Hello folks. I have been lurking around for about a month. And have came to the conclusion this a very respected forum with great members. Which is hard to come by in todays time.

I have a question about loading Loads in 44Mag. I am loading 240 gr Lead SWC from Houston Bullet Company. And had some Accurate #9 laying around. Accurates recepie is saying between 19.5 and 21.7 gr of Accurate #9. With an OAL of 1.560". The Pressure at 21.7gr is slated for 39,600 CUP. With SAAMI Max pressure of 40,000 CUP on the 44 Mag. I am using CCI 300 Large Pistol Primers and New Winchester Brass. And shooting out of my Ruger Super Redhawk 9.5" bbl. I guess my biggest concern is pressure. I loaded a few at 21.3 gr and it seems like when seating the bullet to the cartridge OAL of 1.560" the bullet may be sitting right on top of the powder. The bullet itself measures .720" and is being seated in the neighborhood of .410". Forgive me as I am relatively new to reloading and understand that the less air gap the better. I just don't care to hurt myself or anyone else. Another thing, at these velocity's around 1400-1500 fps, do I need to worry about leading or the Projectile failing? Any help would be greatly apprieciated. Thanks in advance.

http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Handgun/Standarddata/44Cal(10.97mm)/44%20Remington%20Magnum%20pages%20133%20to%20135.pdf

The Rugers are very strong, so even though you are approaching max load, you should be OK. The Rugers are not known for smooth barrels, so leading might be a problem. If it's leading you should easily see it.

Many safe loads are compressed, just start at the low end of the recommended range and increase the load slowly to make sure it's OK in your pistol. Some people don't like them, some do. I like a load that is about 2% compressed -- I seem to get better accuracy.

Don_G, I apprieciate the info. When you are talking about Compressing the load. You are referring to backing off by 2% correct? Ie... If I have a load of 21.3 gr x .02 - 21.3= 20.874gr. Just want to verify...

No - they are 2 separate things.



You should always start a load development at 10% below max weight or at the published minimum weight (whichever is bigger), then work up.



EXAMPLE 1: Max charge is listed at 100 grains of BigBang for your case and bullet. No minimum charge is listed. Start with 90 grains and work up.



Example 2: Max charge is listed as 100 grains, minimum listed is 95 grains. Start at 95 grains and work up. (Supposedly some powders can overpressure with minimum charges as well as maximum charges. I've heard people say that H110 is one of these. Don't know myself, but if a manufacturer lists a minimum charge I will not go below it.)



A compressed load is one where the bullet smashes the powder a bit when fully seated. Only with slow powders do you get safe compressed loads. Used to some loading books would put a C by the load if it was compressed. Now I think most don't bother.

Don has given you good advice. The amount of leading you get will be a product of; how fast you drive the bullet, how hard the metal & how smooth the bore. Don't be too concerned about the bullets realtionship to the amount of powder. Slow powders like H110 & W296 take up more space in the case. Fast to med. burners use less space. Stick to published data that you have worked up to & you will be fine, even if some powder compression is evident.
Also, vel. & pressure quotes are only exactly valid in the firearm tested w/ the componets listed. Any changes you make, bullet brand/shape, primer, etc. can change vel. & pressure. The only way you know for sure is a chronograph & pressure bbl.

The others have given good advice. I am glad to see you have and are reading your reloading manual. Some powders/loads function better compressed.
For #9 and 2400, these powders are suggested not to be loaded down below the minimum listed.
Your manual will usually state if it is a compressed load with a symbol like (+) or (c).

Thanks for the great advice guys. Your help and reassurance has been tremendous. In the last 2 months I have had a great time reloading and seeing the satisfaction shooting sub 1" groups with ammo I have produced. I am currently reloading .270, 25-06, 357 Mag, and 44 Mag. Once again thanks for helping a Newbie.