light, accurate, 44 mag load for target only. - The Firearms Forum

JimH · 04-05-2004, 08:59 PM

Hello,

I am looking for a light, accurate, load for my 44 mag. Colt Anaconda 4.5 inch barrel. I shoot target and target only. I use an RCBS press, and Hornady 3 die set. I would like to stick to Alliant powders because I am using the RCBS Little Dandy powder trickler and the chart seems to be alliant friendly. The trickler has interchangable rotors for different grains of powders. If anyone has any loads that are accurate target loads for punching paper and would care to share I would greatly appricate it. I am using Federal 150 primers. Thanks

Silencer · 04-06-2004, 02:47 AM

I had a 6" Colt Anaconda that just loved 240GR SWCs with Winchester brass, WLP primers and 7.6GR of Unique. I have a Hornady press and die set.

Xracer · 04-06-2004, 07:58 AM

Here's the Alliant "Recipe" page:

http://recipes.alliantpowder.com/rg....evolver&step=1

JimH · 04-06-2004, 03:42 PM

What brand of bullet is the wad cutter? I am fairly new to reloading, what exactly does SWC stand for? Also is that Winchester large primers? I tried the alliant load with blue dot but after firing 6 shots the brass ejects hard, I think it is just too hot of a load for what I am doing. I was using 16.6 grains of blue dot according to alliant reloaders guide, a Hornady 240 JHP, and Federal 150 primers. I think it is just too hot for punching paper. Maybe it burns too fast, I don't know alot about burn rates. I tried the blue dot with 3 different types of brass and they all ejected extremely hard. I tried a slight crimp, even no crip at all and still had no luck. Thats why I am looking for something light to shoot paper only. Thanks for your guys help.

JohnK3 · 04-06-2004, 03:55 PM

"Wadcutters" are simply cyndrilical pieces of lead, sometimes molded with grooves to hold lubrication.

"SWC" stands for "Semi-Wad Cutter" and is very similar to a wadcutter, but has a truncated cone sitting atop the cylindrilical portion of the bullet.

Try http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/838138 for an example of semi-wadcutters in .44 caliber.

inplanotx · 04-06-2004, 05:04 PM

That 16.6 gr of Blue Dot is a MAX load. Did you work up to it or did you just load it? If you did not work up to it, then it is too high a load for your gun. This is not a good thing to do and could cause guns to blow up! Please be carefull. Never, never, never go straight to a MAX load! Highly dangerous for you and anyone near you should the gun blow up!

JimH · 04-06-2004, 05:30 PM

Well, I went out an got powder and bullets for some lighter cowboy loads for punching paper. I am going to try 6.0 grains of unique with a 205 grain wadcutter. What type of crimp do you guys recommend with this type of bullet? A light crimp or a heavier one? I tried to seat a few bullets but they still had some play in the case after crimping. I don't want to crimp to much and push the brass into the bullet any help would be great. Thanks

inplanotx · 04-06-2004, 07:07 PM

Quote:

A light crimp or a heavier one? I tried to seat a few bullets but they still had some play in the case after crimping.

JimH, welcome to TFF. Please look at the above and tell me what "some play in the case" means. Please describe this thoroughly. There should be no play in the case at all. In fact, when seating a bullet, it should buldge the case a bit and you should clearly see the outline of the bullet in the case. Please get back to us with this and explain all the steps you use when reloading the 44 Mag.

Silencer · 04-07-2004, 08:26 PM

This is how I test to see if my crimp is proper. The first round you seat and crimp, measure it's overall length. Then, put it in the palm of your hand with the bullet end sticking straight up. Hold into place by folding your fingers over it, and maybe sticking the round between your fingers, if this feels more comfortable. With caution and with light-moderate force, slam the bullet end on a hard table that you don't mind marking with the lead bullet. Check the overall length again. If it changes, use more crimp.

It's very hard to explain "light-moderate force", but if you think about the force a round of ammo can experience inside a firearm, I'm sure you can figure it out.

JimH · 04-12-2004, 10:27 PM

Above you recommended 240g SWC with winchester brass and 7.6 grains of unique. My alliant reloaders guide says not to exceed 7.0 grains of unique in cowboy action loads. Is 7.6 grains too much? I am not sure I understand max load conditions. Why do the reloader handbooks I read list MAX loads? Why don't they list practical, and useable loads? From my post above you can tell that the listed max load is clearly too much pressure. This makes it hard for rookies like me to start off with a simple load. Can someone clear up this confusion? I mean why list it as a load if its too much? Thanks for your help.

Silencer · 04-13-2004, 07:59 AM

Well, Cowboy Action loads should not be too powerfull, because the shooter could be shooting at metal targets at a relatively medium range distance. Bullets can spit back at the shooter when hitting metal targets. So, to be safe, a reduced load is preferred.

Cowboy loads are made with lead bullets, so you don't want them going too fast, or barrel leading will be a problem. But loading them with 7.6grs of Unique wont be too fast for them, so no worries there.

Don't worry, a .44mag cartridge with a 240gr bullet, no matter if it's lead or copper, can be safely loaded with up to 10grs of Unique before getting too hot. 7.6grs gave me about 925fps. This is not too fast for any lead bullet, so don't worry.

With .44 Special, I like 7grs of Unique, but this is a hot load. Typically, you should load .44spcl. with 5.5 or 6grs of Unique.

Xracer · 04-13-2004, 08:22 AM

Jim....one thing to remember: Speed & Power do not equal accuracy!

More often than not, a low powered, slow load will be more accurate than a "hot" one. Start off with a low load and work up .1 gr. at a time until you find the load your gun likes the best.

