New and confused

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4lee4

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I'm new to reloading. Bought a couple newer manuals, but some loads listed are confusing me. The lyman manual lists 17.8gr blue dot as a starting load for 44mag 180gr jhp, while the hornady manual lists 17.3gr blue dot as a max load. Neither list a magnum primer. With coflicting info like this, where should I start my loading?
Planning for a light to midrange load for target, 180xtp and starline brass. Any suggestions?
 
Planning for a light to midrange load for target, 180xtp
What powders do you have besides Blue Dot, IMHO there are better choices for midrange, and especially light, loads with 180 Gr jacketed bullets. Not that I haven't shot a good bit of Blue Dot in the .44 Mag back in the day when I had a .44 Mag carbine.
Start with the lower of the two and work up if needed.

Start with the lower of the two and work up if needed.
Yep.

Welcome to THR
 
I'll try some Unique loads too. Not necessarily looking for powder puff, but want to enjoy more range time to teach my nephew to shoot it. Hoping for decent results in the Henry and the SBH.
 
Welcome to THR. Best advice at this point in your reloading journey is to take your time and start slow. Read the front part of your manual a couple times and make sure you understand it completely. When it's time to start making ammo start with 5 or 10 rounds and take them to the range to try them out before loading up a couple of hundred.

Lot's of experienced folks here that can help with any questions that crop up. Listen to that little voice in your head that says be careful because you are dealing with gunpowder and explosives.

.40
 
I mostly use my Hornady Manual, my Lee Manual and the Hodgdon Website fom my loading.

On a lot of the stuff I load for Hornady's top charge is under Lee's starting charge.

I don't like to take things to the top charge. I start with the minimum and take it step by step up about 3/4s of the way and see what happens on the targets. Once I get my best grouping I will go up one grain and down one grain then play with the 10ths of a grain up & down. Then change out primers to see if anything changes.
I use a rifle rest to shot my test loads. It takes most of my fault out of the equasion.
 
What gun are you loading for?
I would start low at 13.5gr and load five of those, and then load five at 14gr and five at 14.5 and five at 15gr and five at 15.5gr and shoot them on paper from a rest and see which load shoots the best. If you like one of those you can dial the load in from there. If you don't like any of those loads you could work the load up or down.
Sometimes I load 6 of each and use one as a clue to where these loads will print.
 
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Neither list a magnum primer.

A "Magnum primer" has a hotter or longer flame than a "Standard primer".

The moniker "Magnum primer" is relative to the powder choice rather the cartridge choice. Ball powders such as Winchester 296 or Hodgdon H-110 need a hotter primer, aka "Magnum" primer, than a powder such as Blue Dot, 2400, Accurate #5 or Unique.

It does not matter if the cartridge has "Magnum" as part of its name.

Use the primer recommended by the reloading data.

Also note, the difference in data from different loading manuals is due to a number of reasons. Different labs, different techs performing the test, different powder lots, different lawyers, different atmospheric conditions when the test were performed, different firearms, and a host of other factors.

It gets confusing for a novice reloader but if you follow published data from a reputable source, you will be ok.
 
Since you are using Hornady's bullet, use their data. Bullet construction, overall length and so on make a difference so it's best to follow the bullet maker's load data, or if using a powder maker's load data, use it with the bullet they use.
 
if i have a manual that matches the manufacturer of the bullet im using, i just use that manual. if not. i'll figure the average of starting loads from what sources i have and work my way up to my desired level.
 
Welcome aboard !

► The Lyman is the better overall manual, and many here use it as their "Bible" for general load information when loading 3rd party bullets. But the guys above are correct. If you're using Hornady bullets, then the Hornady manual is going to be your better choice.

► You'll also find that 44Mag in pistol and 44Mag in rifle may require 2 different loads. Some load manuals may differentiate. So be careful when flipping through the manuals not to stop at the first data you come across. Stick-on page tabs will help you get back to the same page repeatedly.

► Most importantly, keep a reloading notebook of your own results. I generally reserve 2 whole pages for each bullet I shoot. Then under the bullet information, I list all the loads I've tried and the target results along with impressions of recoil. It all seems fresh right now, but in 2 weeks all the numbers will become a jumble. Write it down !!

Be safe.
 
OP welcome to the forum and the madness that is hand loading. My three biggest takeaways are follow published loads (average several sources), always work up your loads from 10% below max in at least 10 steps, and keep notes on everything you try. No sense trying a load you found to be a dud years ago. This will make your job way easier IMHO.
 
Welcome to the circus.

I primarily use the Hornady manual and the Alliant website. I have a Speer and Lyman manual to cross check to make sure I'm not doing something stupid. As others have said, start low and work up. The Hornady manual is very good and generally a bit conservative when compared to others which is good for a new reloader.

You don't need magnum primers unless you use ball powder.

Blue Dot was developed as a shotgun powder. That isn't to say it won't work for your intended purpose tho. I use a shotgun powder (American Select) for 45 ACP, 38 and 9mm exclusively. You're in the safe zone if you can find published load data from a bullet or powder mfg. When you find something that works stay with it.

2400 was probably the original magnum pistol powder and nobody has ever made anything better IMO. I've loaded at least 8 pounds of the stuff. It works.
 
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I found the rifle and pistol load data is very similar for the 2400 powder. I'm sure the actual results for accuracy and velocity will vary, but just starting out, I'm more concerned with just getting it done safe, and just learning to use the equipment correctly. I'm SURE of only 1 thing...I'm gonna have plenty of questions! It seems like I found the right place for the help I'll be needing. Thanks to all
 
I'll try some Unique loads too. Not necessarily looking for powder puff, but want to enjoy more range time to teach my nephew to shoot it. Hoping for decent results in the Henry and the SBH.

Initially I was going to suggest a different powder than BlueDot, but if you are shooting them in a rifle barrel (Henry) that is probably a reasonable choice. I wouldn't go any faster than Unique given the circumstance. Unique would be pretty hard to beat as a mid-range powder for the .44, it's what I use in my .41 loads... rifle or pistol. 2400 (or IMR4227) would be good as well, particularly in the rifle barrel.

The big differences in published load data confused me, too, when I was new at it. I learned to look at the details... like test barrels vs firearms, length of barrel, and other things. I have about 4 different books to go with online data, so I 'criss-cross' my data to come up with a good starting point for any cartridge.
 
Remember, many times print manuals are ouy of date by the time they reach the shelves. Personally, I like going to the powder maker websites for the latest data.
 
No need to use a different load in a handgun and rifle unless the load barely clear the barrel of a handgun barrel. That load would probably be well below the starting charge in published data anyway. Most times the only difference in handgun and rifle data in a manual is the velocity they report.

Have fun and be safe.
Welcome to THR.
 
If you are teaching your nephew to shoot, best to go "powder puff" I let my grandson shoot my 357 Magnum with what I considered "mild" loads. He shot ti once, and said "no, thank you!" I shoulda loaded some .38 Special level loads for him, but I didn't know he would be going with that day.
44 Special loads in your 44 Magnum can be shot safely, and should be a fair starting point for a neophyte. You might even find a load that you really like. :)
 
Alliant doesn’t show a recipe for 180gr bullet for blue dot on their website. Just thought I’d throw some more confusion in. Welcome to THR.
 
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