If it was good enough for Elmer Keith, it should be good enough for me. I am going to put up all the "fancy" loads for my 44 Magnum and go back to the old Keith load of a 250gr. Keith SWC [Keith's real design, H&G mold, cast myself] and 22.5gr. of 2400 [I still have some Hercules 2400 left, I hear the new Aliant is a little faster].
I have taken various small game with minimal meat damage [I eat small game ], deer and wild pigs. This load has never failed me. I will be using it on the deer lease, and If I am lucky on a Wyoming deer hunt and a Colorado Elk hunt if we draw tags. This is a "holster gun, not a primary hunting gun.
I am going to take a 4" 44 to Zim in 2004, and I think I will practice with this load and carry it.
What do ya'll think.

N E 450 No2...

The operative statement in your post is "this load has never failed me." I bet you are old, like me. I never got the 44 mag bug, and am not personally familar with that load, but if anything I need to shoot with a handgun can't be handled with 8 to 10 grains of Unique under a 250gr cast SWC in 45 colt, I just won't shoot it. This load has worked for me for 30 years. If it ain't broke, don't break it.

I like 8.5 grains of Unique and a 240 grain Keith style for my 44mag. It's a very pleasant load, but it still has enough umph to take a whitetail. I've got 500 of 'em loaded up for next weekend .

Try shooting 500 round pushed by H110 (my other pet powder). That'll make your elbow sore for days!

The only way I ever improve my accuracy is with high volume shooting.

Both of the above two loads sound great also.

[ 05-18-2003, 02:53: Message edited by: recoiljunky ]

Ya'll are both correct. For High volume shooting in the 44 Mag I have used Unique from 7.5gr. to 10 grains for many years. 7.5 to 8gr. make a good load for double action work. My wife uses 9.2gr of Unique as her standard load in non-bear country. I just like the 2400 load for bigger, serious work.

recoil junky............I used to buy cast bullets from someone from Alabama; Valiant was the brand if I remember correctly. Seems like his name was Teague. I really like his bullets. I used to see him at gun shows in Columbus. Do you know if he is still in business, and if so, how I could get in touch? Thanks

Valiant Cast Bullets
P.O. Box 556
Ranburne, AL. 36273

If I'm not mistaken, I remember reading in an article from the early to mid 80's that old Elmer shot many a more loads with 20 grains of 2400 than he did of 22+ grains. I like the 20 grain loads for my belt guns, does just fine out to as far as I can hit anything with the open sights. I also prefer Ray Thompsons 429244 gas check bullet over the plain based, but that's just because they leave a tad less lead in the barrel than the other.

regards,
Graycg

A very practical load. I prefer either 4227 or H110 myself, but that's just because they shoot slighter better and burn cleaner.
I still don't understand the fascination with the 300 gr. bullets. A hard cast 250, or even the full power factory lead loads, will penetrate right through the face plate of a full grown range bull. Many high power rifle loads won't do that. I mean if you have to shoot a big bear with a handgun, you need to hit him right. Through the chest is not a good idea. E

I agree that the "small" 250 gn Kieth load should do for all of north America excluding Big Bears. I have the Magnum bug bad and can't really help myself. I try, but always want more. I haven't hunted Africa, but I would be inclined to follow Ross Seyfrieds lead in useing a heavy 5 shot 45colt or larger.
I hadn't shot my 44mag in a few years because I was busy with heavy 45 colts, 454's, 45-70 BFR... A friend came over to load some 44's and I decided to load some also and take my Bisley out. The light recoil was nice, almost humerous that the 250 gn Kieth at 1350 seemed light by comparison. I loaded with WC820 and found it burned well from 800fps on up. My best accuracy was around 1350 fps.

Oh one more thing. Did Elmer ever use his 44-250 load in Africa? I don't recall reading about it?

I have a 70 cal Howda now, and I'm looking at a WW1 German Flare pistol, 1" bore, thinking of shooting 1/4 lb round balls in it.

