Favored ‘Modest’ .44 magnum Loads

Smith & Wesson 4" .44 Magnum and targets shot with the Keith bullet and
9.0 grains of Unique and Universal help to show why the 4" Model 29 is so popular.

I started reloading in the late 1950s using the Lyman #310 Tool. This is a “Nutcracker” type of tool requiring each step in the reloading process to be accomplished very slowly. I began loading for the .38 Special and .45 Colt, and then as I added a real bench-mounted loading press graduated to other sixgun cartridges, most notably .44 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 ACP. I never had to label the boxes of my reloads as I only had one load for each cartridge. All the sixgun cartridges followed the recipes set down by Elmer Keith and my .45 ACP loads were dictated by Jeff Cooper.

Both of these gentlemen recommended pedal to the metal, full-house loads which were not always pleasant to shoot. But I was young, and I look back now and see how dumb it was to simply reload each cartridge with the same bullet and same powder charge over and over instead of experimenting.

After a few years I realized I didn’t always need to have the most powerful loads nor did I really enjoy beating myself up every time I pulled the trigger. This was especially true with the Ruger .44 Magnum Blackhawk. Ruger’s original .44 Magnum had a grip frame identical to the Colt Single Action Army. It worked well for 900 fps loads in the .45 Colt, however was exceedingly punishing with 1,450 fps .44 Magnum loads.

It also took me a while to pay attention to what Elmer Keith actually said about his loads. After waiting nearly 30 years for the arrival of the .44 Magnum he said in the article “The .44 Magnum One Year Later,” he had shot his new .44 a total of 600 rounds. That figures out to an average of 12 rounds per week. When I was still in my invincible period it was not unusual for me to shoot 300 rounds or more in one session. I finally realized the main reason for loading our own ammunition is not to come up with the same heavy load over and over again, but rather to try different things and suit our loads to the task at hand.

John’s favored .44 Magnum loads use H4227, Universal, and H110 powders.

Common Sense

In the July/August 2015 Handgunner I wrote of target loads for the .44 Magnum. In this installment we move up, not to the heaviest loads, but loads certainly able to handle most tasks and do it with authority without beating us up. Keith’s standard load for the .44 Magnum was his 250 to 260-gr. hard cast bullet over 22.5 grains of #2400 for around 1,400 fps or more. This was, and continues to be, a most excellent and powerful load. However, it’s not needed on a daily basis.

For the past 20 years or so my loads have been toned down considerably while still affording adequate power. I do hold onto one powerful load for hunting and keep a couple boxes always at the ready using a 290 to 300-gr. hard cast bullet. My favorite is the NEI 290 grain SWC Keith-style bullet, over 21.5 grains of either H110 or WW296 for around 1,300-1,350 fps from a long-barreled .44 Magnum. A 100-round box lasts me a long, long time.

A more enjoyable load using the same bullet is put together with 10.0 grains of either Unique or Universal. This load clocks out at 1,100-1,150 fps, depending upon sixgun and barrel length and is not ever likely to come up lacking in power one would need in everyday situations. This same powder charge with the Keith 250 to 260-gr. bullet clocks out at the same velocity and basically duplicates his full-house .44 Special load in .44 Magnum. This load, while performing more than adequately, does not have the bone jarring qualities of a full house .44 Magnum.

An S&W 61/2" .44 Magnum with 8.5 and 10.0 grains of Universal and
the Keith bullet yield consistent, accurate results.

Specific Loads

I’m not always locked into the 10.0 grain load and often used 8.5 to 9.0 grains of Unique or Universal with the 250-260 Keith bullet. An 83/8″ S&W .44 Magnum using the NEI 260KT bullet over 8.5 grains of Universal yields 1,060 fps and a 5-shot 20-yard group of 1″. Nine grains Universal clocks out at 1,080 fps with a 3/4″ group. In this same long-barreled sixgun 10.0 grains of Universal yields 1,236 fps and a 3/4″ group.

A long-time favorite powder for big bore sixguns, .44 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt, has been Hodgdon’s #4227. A very pleasant everyday load is assembled with Oregon Trail’s 240 SWC over 18.5 grains of #4227. In a pair of S&W 83/8″ .44 Magnums, this load clocks out at about 1,067 fps with 7/8″ groups. Very, very pleasant shooting while at the same time being significantly more powerful than standard loadings in the .45 ACP or .45 Colt. I still use 2400, however I’ve backed off considerably in the load. In an S&W 61/2″ .44 Magnum the RCBS #44-250KT over 17.0 grains of #2400 is just over 1,000 fps. At the end of the day it’s done what I needed and I’m still in good shape.

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