D.B. Cooper
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2016
- Messages
- 4,400
This should be the culmination of all my 44 magnum discussions from the past year or so. I am trying to replicate a load someone else made fore me years ago. And I apologize, in advance, for the lengthy post.
I'm working with 312 grn hard cast lead WFN projectiles; these were made explicitly for moose hunting inside 100 yrds in heavy brush. 1.654" coal. The box is marked 22 grns H110. I pulled a few apart and weighed the powder: they came in around 19.8 grns, but it's very fine powder, and I doubt it all came out of the case and bullet puller. I chronographed 10 of these and came up with an average MV of 1539 fps. These shoot well in my 20" bbl Win 94 lever gun. Group size is around 4" for 5 rounds, although bullet drop at 100 yrds is significant. (18-24" even at 50 yrds, bullet drip is 8-10") By comparison, HSM Bear loads (305 grn WFN) shoot terribly (as do 240 and even 200 grn projectiles) due to the 1:38 twist and lack of rotational stability.
Looking at Lyman's 49th ed., there is no listing for 44 magnum rifle for 300+ grn projectiles, but the pistol data shows a 300 grn projectile maximum load of 18.5 grns. 22 grains seems excessive.
I loaded up a batch of similar ammo, starting at 18 grns through 19 grains at 0.2 grn increments. 18.4 grns (0.1 below maximum) 5-shot avg MV was 1368 fps. 19.0 grns (0.5 grns above maximum) 5-shot avg MV was 1411 fps. SO...22 grains of H110 to achieve 1500 fps doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
So here is where I'm at: the 18.4 grn load was pretty good. About 4-6" at 100 yrds with the same 18-24" drop. 6" is well within the size of a moose lung/heart vital zone. If I can compensate for the drop (I'm going to have to buy shim stock and shim the rear sight ramp.), then, as far as accuracy and bullet stability, I think I'm good to go. However, 18.4 grns is 171 fps slower than my current ammo. Even the 19 grn, over max load, at 1411 is 128 fps under. So now I'm at the point of trying to decide wether or not to load the 19 grn or keep pushing toward 22 grns trying to achieve 1500 fps (which, I'm told, will shoot a moose through and through at 100 yrds, which is the final end result I'm searching for.) or to just stop at the maximum 18.5 and accept that as the caliber's final limitation.
I'm working with 312 grn hard cast lead WFN projectiles; these were made explicitly for moose hunting inside 100 yrds in heavy brush. 1.654" coal. The box is marked 22 grns H110. I pulled a few apart and weighed the powder: they came in around 19.8 grns, but it's very fine powder, and I doubt it all came out of the case and bullet puller. I chronographed 10 of these and came up with an average MV of 1539 fps. These shoot well in my 20" bbl Win 94 lever gun. Group size is around 4" for 5 rounds, although bullet drop at 100 yrds is significant. (18-24" even at 50 yrds, bullet drip is 8-10") By comparison, HSM Bear loads (305 grn WFN) shoot terribly (as do 240 and even 200 grn projectiles) due to the 1:38 twist and lack of rotational stability.
Looking at Lyman's 49th ed., there is no listing for 44 magnum rifle for 300+ grn projectiles, but the pistol data shows a 300 grn projectile maximum load of 18.5 grns. 22 grains seems excessive.
I loaded up a batch of similar ammo, starting at 18 grns through 19 grains at 0.2 grn increments. 18.4 grns (0.1 below maximum) 5-shot avg MV was 1368 fps. 19.0 grns (0.5 grns above maximum) 5-shot avg MV was 1411 fps. SO...22 grains of H110 to achieve 1500 fps doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
So here is where I'm at: the 18.4 grn load was pretty good. About 4-6" at 100 yrds with the same 18-24" drop. 6" is well within the size of a moose lung/heart vital zone. If I can compensate for the drop (I'm going to have to buy shim stock and shim the rear sight ramp.), then, as far as accuracy and bullet stability, I think I'm good to go. However, 18.4 grns is 171 fps slower than my current ammo. Even the 19 grn, over max load, at 1411 is 128 fps under. So now I'm at the point of trying to decide wether or not to load the 19 grn or keep pushing toward 22 grns trying to achieve 1500 fps (which, I'm told, will shoot a moose through and through at 100 yrds, which is the final end result I'm searching for.) or to just stop at the maximum 18.5 and accept that as the caliber's final limitation.