I am thinking of loading some 325gr lead gc up for the 44 .Do you think to much of a good thing or they should work ok ,if so any good loads .the gun is a ruger so i am not worried about it falling apart . thanks Bob

That's a mighty heavy round (I used to load 240grain). I bet it's pretty long. Will the OAL be OK in your Ruger?

The recoil should be stout, to say the least.

I think once you go over 300gr in a 44 you will lose velocity. The 44 peaks, very well, at 300 gr.

325gr. 44 mag. loads

I found this post on another site these are not my results but look pretty good ......I finally got the opportunity to test some 325gr. / WC820 loads today and was somewhat surprised at the velocity….a little faster than I would have guessed.

 

I used a Ruger SBH 7.5†with 2.5X 8 Burris scope from rest. The WC820 powder was from an eight-pound lot and the bullet was the Beartooth 325gr. WLNGC.

 

The Cast Performance web site recommended the starting load for W296 with a 320gr. bullet was 19.0gr. so that’s what I started with. (note: previous tests have shown my lot of WC820 performs very similiarly to W296) I “assumed†(bad word when handloading) that since 19.0gr. was the recommended starting load and that W296 should only be reduced 3% that 20.0gr. would be maximum. The assumption was they would not recommend load reductions that don’t conform to the powder manufacturer’s recommendations. And yes, I know that 19.0 X 1.03 is closer to 19.5 than 20.0. I shot five groups of five for 19.0gr., 19.5gr., and 20.0gr. at 25yds.. Shooting conditions were excellent.

 

The velocity results were as follows:

 

19.0gr = 1279.2 fps. avg.

19.5gr = 1312.4 fps. avg.

20.0gr = 1365.4 fps. avg.

 

The accuracy was as follows:

 

19.0 five shots = 1.40â€â€™ and best four = .53†center to center

19.5 five shots = 1.23†and best four = .89†center to center

20.0 five shots = 1.29†and best four = .79†center to center

The velocity results were as follows:

 

19.0gr = 1279.2 fps. avg.

19.5gr = 1312.4 fps. avg.

20.0gr = 1365.4 fps. avg.

 

The accuracy was as follows:

 

19.0 five shots = 1.40â€â€™ and best four = .53†center to center

19.5 five shots = 1.23†and best four = .89†center to center

20.0 five shots = 1.29†and best four = .79†center to center

 

Need the SD and ED values to tell how useful the data is.

 

It's funny. You're loading up the 44mag, where my purpose in loading for it is to load down. I've reduced my loads signficantly to make the gun a lot more fun to shoot.

It's funny. You're loading up the 44mag, where my purpose in loading for it is to load down. I've reduced my loads signficantly to make the gun a lot more fun to shoot.

 

^^^^^ this...

 

pretty sure that bullet was desihned around the rifle round..

 

i use 300gr xtp's in the desert eagle for demoloshing pumpkins and stuff..

and 245's in the redhawk mag loads and wadcutter target loads in the redhawk..

 

That 325 could be a good bowling pin round,just curious how much lead fouling it would have?

I am thinking of loading some 325gr lead gc up for the 44 .Do you think to much of a good thing or they should work ok ,if so any good loads .the gun is a ruger so i am not worried about it falling apart . thanks Bob

The "go big or go home" school of thought. I like it. That's a mighty hefty bullet for a .44 Mag. Are you shooting plates at long range? Hunting? Or just tinkering? The heaviest bullet I've tried in the .44 Mag. is the old-style Hornady 265 gr. FP. Strong construction, and accurate with a heavy charge of H110. I've actually moved to the opposite end of the spectrum in the .44 Mag. I like a light lead load for practice/plinking, and also like the Sierra 210 gr. JHC which I found to be very accurate. Have you thought of the 300 gr. Speer Unicor or are you intent on using an all-lead bullet with a gc? A lot can be said for a big meplat from an all lead bullet though.

 

I see Hornady offers their 265 gr. FTX bullet for handloaders, and the BC is .225. That might be an option. (The original 265 gr. Interlock FP's BC was .191) The new FTX bullet might be a decent long-range load albeit a bit expensive for plinking. This same bullet is loaded to rifle velocities in the .444 Marlin so it should hold together well at pistol velocities. I think at the lower velocities in the .44 Mag. the better BC may not make much of a difference either but there seems to be an advantage to using it at .444 Marlin velocities.

those loads really seem that they will be a hand full . I also load my gun so it is fun to shoot . i have been loading 240 gr bullets with 10.5gr of unique nice to shoot and pretty accurate. i ran across these 325gr bullets on gun broker they seem to be ok price about 9.65 for 100 + shipping. so i just wanted to see if this was just a crazy idea or might be fun .

I load the .44 Mag. with 7.0-7.5 grs. of Unique with a 240 gr. SWC. It's a nice light plinking load. When I have Red Dot on hand I will use 6.5 grs. with the same bullet.

 

I like to work up reduced loads for my rifles as well since they are cheaper to shoot and easier on the shoulder. This past summer I worked up a .444 Marlin reduced load of 11 grs. of Blue Dot, with a bit of Poly-fil added to keep the powder close to the primer, to produce just under 1200fps with a 240 gr. SWC lead bullet for one-hole groups at 25yds. Perfect for plinking or potting small game around camp. This load shoots dead-on at 25 yds. with no changes to my scope setting when used with my hunting load sighted to print 1.5" high @ 100 yds. 10 grs. of Unique with the same bullet will work or 13 grs. of 700X, but the Blue Dot recipe seemed the most accurate for me.

I bought a 44 just so I could load it hot!!! I love the BOOM!!!!!