04-05-2004, 08:59 PM	#1
JimH Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 4	light, accurate, 44 mag load for target only. Hello, I am looking for a light, accurate, load for my 44 mag. Colt Anaconda 4.5 inch barrel. I shoot target and target only. I use an RCBS press, and Hornady 3 die set. I would like to stick to Alliant powders because I am using the RCBS Little Dandy powder trickler and the chart seems to be alliant friendly. The trickler has interchangable rotors for different grains of powders. If anyone has any loads that are accurate target loads for punching paper and would care to share I would greatly appricate it. I am using Federal 150 primers. Thanks -->

04-06-2004, 05:04 PM	#6
inplanotx Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 8,897	That 16.6 gr of Blue Dot is a MAX load. Did you work up to it or did you just load it? If you did not work up to it, then it is too high a load for your gun. This is not a good thing to do and could cause guns to blow up! Please be carefull. Never, never, never go straight to a MAX load! Highly dangerous for you and anyone near you should the gun blow up! __________________

04-12-2004, 10:27 PM	#10
JimH Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 4	Silencer Above you recommended 240g SWC with winchester brass and 7.6 grains of unique. My alliant reloaders guide says not to exceed 7.0 grains of unique in cowboy action loads. Is 7.6 grains too much? I am not sure I understand max load conditions. Why do the reloader handbooks I read list MAX loads? Why don't they list practical, and useable loads? From my post above you can tell that the listed max load is clearly too much pressure. This makes it hard for rookies like me to start off with a simple load. Can someone clear up this confusion? I mean why list it as a load if its too much? Thanks for your help.

04-06-2004, 02:47 AM	#2
Silencer Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Southern California: Inland Empire Posts: 1,290	I had a 6" Colt Anaconda that just loved 240GR SWCs with Winchester brass, WLP primers and 7.6GR of Unique. I have a Hornady press and die set.

04-06-2004, 07:58 AM	#3
Xracer TFF Admin Staff Mediator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Minn-eeee-sota, ya, sure, you bet! Posts: 9,144	Here's the Alliant "Recipe" page: http://recipes.alliantpowder.com/rg....evolver&step=1

04-06-2004, 03:42 PM	#4
JimH Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 4	What brand of bullet is the wad cutter? I am fairly new to reloading, what exactly does SWC stand for? Also is that Winchester large primers? I tried the alliant load with blue dot but after firing 6 shots the brass ejects hard, I think it is just too hot of a load for what I am doing. I was using 16.6 grains of blue dot according to alliant reloaders guide, a Hornady 240 JHP, and Federal 150 primers. I think it is just too hot for punching paper. Maybe it burns too fast, I don't know alot about burn rates. I tried the blue dot with 3 different types of brass and they all ejected extremely hard. I tried a slight crimp, even no crip at all and still had no luck. Thats why I am looking for something light to shoot paper only. Thanks for your guys help.

04-06-2004, 03:55 PM	#5
JohnK3 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,636	"Wadcutters" are simply cyndrilical pieces of lead, sometimes molded with grooves to hold lubrication. "SWC" stands for "Semi-Wad Cutter" and is very similar to a wadcutter, but has a truncated cone sitting atop the cylindrilical portion of the bullet. Try http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/838138 for an example of semi-wadcutters in .44 caliber.

04-06-2004, 05:30 PM	#7
JimH Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 4	Well, I went out an got powder and bullets for some lighter cowboy loads for punching paper. I am going to try 6.0 grains of unique with a 205 grain wadcutter. What type of crimp do you guys recommend with this type of bullet? A light crimp or a heavier one? I tried to seat a few bullets but they still had some play in the case after crimping. I don't want to crimp to much and push the brass into the bullet any help would be great. Thanks

04-07-2004, 08:26 PM	#9
Silencer Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Southern California: Inland Empire Posts: 1,290	This is how I test to see if my crimp is proper. The first round you seat and crimp, measure it's overall length. Then, put it in the palm of your hand with the bullet end sticking straight up. Hold into place by folding your fingers over it, and maybe sticking the round between your fingers, if this feels more comfortable. With caution and with light-moderate force, slam the bullet end on a hard table that you don't mind marking with the lead bullet. Check the overall length again. If it changes, use more crimp. It's very hard to explain "light-moderate force", but if you think about the force a round of ammo can experience inside a firearm, I'm sure you can figure it out.

04-13-2004, 07:59 AM	#11
Silencer Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Southern California: Inland Empire Posts: 1,290	Well, Cowboy Action loads should not be too powerfull, because the shooter could be shooting at metal targets at a relatively medium range distance. Bullets can spit back at the shooter when hitting metal targets. So, to be safe, a reduced load is preferred. Cowboy loads are made with lead bullets, so you don't want them going too fast, or barrel leading will be a problem. But loading them with 7.6grs of Unique wont be too fast for them, so no worries there. Don't worry, a .44mag cartridge with a 240gr bullet, no matter if it's lead or copper, can be safely loaded with up to 10grs of Unique before getting too hot. 7.6grs gave me about 925fps. This is not too fast for any lead bullet, so don't worry. With .44 Special, I like 7grs of Unique, but this is a hot load. Typically, you should load .44spcl. with 5.5 or 6grs of Unique.

04-13-2004, 08:22 AM	#12
Xracer TFF Admin Staff Mediator Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Minn-eeee-sota, ya, sure, you bet! Posts: 9,144	Jim....one thing to remember: Speed & Power do not equal accuracy! More often than not, a low powered, slow load will be more accurate than a "hot" one. Start off with a low load and work up .1 gr. at a time until you find the load your gun likes the best.