What is a good load for a 44Gr. cast bullit?

I haven't shot any 44 gr. cast out of my Contender, because I never have been able to get anything over the 35 gr. VMax to group well for me (too long for the barrel twist I guess). I would recommend that you give Lil Gun a try though regardless of the bullet you shoot (take a look at the Hodgdon website [URL=http://www.hodgdon.com]. It cut my groups in half and it seemed to cut down on the case stretch associated with the Hornet (that plus using Lee Collet dies.