44 mag loads for superblackhawk

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doc raven

New member
I have just purchased a superblackhawk 10 1/2" 44mag and am seeking a good load for 180gr and 240gr jhp projectiles. I have 180gr XTPs and 240gr Speer JHPs. I am not looking for a ridiculously heavy load, just one that delivers good projectile expansion.
The loads are for self defence..and before anyone says anything...I already have two Para P14 45s, four Colt 1911 45s and several 357 smith revolvers. I was just given the Ruger and couldnt see the point in having the gun if I didnt have any ammo loaded for it.
Normally I would go to the range and spend hours load testing until I found a good load but at the moment I dont have any transport so if someone could help me out here with a starting point I would be grateful!:)
 
Most LEO's & attorneys that shoot in my local IDPA matches advocate using factory ammo for defense purposes. They don't want you to get into building "manstopper" loads, as this can look very bad in court. If it were me I would buy 44spec. defensive ammo. (Golden Saber, Hydra-Shok, etc).
That being said if you really want 44 mag loads, I would recommend using VIHT N110 powder. In my 44 mag SRH it shoots very accurately, very cleanly, much less flash & blast than other powders. I would also recommend staying with 180 gr. hollow points. In my experience during informal ballistics tests, anything heavier will lead to over-penetration concerns.
Sorry I'm no help with an exact powder charge, I'm at work, all my loading data is at home. :(
 
Very interesting situation!

You've got a "problem" here in that any factory JHP loading you try is liable to go "too fast" from that 10" barrel!!!

See, JHPs have a "speed range" they're effective within. Too slow and they may not open. Too fast and the entire nosecone area will open all right, but then shred back and away. So the wound starts at .44cal, expands out past 55cal somewhere, then drops back down to .44 (actually, .42ish but who cares) with about a 25% weight loss and metal fragments dribbled back along the wound (and not doing anything to increase wounding).

Most people own defensive .44Mags in the 4" to 6" range. You'll get about 50fps extra speed per 1" of barrel. With that much extra speed on tap, I'm not sure I'd trust any JHP unless I personally tested it on a raw meatloaf wrapped in an old pair of Levis :D.

However ;).

What you have here is a job for FRANGIBLES!

Frangibles are loads that are designed to break up on impact and do a "shotgun-blast-type-wound", yet they fly and aim just like a bullet. Glaser Safety Slugs and Magsafes are the most common and probably the most effective.

The usual complaint about them is lack of penetration. In, say, 9mm the Glaser "Blue Label" will throw it's cloud of 330 tiny lead pellets into a damage range of maybe 7" deep if you're lucky, and 3" to 4" wide. It'll turn more or less everything in that area into hamburger. Problem is, the average American (even the crooks) are so damn fat that may not be near enough.

But here's the cool part. By their nature, frangibles are more effective the faster they go. The wound channel gets both deeper and wider with speed.

Even their most vocal critics will agree with the above.

In .44Mag and a 10" barrel, you'r gonna seriously screw some fool up :eek:.

I'd recommend the "Blue Label" Glaser (smaller pellets versus the larger-pellet Silver) or the Magsafe Defender.

Only downside: they're $3 a bullet. $18 for a six-pack, generally. But you only need one or two packs for carry, plus one extra to shoot from a benchrest so you'll know exactly where they print in relation to your normal loads. They weigh less than normal stuff so you have to check for that.

Your other option is to get ahold of a good .44cal JHP bullet component, and handload it to the velocity range that it likes, in your barrel. That means a relatively light load...you'll have to experiment and chrono loads.

Me, I'd just score frangibles.
 
www.alliantpowder.com

2400--17 to 18gr under the 240 gr.

I use this load for cast lead 240 gr in my Winchester Trapper. 2400 is a somewhat bulky powder so even at this reduced level it puts a fair amount in the case and gives fairly consistant shot to shot results. My best guess (no chrono) is that it delivers 1200 or so fps out of the 16" Trapper. I've run a few of these loads through my 4" Smith Model 29 with decent results also. This is a very mild magnum/very hot special loading. Expansion may or may not happen. With a .429 dia /240 gr slug it isn't much of a factor, IMNSHO. It will penetrate so be sure of your backstop.

