44 rem mag.

L

lugerstew

New member
Im currently prepping some 44 mag brass, ive decided to go with Win 231 powder, i have used it successfully before. Im using mixed brass, cci large pistol primers and SNS 240grain RN powder coated bullets., ive used this mix before with hunter HCFP bullets, 240g rnfp up to 7.6g of win 231, my records show no overpressure, and i have chronoed these at only around 900fps. Im just wondering if any one else has used this combo, because, the hodgdon website says i can go to 11g of win 231 with 240 hc swc. What i intend to do is start at 8.0g and go in half grain increments to 11g, checking of course for overpress on the way, i guess my question is, should i really start out at the min of 5.5g of win 231, when i have had no issues with 7.6g? BTW, im using a Taurus 6 inch barrel double action pistol and also using a chrongraph.
 
Last edited:
I load 215 and 240 gr SWC lead bullets in the .44 mag for plinking loads.
If I recall correctly I use 8.0 gr of W231 for a nice, pleasant load that clocks around the velocity you list above for your old load.

You should be in the ballpark if you use your previous load data.
 
What velocity is predicted at 11 grains? Should powder-coated bullets be kept under 1400 fps?

If you are using 7.6gr and the max recommended charge is 11 gr, using a reduction of 10% charge for safety would have you starting at 9.9gr. I would have no problem starting at 7.6gr and chronographing to compare to your known 900 fps and go from there. But if accuracy and tolerability of that load is acceptable, what's the interest in moving to 11 grains?
 
the hornady website says i can go to 11g of win 231 with 240 hc swc.
Click to expand...

Point to consider, Hornady (and all other data) don't say YOU CAN, they say, THEY DID. There is a significant difference.

First off, your gun is not their test gun, and your components, no matter how closely you try to match then will be different, as well.

Just because they got to that point with their stuff doesn't mean you will be able to, as well. You MIGHT, but you need to go in small steps checking carefully at each new lever.

231 reaches pressure maximum levels well before reaching the maximum velocity potential of the .44 Magnum.

The .44 Mag case will hold over 20 grains of powder. Even if you can reach 11gr of 231 its still about half a case full. This means a double charge will fit in the case, and if you don't notice it, tis really bad.

IF you want full power .44 Mag, 231 is the wrong powder to use. If you want loads that max out 900fps or so, 231 will give you that, but beware the risks.
 
I found that with 231 (HP38) pressure needs to be up a little to burn clean. I settled on 9.2 gr under a 265 gr SWC GC as my go to mid range 44 mag loading, around 1100 fps. Great accuracy, clean burning, and moderate recoil. A great whitetail load.
 
I use Win 231 for a lot of different loads, but I tried it in .45 Colt (which is much like .44 Magnum in terms of case volume) and I decided I didn't like it -- for the reasons other have stated. Too much volume, not enough powder. Too easy to double charge, and the positional sensitivity. I switched to Trail Boss for .45 Colt.

I was talking to a friend just last night. His father, who was an avid reloader, passed away earlier this year. I knew the father loaded for .44 magnum because at one point they asked me to scrounge some fired brass for him. My friend said his father used to use H110 for .44 Magnum, and not too long before he passed away he switched to L'il Gun.
 
When I started reloading in 1976, 2400 was recommended by a friend for the .44Mag. For greater velocity I switched to H110 around 1978 with Remington and Hornady 180gr bullets and I have been using it ever since.
I have some 240gr Remington black lead flat nose bullets that I still use 2400 with and the accuracy is excellent in my Ruger SuperBlackHawk. I have no idea where I ever bought them and some time ago I wrote to Remington and inquired if they were still available but I never received a reply.
 
Thanks for all the comments, its been a while since i came up with this load and tried it, i believe i was trying to find a mild plinking load, because i knew i didnt want to shoot the same bullet with 23 grains of H110 all day, definitely not for plinking I soon found out. I forgot to mention, that I had written in my notes, that I don't think I will shoot these 7.6g 900fps rounds in my marlin 1894 44mag carbine, for some reason I was thinking of squibs or something, but when I saw the load data from hodgdon, I saw I could get up to 1334 fps, only out of curiosity did I ask about loading w231 to that max, Like 44Amp said, this fast burning powder is probably not ideal for max loads in this cartridge, and seemed a bit spooky to me. So I think I will stay on the caution side and use slower burning powders if I want stronger shooting loads, since im not planning on hunting with these, I was mainly curios what my chrono would say for the pistol and the carbine, going from 8.0 to 11.0g, and how they would shoot, recoil and groups. I guess I just felt like experimenting since I already had the powder. Thanks again Oh, one more thing, Ive been trying these SNS powder coated bullets for a while using 240g load data and they do very well, less leading and good groups.
 
As others mentioned, 231 just burns too fast and creates a pressure peak a little too soon. Its a problem, regardless. Additionally, the longer your barrel, the more it becomes an issue.

I like 231 for small pistol cartridges like 9mm, .45ACP, even 38spl. For a big cartridge like the .44 magnum, I like 2400 on top of a magnum primer and I always get better results that way.

--Wag--
 
lugerstew said:
Im currently prepping some 44 mag brass, ive decided to go with Win 231 powder, i have used it successfully before. Im using mixed brass, cci large pistol primers and SNS 240grain RN powder coated bullets., ive used this mix before with hunter HCFP bullets, 240g rnfp up to 7.6g of win 231, my records show no overpressure, and i have chronoed these at only around 900fps. Im just wondering if any one else has used this combo, because, the hodgdon website says i can go to 11g of win 231 with 240 hc swc. What i intend to do is start at 8.0g and go in half grain increments to 11g, checking of course for overpress on the way, i guess my question is, should i really start out at the min of 5.5g of win 231, when i have had no issues with 7.6g? BTW, im using a Taurus 6 inch barrel double action pistol and also using a chrongraph.
Click to expand...
If indeed the Hodgdon website says the max load is 11 grains (that sounds a little high), you should be fine starting at 8. That's more than 10% down from the max load. As you approach 11, use smaller increments; maybe 0.2 grains.

There are better powders for this. Try Unique, Herco, and 2400. Green Dot is worth a try for some lighter loads -- I think Green Dot is about like 231 but it's bulkier. I have no experience with Universal, but something tells me it should be good for midrange loads.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top