44 mag

[Clickjack]

44 mag
Once fired brass
Large pistol primers
Missouri Bullet Company 240 grain hi-tek CoatedElmer K style SWC

local reloading shop Guy told me he really likes 7.8gn of unique and this bullet.
Was going to try but my books are a mile apart on this.
Lee’s says 6.2 Starting. Max 7.0 max
Lyman’s says 10.0 Starting. max 11.7

Am I missing something? 7.8gn safe?

[tigerpan]

You probably need check another Source for the load. And also depends which firearms do you have, if you have super Redhawks it will not have any problem.

[newbie1234]

>>Lee’s says 6.2 Starting. Max 7.0 max<< this is for LEAD (not Plated)
Don't have Lyman book so don't know. But the number from Lynman seem more realistic for PLATED/FMJ.

[Divernhunter]

I have loaded 8grs unique with a 250gr lead bullet for a mild load in my 44mag for many years. Never a problem even in other peoples guns.
That load was between the 44sp and min 44mag loads in my book.
Load the 7.8 or even 8grs and you will be fine.

[3006]

7 grains is a nice light cheap load I've shot 1000s out of my 1894 and 29 unique is a bit dirty buy not to bad.

[Clickjack]

[NapalmCheese]

When using coated bullets you're supposed to use lead (not jacketed lead) data.

That being said, it's not dangerous to go over the book max LEAD data, it just might not be optimal for the bullet. Lead bullets (coated or not) will always produce less pressure than copper or gilding metal jacketed bullets.

Start low, work up, check for pressure.

If the jacketed data starts at 10, and the lead data ends at 7, I would have no problems loading 7.8. I wouldn't start with it, but I wouldn't have a problem loading that so long as I wasn't getting any leading and the accuracy was there. It's not like cast lead bullets need a lot of velocity to be effective (for targets or game) anyway.

[allright]

I just loaded my first 44 mags. I used 240 grain LSWC moly coated bullets, Win LPP, and did a ladder from 6.3 up to 7.5. Shot in two revolvers, an Interarms Virginian Dragoon single action 4", and a 6" Smith 629 Classic with port. The 6.3 were nice and light, and being 73, and have a small frame, I could shoot these all day without any stress to the old bones. I felt the groups were a bit open at that low power. When I got to 7 grains, the groups were tight, and not punishing me. At 7.5 grains, still tight, but just on the lower end of punishment. Just my $.02

[jmpgnr24k]

H110 has worked the best for me on my 1894

[NeilMo]

Perhaps you're missing your reading glasses? That's a joke, but seriously, take another look at your books. Lee 1st and 2nd are very close in 240gn lead data with Unique. Where did you see 6.2 thru 7 with any bullet?

1st edition 10.6-11.8gn
2nd edition 10.7-11.8gn

[Tom-ADC]

Speer #11 says 6.5 to 7.0 for lead
11.6 to 12.6 for jacketed

[NeilMo]

Speer #11 says 6.5 to 7.0 for lead
11.6 to 12.6 for jacketed

That's because the Speer 240 LSWC is swaged soft lead.

[Sandspider500]

44 mag
Once fired brass
Large pistol primers
Missouri Bullet Company 240 grain hi-tek CoatedElmer K style SWC

local reloading shop Guy told me he really likes 7.8gn of unique and this bullet.
Was going to try but my books are a mile apart on this.
Lee’s says 6.2 Starting. Max 7.0 max
Lyman’s says 10.0 Starting. max 11.7

Am I missing something? 7.8gn safe?

I swear I already gave this to you but I'll do it again. Most of missouri bullets are exact copies of laser cast bullets.


https://oregontrailbullets.com › ...PDF
Web results
Reloading Manual
Hmm that doesn't work

Just Google laser cast load data, and download the free pdf download from Oregon trail.

[Cowboy T]

44 mag
Once fired brass
Large pistol primers
Missouri Bullet Company 240 grain hi-tek CoatedElmer K style SWC

local reloading shop Guy told me he really likes 7.8gn of unique and this bullet.
Was going to try but my books are a mile apart on this.
Lee’s says 6.2 Starting. Max 7.0 max
Lyman’s says 10.0 Starting. max 11.7

Am I missing something? 7.8gn safe?

Of course 7.8 grains is safe. I'm looking at my Lyman's 49th Edition right now. Consider the .44 Special's loading range for the 240gr cast or jacketed bullets. The range is 5.8gr to 6.5gr for both. Now also remember that the .44 Magnum case is simply a slightly stretched .44 Special case, and that it's only longer to prevent higher-pressure Magnum loads from getting chambered in Special-only (e. g. the original S&W Triple-Lock) guns. It's just like .38 Special loads in .357 Magnum cases.

Now, let's have a look at the load data for .44 Magnum with the 245gr Keith-style cast bullet. I'm seeing 9.8gr to 13.0gr range; this is for bullet style #429421. The 10.0-to-11.7gr Unique range is for bullet style #429667. Page 378, BTW.

What that means is that you can safely go up to 13.0gr with the 429421 Keith bullet. It also means that your friend's proposed 7.8gr is perfectly safe.

Now, what do *I* use? Heh heh...I use a hefty charge of 2400 for the Magnums. :-)

[GeeBee49]

My regular 44 magnum load (from memory) was 6.5 gr of W231 and a 240 gr Surefire lead SWC. It was comfortable to shoot in my Model 29 6 1/2" and Redhawk 7 1/2".