Rangerrich99
New member
Mods: if this is in the wrong area, I apologize. I'd appreciate it if you could move it to the appropriate area.
So, a couple weeks ago I went to the range to sight in my .44 mag and then shoot a few reloads to see if my crimps were adequate with full power loads. I shot the Winchester box ammo first and found POI to be about 2 inches high and two inches to the left at 20 yds. The average size group was about 2.5 inches. This was from a bag rest with my elbow supported by another bag.
I made the necessary adjustments to the rear blade sight and started in on my reloads. When I fired the first group with the CFE reloads they shot about 2 inches to the right. During the cease-fire I thought it over and when the range went hot again I adjusted the sights back to center. My next set of CFE reloads went right to POI, about half an inch high and the five-shot group was about 1.1 inches according to the digital calipers. Again all of this was from the bag rest at 20 yds. At that point I was out of CFE reloads so I couldn't test repeatability.
At that point I was out of reloads with about a half box of the Winchester left, so I sent the rest of it downrange. Again, those bullets tended to group high and left of POA with a best group of about 1.5 inches and an average of about 2.5 inches.
My question is this: is this apparent performance variance between these bullets normal? Or is there a good chance this is yet another example of operator error?
At this point, I'm thinking of going with the reloads as my primary ammo for hunting/fishing/camping since they seem more accurate, are apparently faster (which should translate to more energy/penetration?) and seem to exhibit less felt recoil than the factory ammo. But I thought I'd ask for opinions here before committing myself. My other option would be to load Buffalo Bores, but the only bullets I seem to be able to get are 305 grainers, and I'm a little concerned whether my Smith can handle the pressure repeatedly. So, any help here would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance for your replies.
Here are the details:
Handgun: Smith and Wesson model 69 revolver .44 magnum 4 inch barrel
Ammunition: Winchester USA 44 Remington Magnum 240 Grain Jacketed Soft Point
Ammunition specs: Velocity - 1180 fps (no indication what length barrel) Energy: 741 ft. lbs.
Reload ammo: Starline brass cases once fired, hard cast 240 grain SWC from Falcon Bullets, 11.6 gr. CFE Pistol powder, Federal Large Magnum Pistol Primers. Estimated velocity - 1299 fps from 8 inch bbl (I don't have a chronograph as yet, so I'm just going by the hodgdon pistol data center)
So, a couple weeks ago I went to the range to sight in my .44 mag and then shoot a few reloads to see if my crimps were adequate with full power loads. I shot the Winchester box ammo first and found POI to be about 2 inches high and two inches to the left at 20 yds. The average size group was about 2.5 inches. This was from a bag rest with my elbow supported by another bag.
I made the necessary adjustments to the rear blade sight and started in on my reloads. When I fired the first group with the CFE reloads they shot about 2 inches to the right. During the cease-fire I thought it over and when the range went hot again I adjusted the sights back to center. My next set of CFE reloads went right to POI, about half an inch high and the five-shot group was about 1.1 inches according to the digital calipers. Again all of this was from the bag rest at 20 yds. At that point I was out of CFE reloads so I couldn't test repeatability.
At that point I was out of reloads with about a half box of the Winchester left, so I sent the rest of it downrange. Again, those bullets tended to group high and left of POA with a best group of about 1.5 inches and an average of about 2.5 inches.
My question is this: is this apparent performance variance between these bullets normal? Or is there a good chance this is yet another example of operator error?
At this point, I'm thinking of going with the reloads as my primary ammo for hunting/fishing/camping since they seem more accurate, are apparently faster (which should translate to more energy/penetration?) and seem to exhibit less felt recoil than the factory ammo. But I thought I'd ask for opinions here before committing myself. My other option would be to load Buffalo Bores, but the only bullets I seem to be able to get are 305 grainers, and I'm a little concerned whether my Smith can handle the pressure repeatedly. So, any help here would be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance for your replies.
Here are the details:
Handgun: Smith and Wesson model 69 revolver .44 magnum 4 inch barrel
Ammunition: Winchester USA 44 Remington Magnum 240 Grain Jacketed Soft Point
Ammunition specs: Velocity - 1180 fps (no indication what length barrel) Energy: 741 ft. lbs.
Reload ammo: Starline brass cases once fired, hard cast 240 grain SWC from Falcon Bullets, 11.6 gr. CFE Pistol powder, Federal Large Magnum Pistol Primers. Estimated velocity - 1299 fps from 8 inch bbl (I don't have a chronograph as yet, so I'm just going by the hodgdon pistol data center)