Accuracy of the above load is acceptable. By that I mean it's never shot over 3 inches from intended point of impact at or under 25 yards. Since I seldom shoot for group size, I can't give you that data. I believe a defensive load is better tested by it's point of impact relative to it's point of aim instead of how close the shots are together. With a .44, aiming for the corner of a breast pocket should result in a center of mass,,or close enough,,hit.
 
You're going to trust a handload, that you haven't chronoed, so you're not sure if the JHP expansion rate is proper for the speed you're getting in that tube? So you don't know how the heck it'll behave, or whether or not it's going to blow through a human target and be a continuing lethal threat in an urban environment?

Ummmm...ya. Not my cuppa tea, thanks.

Load frangibles. No over-penetration issues, and in that gun and caliber you're not going to beat the stopping power.
 
to all of you who relied...thanks for the help.
In reply to Jim March..Unfortunately here in australia we just do not have access to Frangibles:mad:
..though i agree...they would definately be the way to go. But thanks anyway.
Even access to factory jhp ammo is very limited with only about a tenth of the range you have over there...IF we're lucky.:(

SecondlyI will be testing the loads for expansion and penetration..but i was just looking for a starting point. I only have access to aussie powders but their burning rate is identical to winchester powders.
I shoot a hell of a lot of 45 colt, 45 acp and 357mag, about 25000 rounds per year. but i have never used a 44 mag so thats why I was after some starting loads to try.:)
 
OH! I see! OK, you really do need to handload, but you know what you're doing.

Heh. Well, if you have access to JHP or JSP components that have the copper jacket completely covering the bullet's base, you COULD duplicate Magsafe's process:

Dunk the entire bullet in molten lead, leave it in there a bit, then very carefully fish the jacket out intact with a piece of steel wire bent into a "U" shape at the end. Without distorting the now-empty copper or preferably brass jacket.

Once it's cooled down, you then carefully pour steel shot in there, settling each layer so that they're even, and when full, pour in a very "watery" epoxy resin :D. Or use lead shot for deeper punch over steel. The final result (once the epoxy is dry) should weigh somewhere between 80 and 100 grains, maybe a bit more with lead shot.

Stick it in front of a really nasty powder charge, get it going like a bat out of hell high on methamphetamines, and lemme tell ya, it'll REALLY screw somebody up good. Remember, you can't make it go too fast...as long as there's no pressure signs and you can still hang on, :cool:.

The wound would be very similar to what you'd get by walking up to somebody, cutting a 1/2" deep slice in their chest, sticking the barrel of a .410 shotgun loaded with birdshot into the wound, and pulling the trigger :eek:. Yet they'll break up on hitting apartment walls and turn into a cloud of less-than-lethal scrap metal on the other side, sorta like a firing squad of kids with modest air rifles. Not pleasant, but ain't gonna kill anybody. That's why the Glasers are called "safety slugs" - they were invented for the original late-'60s Air Marshalls so they wouldn't go through both skins of an airliner and are being proposed as an in-flight defense load right now.
 
doc,
How ya been? Long time no hear. I remember *talking* to ya back on HS's Sat morning chats a couple years ago.

Jim,
I was going to point out that doc is in Oz, and the BH is about, what 8th?, on the list of go to guns, and his request was for a starting point for a handload, not a final solution.

*Harsh words follow*

Jim, with all due respect. Should, could and maybe are words that shouldn't exist for a responsible handloader, or at least one that has all his/her body parts. I know of few responsible handloaders that would follow that home brew advice you give above. As a handloader with over 25 years of loads gone safely downrange, lemme tell ya, that load rates a 12, on a 1 to 10 scale of pucker power. Cramming a *hot charge* of a fast powder uner a home brew frag is a fast ticket to shrapnel.
 
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Hey Rae!!...good to hear from you again!!...have been around..just didnt have anything to post..:)

Im still looking for a starting load to use up my jhp's:cool: if anyone out there can help me:confused:
 
doc,
Drop into the reloading forum here and ask. I know there's a couple of other Aussies there that can cross reference Alliant (Hercules) and Winchester powders to what you have there.
 
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