I have a question for more knowledgable reloaders than myself. I've always gotten good results with my Super Blackhawk reloading 240 grain bullets with Accurate #9 powder.

A friend gave me a nearly full box of 180 grain jacketed hollow-point bullets for the .44. He tried using them with sabots in his muzzleloader and didn't like the results.

I looked in my reloading manual and it lists #7 for 180 grain JHP bullets and #9 for 200 - 300 gr. JHP bullets.

What I was wondering was has anyone tried #9 for the lighter grain bullets and what were the results?

I have not tried lighter bullets with #9. However #9, much like Win 296 or H 110, #9 is advised for heavy bullets and heavy crimp. I believe that #9 is less sensitive to this but I have no proof to share with you.

I know this may not be especially relevant, but I'll throw it out there.

I just reloaded some .44 mag 200 gr JHP's with #9. I am going to try them out on Wednesday, I can let you know how they work out.

You *might* be able to use the same loads with your 180's as my 200's. I've read that if your particular bullet is not listed for your particular powder, then to use the next size up, but I don't know if the difference is too great here.

Thanks Dan! I look forward to hearing the results of your shooting.

Didn't mean to take so long getting around to posting this.

The rounds work great, we shot 1" 5 round groups through a Marlin 1894S. It was only my second time on the caliber.

Also a couple of the brass was in Nickel, so I made them just over starting load. You could definitely tell when you shot the hotter loads, so I would not advise using 200 gr loads for your 180's, unless someone more knowledgeable than myself advises that it is safe.

Good luck with your rounds.

Hi
I had some good success with AA#9 recently with a 240gr bullet in .44 Mag


http://www.handloadersbench.com/forum17/27179.html

I have not used AA#9 with light bullets in the 44, but #9 has worked very well in just about everything I try it in.. I would curtainly be worth a try.

quote:

Originally posted by RDub:
Hi
I had some good success with AA#9 recently with a 240gr bullet in .44 Mag


http://www.handloadersbench.com/forum17/27179.html

I have not used AA#9 with light bullets in the 44, but #9 has worked very well in just about everything I try it in.. I would curtainly be worth a try.

I've always had good luck too when reloading using 240 grain bullets and #9 powder.

What do you think a good starting load would be for 180 grain bullets being shot out of a Ruger Super Blackhawk?

Well Accurate lists 23.3grs for a 200gr bullet. That is the lightest they list.

So if you started at say, 25.0grs and work in 0.5gr increments up you should come up with something useable.

When venturing out of established data you on your own, so watch for pressure signs and be careful.

Surprise, Sierra lists data for 180-grain bullets and AA#9 powder in a 7.5" SBH:

Starting load: 20.1 = 1400 fps
Maximum load: 24.4 = 1600 fps


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