I posted a thread on what round I should use in my new 44mag a month ago. I went with the blue tipped safety slugs
Posted on 02/22/2005 2:46:34 PM PST by 45Auto
The 290-grain, gas-checked, Keith-style bullet is my most used heavyweight .44 bullet. I have the NEI double-cavity mold for this bullet. BRP also supplies excellent ready-cast bullets of this design that actually weigh 290 grains. I have two favorite loads for this bullet: 21.5 gralns of H110 for 1,350 to 1,400 fps, and 10.0 grains of Unique for 1,100 tol, 150 fps. The former is used in currently manufactured heavy-duty .44 Magnums, while the latter mostly sees service in .44 Magnums built in the 1950s, namely the original Smith & Wesson M29 and Ruger .44 Blackhawk (flat-top).
Bull-X offers a Bill Wilson designed, 300-grain flat-point that weighs 305 grains in my alloy. This bullet has a long tapered nose with a full-caliber shoulder band and one wide grease groove. I order them unsized and unlubed so they may be tailored for each gun I intend to use them in.
Lyman offers bullet casters two heavyweight .44s, #429650GC, a Keith-style with one large grease groove and a gas-check with a hard-cast weight of 306 grains. Bullet #429649GC is heavier at 331 grains. It basi cally offers the same case capacity as the Keith-style bullet with a much heavier nose of the RNFP, or round-nosed, flat-point design. From RCBS comes another Keith-style heavyweight .44 bullet, #44-300SWC that weighs out at 298 grains with my hard alloy. It is very similar to the Lyman design with slightly more case capacity and a slightly longer nose.
From Oregon Trail Bullet Co. we have a 300-grain TC (Truncated Cone) that weighs out at 299 grains. This bullet puts most of the weight in the body with a very short nose. This maybe the choice if one has a lever-action that is reluctant to feed the longer bullets.
Finally we come to the heavyweight bullets designed by J.D. Jones of SSK Industries. Bullet #285.429 FP weighs in at 281 grains with one very large grease groove and two crimping grooves for use in short or long cylindered revolvers. All loads assembled herein used the top groove for use in any cylinder length or lever-action rifle. Last, but certainly not least, is the bullet that started it all, SSK's #310.429, another flat-point that with my hard alloy weighs 302 grains. This bullet has a full caliber shoulder in front of the crimping grooves, a plain base, and three grease grooves. It has a great reputation for taking big game with a .44 Magnum.
A Wealth Of Jacketed Bullets
At least five companies now offer excellent jacketed, heavyweight bullets for the .44 Magnum: Hornady's 300-grain XTP-JHP; Northern Precision's 280,310 and 325 grain; Nosler's 300-grain JHP; Sierra's 300-grain JHC; and Speer's 300 JFP. You will note that of the four major manufacturers, three provide hollow point versions of their 300-grain bullets, while Speer goes with a flat-point. Northern Precision custom tailors their bullets for individual needs, and they can be ordered with different jacket thicknesses for the game that is going to be hunted.
Two sixguns and one levergun were used for chronographing these loads, an 8-inch Dan Wesson .44 Magnum, a Freedom Arms 10-inch .44 Magnum, and a Winchester Model 94 Trapper .44 Magnum with a 16-inch barrel.
Lots of reloading data at the end of this article.
--not that I am about to damn any class of firearms or shooters, but I always have to smile at the disciples of Elmer, who were largely dismissive of the .30-30 category of cartridges for deer hunting when they were available only in rifles but think of them as great in handguns---
...1. Accuracy: The longer a bullet is in relation to its diameter, the more accurate it normally is. It is a rare .44 Magnum sixgun that does not shoot 300- to 320-grain bullets more accurately than it does 240- to 250 grain bullets. ...
I'm not sure I agree with the longer is more accurate part. A heavier bullet will buck wind better for sure. Other then that I can't see what the advantage would be. Someone care to enlighten me here?
Yes we know you're an old timer gun guy that goes way back with a lot of famous people. Stop telling us ever few sentences.
It was horrible in his book about large calibre handguns.
Jim
That is a beautiful gun. My pants just got tight.
"...since this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and can blow your head clean off, you got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky. Well, do ya punk?"
I think the "longer bullets are inherently more accurate" stuff comes from the basic idea that longer bullets have more surface contact with the rifling in the barrel, or have three driving bands instead of two, thereby imparting a bit more stability as the slug travels down the barrel. Another idea stems from the connection between bullet weight and the rifling rate for a given caliber. This latter is the heart of benchrest rifle accuracy, but it applies to pistols, too. There certainly are more than enough theories about revolver accuracy and certain revolver/bullet/powder combinations to keep hobbyists busy for years. At this point in my shooting, if I can keep 90% of my .44 magnum rounds on a 8 inch target center offhand at 25 yards, I'm happy.
That's a nice Taurus; how does it match up accuracy wise with its Smith and Wesson cousin?
Took them out in my Ruger Redhawk after 1 year of resting peacefully and fired them into an old waterheater at 35 paces. I had 4 thru and thru,1 dented the far side and 1 splattered on the front. Maybe I had a bad lot, but don't believe every thing you read.
Im more of a rifle guy myself. But this baby is one nice pistol. Fired it a few times and if I would buy a another (SW) revolver this would be it.
Ah lak my 500 grain full wadcutters-sized up to a full .440,and backed by 26 grains of Bullseye.( Ya gotta squeeze a tad when ya load it.)
Hit's pure Hell on Griz !
Ya don't put it anywheres near the gun,ya understand: Ya jest show it to the critturs,an' they faints dead away.
Piffle and nonsense.
Desert Eagle .50 mag.
LESS recoil. MORE hitting power. LOTS more fun.
BOOM!
I have shot Rugers, RH and BH and they were ok, S&W also, but my favorite is my J.P. Sauer & Sohn Western Marshal. It has just a little over a one pound trigger pull, a real delight to shoot.
Actually I am eyeing the S&W 500 Magnum for my next purchase, any one here shot one yet? If so share with us.
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