uhm, 8.4gr of bullseye under a 240 in 44 mag? is that an oops ?

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georgiacatweazle

New member
so just noticed due to location of my bullseye powder reloading 9mm this morning that last night while finding some 'time' to reload i grabbed the bullseye instead of unique for 44 magnum :-/ batched a 100.
i don't see any recipes for bullseye that much so i'm thinking i'm going to need to break down those 100.

guess when you move house, get the reloading area set up EXACTLY the same as before.
 
I've gone to 10 grains of Titegroup (very similar speed/load profile to Bullseye) under a 225gr. lead bullet in .44mag without a problem. It wasn't a pleasant load to shoot as I recall, velocity is likely 1100-1200 fps. Fast powders like Titegroup and Bullseye are not the correct way to make speed in magnum revolvers.

Under a 240 gr. JHP, Hodgdon calls for 9.0 to 10.0 grains of Titegroup.

Note - this is not a guarantee that your gun will not blow up.
 
Not something I would shoot. It's so easy to look at a powder bottle and read the label that there's really no excuse for mistaking Bullseye for Unique. Alliant lists 6.0 as max with a 240 gr. LSWC...

Pull 'em...
 
Unique and bullseye for sure is different bottles, new garage has bad lights and too much clutter from move. Should have gotten everything cleared up first. Think the super Redhawk would soak up the boom, but would have been a what the frig moment.
 
but Lee isn't exactly good with alliant.
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Actually, Lee data should be totally fine with anything they include, since ALL their data is just copied from the original manufacturer's published data.

Bottom line is that the Lee data will have all the variation you will find in the original data without having to look up each manufacturer separately. And because it is copied, it will often have data from old editions mixed it without noting it (that is the biggest drawback to the Lee data - no way to tell what "version" the book was).
 
Shr970 - Hercules used to be alliant ? I may send an email to them with the details i know off some other folks who have worked up massive over pressure loads with alliant and Redhawks. I'm also running bayou sec.
 
Old Hercules Load Data

I do have a February 1987 Hercules Reloaders' Guide (one of the little 46 page free counter handouts), and it does list some heavy Bullseye loads in .44 Mag:

240 L (GC), max is 9.3g for 1,170 fps @ 32,600 C.U.P.
240 JSP, max=10.0, 1,255 fps @35,500 C.U.P.
250 L, max=10.0, 1,270 fps @33,900 C.U.P.
 
Hecules became Alliant in the 90's. They were aquired by ATK later. When ATK had both Speer and Alliant, they reshot their pistol loads using Dot bullets and a handful of powders. If you ever want to do loads using their Red, Green Dot, & Herco Powders, just look up Hercules data. If you call them, they will give you the same info.
 
Ok thanks guys. i'll do some research with Herc and see what comes up. seems like 8 1/2 BE will be stout but not nuclear.
Maybe ok for a hunting round ?
 
I do not know how accurate the speed numbers are in the Hercules guide, but Unique, Herco, and 2400 in the same guide are shown to push stuff WAY faster at the same pressure levels shown for Bullseye. And just as a note - if you were targeting 8.4g of Unique, that is way below maximum - about 3.0 to 3.5 grains below according to this guide.

Also note that the current Alliant load data has some really screwy stuff in it. Although they show Unique maxing out at 7.0 grains behind a 240 cast bullet, they show a full 11.0 grains as max behind a heavier 250g cast bullet!

Your 8.4g Bullseye loads look plenty safe, based on Hercules' own data, but they certainly do not look interesting.
 
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Alliant makes Bullseye. Hercules Powders has been gone since 2008.
8.4 is too much for a cast bullet. Too much of Unique for a cast bullet too.
Alliant gives one 240 grain CAST load. Max of 6 grains. No jacketed data using Bullseye in my old 23rd edition Lyman book either.
The Lee manual uses Alliant's data. Lee tests nothing themselves.
"...Hercules used to be Alliant?..." No. Alliant is Hercules now. Their parent company bought the name in 2008.
 
Mauser69 - the unique loading was basically a reduced loading, basically a 44 special in a 44 mag case, so yup, looks low compared to the 10+ 44mag.
i put in an email to alliant to see what they come back with.
i'll have to get one of those old herc guides from somewhere. i get the new booklets from alliant from 2014 forwards.
 
Alliant gives one 240 grain CAST load. Max of 6 grains. No jacketed data using Bullseye in my old 23rd edition Lyman book either.
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Yep.....pull 'em and learn from the experience. At least you caught the mistake before you got to the range.
 
buck460XVR - yup. think i'll be pulling them, even if 8.5 of bullseye can be absorbed by the gun, my hands my not like it :-)

the new garage really isn't conducive to reloading, bad lighting, clutter, things not unpacked due to space restrictions.

good rule is for sure, check and double check. then check again.
 
6.0 gr Talk about detuned load. 240 gr. cast w/ Gas Check is listed at 9.8 gr. in my manual. 1991 ALSO shows that same load. 1175 fps out of a 5.7" barrel @ 34,400 CUP.
 
Georgiacatweazle,

Alliant lists one Bullseye load for 240 grain lead 44 Magnum of 6 grains on their site. Their single recipe data is meant to be presumed to be maximum, which you knock down 10% to find a starting load. In this instance, however, the charge is small to prevent levels of pressure more likely to cause leading with soft swaged lead bullets, and not because of pressure measurements. The old manual data of 8.9 grains maximum is based on something closer to a pressure consideration.

If your bullets are hard cast, rather than soft, you should be fine with your load, except watch for pressure signs cause by lead build-up.

Alliant gives the maximum 44 Special load for Bullseye with that bullet as 5.2 grains, which makes a good target load.
 
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