Load for .44 mag

[SFT]

Any suggestions for loading Triple 7 and .44 mag cases for CAS?  I don't normally shoot BP in my back-up rifle, but I've got too many new cases not too.  Bullet weight advice welcome too.

The .44 special cases work fine but don't hold up for more than a few reloads, plus they leave a crud ring making full length cases a little hard to chamber sometimes.

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy SFT,

Since I've shot 44 Magnums from the git go and never loaded 'em with anything but Holy Black for CAS, I may be able to help.  First of all, there's a black powder bullet around called the Mav Dutchman.  It's one of the early, and very fine, Big Lube™ designs.  Ol Mav himself designed it and there are many thousands of them shot every week all around the world.

The halmark of tht Mav Dutchman is that it hauls over five times the lube of the nearest competitor.  The innerds of the barrel stay wet with lube and the fouling leaves with the next shot.  You can run hundreds, maybe thousands, of shots without any foul out problems.

My sidekick, Silas McFee, and me shoot my 44 Mag ammo at most of our matches.  He likes to shoot 44 Spl also.  Silas can intermix 44 Spl and 44 Mag and not have the "ring" problem you mentioned in his Rossi 92.  Probably cuz the fouling is never stiff.  I do load and shoot 44 Spl also when my mood calls for it.  My rifles are Browning 92s and they can easily run 44 Mag after shooting 44 Spl.

No, I don't shoot subs.   They are too dirty.  Genuine bp runs cleaner, given a proper bullet.  It costs less and is easier to load properly since all loads are simply compressed about 1/8".  Cleanup is a snap with a spritz of Moosemilk and a tug of the Boresnake.

Hope this helps.

DD-DLoS

[SFT]

Thanks DD, that helps a bunch.  One of the things I've learned using Triple 7, Pyrodex and Goex is that each needs it own amount of lube.  When I switched to 777, I found that I was using too much lube, especially with the .45 special.  Using SPG lubed bullets and Triple 7 actually causing more fouling than it prevents.  Learned that using .45 LC rifle loads and .45 spl pistol rounds.  I tried APP once; NEVER, NEVER again will I encrust my guns in that sugar residue.

I've given up Pyrodex and am out of Goex, leaving just the 777 to use up, preferably in my .44.  After that I'm going to try the big lube 150gr? .45 in the special cases with the real stuff.  Thanks for the info, I appreciate it very much.
SFT

Howdy SFT,

Since I've shot 44 Magnums from the git go and never loaded 'em with anything but Holy Black for CAS, I may be able to help.  First of all, there's a black powder bullet around called the Mav Dutchman.  It's one of the early, and very fine, Big Lube™ designs.  Ol Mav himself designed it and there are many thousands of them shot every week all around the world.

The halmark of tht Mav Dutchman is that it hauls over five times the lube of the nearest competitor.  The innerds of the barrel stay wet with lube and the fouling leaves with the next shot.  You can run hundreds, maybe thousands, of shots without any foul out problems.

My sidekick, Silas McFee, and me shoot my 44 Mag ammo at most of our matches.  He likes to shoot 44 Spl also.  Silas can intermix 44 Spl and 44 Mag and not have the "ring" problem you mentioned in his Rossi 92.  Probably cuz the fouling is never stiff.  I do load and shoot 44 Spl also when my mood calls for it.  My rifles are Browning 92s and they can easily run 44 Mag after shooting 44 Spl.

No, I don't shoot subs.   They are too dirty.  Genuine bp runs cleaner, given a proper bullet.  It costs less and is easier to load properly since all loads are simply compressed about 1/8".  Cleanup is a snap with a spritz of Moosemilk and a tug of the Boresnake.

Hope this helps.

DD-DLoS

[Dick Dastardly]

Happy New Year SFT,

Sometimes I become too enthusiastic about my bp shootn'.  I'm my own worst cheerleader.  Also, many times I write somethin' that I intended to be a little funny and it comes off as sarcastic.  I should use more smiley faces .

DD-DLoS

[Adirondack Jack]

I like the Big lube designs a lot, and have used em successfully with 777 (though not in .44).  I size and lube the big lube bullets with the Lyman sizer and I find 777 likes hard lube, so I bought the cheapest crayon crap I could find (Ebay, a feller calls himself Jakes Lubes, do the searchie thing on the ebay site) and it works.  For REAL BP I got spg and crisco/beeswax, and one day soon when that runs out, expect to use Pearl Lube.

[SFT]

Happy New Year SFT,

Sometimes I become too enthusiastic about my bp shootn'.  I'm my own worst cheerleader.  Also, many times I write somethin' that I intended to be a little funny and it comes off as sarcastic.  I should use more smiley faces .

DD-DLoS

I didn't think it was sarcastic at all, and still full of useful information.  I just didn't want to seem to be a total idiot when it comes to loading BP or subs, and since I haven't been using my .44 rifle all that much I've got a couple hundred brand new .44 mag cases that are gathering dust and being tripped over, so I thought I'd shoot BP only at an upcoming match.  Then if I use up all the Triple 7 I've got I'll have an excuse to go to the supply store and spend my Christmas money. 

Then I'll be able to load the Big Lube bullet in the .45 special with real black. 

[SFT]

I like the Big lube designs a lot, and have used em successfully with 777 (though not in .44).  I size and lube the big lube bullets with the Lyman sizer and I find 777 likes hard lube, so I bought the cheapest crayon crap I could find (Ebay, a feller calls himself Jakes Lubes, do the searchie thing on the ebay site) and it works.  For REAL BP I got spg and crisco/beeswax, and one day soon when that runs out, expect to use Pearl Lube.

So, any suggested bullet weight or powder charge w/ 777 and .44 mag cases?