0 Velocity: 0 fps.
Tested with: Ruger Super Blackhawk-4 5/8"-5 1/2"- 7 1/2" & 10 "
Load Notes: This load has proven to be Very accurate in four Ruger 44s I own. It is a little sticky extracting from my Son's 629, but works very well in a friends Astra 44 Mag.

Notes for .44 Rem. Magnum:

This load is best for slow powders like H110, H4227, 2400 or W296. HS6, Unique, Universal and # 5 are also good for lesser velocity loads. H110 may be the best due to it's low pressures and high velocity.
Copyright © 2000, 2001 LoadYourOwn.com

[TF118]

Here's a link with lot's of reload data using different powder's and bullet's
http://www.loadyourown.com/loaddata/sresults.asp

.44 Rem. MagnumBULLET
Weight: 240 gr. Manufacturer: Sierra Style: JHP
POWDER
Charge: 23 gr. Powder: Winchester 296
DETAILS
Primer: CCI 350 C.O.L.: 0 Velocity: 1350 fps.
Tested with: Smith and Wesson Mdl. 29 Classic; 5" BBL
Load Notes: Very powerful and accurate load. I have taken many whitetails with this load, and usually drops them in their tracks!

[inplanotx]

If you use a Winchester Large Pistol Primer, you do not need a MAGNUM primer as recommended above by Winchester! If you use OTHER than Winchester primer then USE that manufacturers MAGNUM primer. I use Winchester primers and they are not MAGNUM primers!

I wrote above:

Recommended for these loads are the use of a

Winchester OR magnum primer and a very heavy crimp

Looks like Gabby put up some good loads if you want to use them!

[TF118]

Guess you can see there are many different load's for the .44 mag. & there isn't any single load that is "the best load" ...you should choose the load that sounds best suited for your needs/use and go from there...that's one of the benefit's to reloading ...you can adjust loads and/or change loads to suit you...
The only rule you need remember is to stay within the parameter of each prescribed load and you can experiment all you want
I was a couple years experimenting before settling on my favorite hunting load;
200 gr. Hornady XTP
28 gr. Winchester 296
CCI 350 Mag. Large Pistol