UPS just delivered some 300 gr Hornady XTP's and some 300 gr. WFNGC hardcast bullets. THese will be used for black bear this Saturday, so I need to load some and test them tomorrow.

I tried to do a search here, but I swear it only omittied 14 posts from the total in this forum! Sorry if this has been beat to death here already.

I will be shooting a Super Blackhawk .44 magnum with Remington once fired cases and CCI standard Large Pistol Primers. For pistol powders I have Unique, Bullseye, 700x, 231, 2400,and even a can and a half of my favorite .45 powder, the long-discontinued 452AA. I am guessing the 2400 and 231 will be the ones to use in th e.44.

OK, so what loads can you reccomend and how fast do you think these bullets need to be moving to kill a bear over bait at 8-20 yards? Recoil is a MAJOR factor, as I am having to use the pistol due to disability. It will be shot one handed, and that arm is very weak as well.

Thanks!

The Hornady manual (5th ed.) gives the following data for 2400.

Grains Velocity
15.8 1150
16.2 1200
16.7 1250
17.2 1300

If you are reloading, you really NEED to purchase manuals to go with the bullets and powders you intend to use.

Getting the 300 grain bullets between 1,000 to 1,200 fps should get the job done rather handily. I would definitely stay on the load end of the powder charges

Thanks for the info. Is that info for jacketed or hardcast bullets?

I have 4 manuals, but none deal with 300 gr cast bullets and only 2 have loads for 300 gr jacketed bullets. Well, I also printed some loads off of the Hodgdon web site. They had 300 gr jacketed data, but again, no cast bullet data.

Is there a place on the web with safe cast bullet data? I am not one to hot rod my handloads. I usually load them to the maximum in my books, but don't go beyond.

The data from Hornady is for the 300 grain XTP. Data for jacketed bullets usually will give about an extra 100 fps to a cast bullet due to reduced friction.

One must pay attention to how much of the bullet goes into the case. Extra seating depth drives up the pressure quickly.

You need to keep your manuals up to date.

The first thing you will find that there is almost no difference in recoil from a starting load to the max load. You will never tell anything between 1100 and 1200 fps. The boolit weight is the only thing that counts. The heavier boolit has more of a push then a real sharp recoil, I have 240 gr loads that kick sharper. Granted, the 300 gr does have recoil, no way out of it.
If you want top accuracy out of both, use 21.5 gr's of 296 and the standard primer with the WFN and use 20.5 gr's of 296 with the 300 XTP. These are without a doubt the most accurate loads in the Ruger. Both give an inch or under at 50 yd's.
2400 should serve you well and it can be downloaded some. Since you are shooting close range, accuracy will not be as important.
You don't have to have a high velocity with the heavy bullets. I would just not worry about 100 fps or so, you won't feel it. In fact you won't feel anything shooting at the bear.

296 and H110 are the powders to use, at least for the lead bullets. Do a google search on Linebaugh and find his article on 44mag loads. Also try sixgunner.com, they may have this article. I can't personally verify bfr's load of 21.5 as I am at work, but it sounds about right.
Peter.

I shot a deer with the 300xtp but i was using H110.Deer went 20yds and died.No exit wound so if i were you i'd use the hardcast for bear!

I load a 240 gr hardcast on top of 10 gr of unique in a 7 1/2 in. sbh. This is a very light load in the recoil dept. I would not hesitate to shoot a black bear behind the shoulder at 5 to 20 yards with this load.

Lee C429310 and 18.5 grains of WC820 (old slow batch) gave me the BEST group my Super Redhawk has ever produced at 50 Yards.

Seem to bore very deeply the wet clay of my berm and leave pretty big hole.

I cast 315 grainers from wheelweights and shoot them through my Ruger Super Blackhawk . I use 9.5 grains of accurate arms #5 which shoots real good. However my crono is broken and I suspect you want a powder that will give you more velosity.

21.5 gr H-110, cci 350. Worked well with Speer 300 gr jacketed, and 300, 310 and 320 gr cast.

21.0 grains with a 320 grain gas checked cast in both a ruger super blackhawk and a s&w 629 grouped extremely well.

Perhaps backing off will maintain accuracy and ease the recoil a bit. I will check for same bullet load with different powder / charge once home later today.

KMule

With a 300 gr cast bullet 800-900 FPS will do the job.You can safely use the low end loads from Hornady with the cast bullets.These loads will give you more FPS than the jacketed as they cause less friction in the barrel.VihtaVuori N340 with 9.1 grs will get you about 950FPS and N350 with 9.4 grs will get you abot 935 FPS.These should be pleasant easy to controll loads. Good luck,OB