Rifle powders in 44 magnum

by bj , Sunday, April 29, 2012, 21:08 (4385 days ago) @ anachronism

If you have leading with reduced loads then it is not because of using faster burning powders. The only reason I can think of to have leading with light loads is having bullets that are too small for your barrel and/or cylinder throats. Faster powders should actually give you an advantage by causing the bullets to expand to fit the cylinder throats.

You didn't say what your reduced loads were but anywhere from 8 to 10 grains of Unique with 240 grain bullets should be a good load.

The .44mag has been used with rifle powders from the very beginning because 2400 is actually called a rifle powder. I have read recommendations for using H4227 in .44mag loads and I found that it produces loads that seem significantly milder than similar loads with 2400 or 296.

Try some loads with 10 grains of Unique. If those are not too much recoil for you then try H4227. If 10 grains of Unique are too much then try 8 grains.

Another thing you can do to reduce recoil is to go down to 180 or 200 grain bullets.