Maybe I need to spend some time with a 32-20?

graycg
For a while I shot 20gr and 21 gr of 2400 Thinking it would be a little easier on my revolvers, but accuracy always seemed a little better with 22 and 22.5gr.
Lar45
I can not remember if Elmer Keith ever wrote about his 44 in Africa. About the only Keith book I have not read is "Safari".
I had a chance to buy an original Howdah pistol in 577. Wish I had.

N E 450 No2
My 16 bore has been lots of fun to shoot. I have a pile of 12ga 1oz slugs cast up for my next trip to the range. I do wish it was a centerfire instead of pinfire, but it's still fun. I may try the 4198 Nitro for black substitute next time out. The black and pyrodex fouls the gun in a hurry. If I get it to shoot good, I'll take it out for deer this fall.

I have tried 14.0 grs Blue Dot in my .44 Spl with some success, as well as the more traditional 7.5 grs Unique and 17.0 gr 2400. I have only new .44 Spls, so I've pushed the Unique up to 1000 fps using my chronograph as a guide. I think the 10.0 grs Unique load is a great one in the .45 Colt. In my .41 Magnum this load is very accurate too. I'd like to hear more about a "reduced" load in the .44 Magnum by Keith. I did find it strange he pushed practice loads for every other caliber but only showed heavy loads for the .44 Magnum. Of course, Elmer tried 300 grain .45 Colts, but just didn't have a good Redhawk or Blackhawk to play with, more's the pity. He also tried the heavy loaded slow powders like H110 and so on. He could have gone to a heavier gun like the hot-loaded .45 Colt, pre- .454 Casull, but always went back to .44 Mag.

[ 05-21-2003, 16:42: Message edited by: Carson ]

Carson, for a very light load in the 44mag try 4.5gr of Bullseye with a 240gr cast bullet.
Then for the next "up" in power I use 7.5gr of Unique. You can continue up to 10grains of Unique until you find the power/recoil/acuracy you like. The next step "up" I start with 20gr of 2400 going up to 22.5 with 240 to 250 cast. I have used 24gr. of H-110 with 240/250 cast and 240 jacketed bullets with good results.

As you can see most of my loads are old-timey in nature, they were developed around 1970. There are lots of suitable newer powders around, I just have not felt the need to change.

Lar 45
How do you reload a pinfire?? What bullet are you using and what is your velocity. That looks like a nice Howdah. How accurate is it. Have you hunted ith it?

N E 450 No2
I've only had this gun for about 1 1/2 months now. The cases I've made are from turned down 50 BMG's and now some 16 ga CBC brass cases. Seal the primer pocket, drill a hole next to the rim. I'm useing a no. 43 bit, then make a fireing "pin" I'm useing a 3D bright box nail cut to length and filed smooth. Use some long needle nose pliers to hold a no. 11 magnum muzzle loader cap in the back of the case opening up, then push the pin down into the cup. Load like normal, just be sure to not let the pin slip out. I'm thinking about a drop of clear fingernail polish, let it dry overnight, then load.???
I made a bullet mold that came out at .703" and 810 gns, I shot some of those, but now I've got a Lee 12 ga 1 oz slug mold. The Lee mold is made to go inside of a wad so it is undersized. I've shimmed the mold to get it closer to .7". It's a hollow base, so I'm hopeing it will expand to seal the bore. I wasn't able to get any velocity readings as the filler from the case kept messing with the chrony readings. Next time out, I'll put the chrony low and behind the target so I'll only clock the bullet after it goes through the target. I haven't been able to find any information on what size bullet or velocity the original round used. I'm thinking about working towards 800 fps with Black or Pyrodex, then trying some nitro for black loads. I was able to hit the target, but the loads were real light. So I'm not really sure about the accuracy yet. Last time out, I only had 2 useable pieces of brass, next time I should have 30 or so. Some guy is sending me some Lyman 12 ga slugs to try also. The action locks up real tight and the gun is in excellent condition. The side view looks funny, but it feels great in your hand, and points well.

Lar 45
Sounds like a fun project. You might also try "glueing" the primer in place with finger nail polish or maybe model airplane glue as extra insurance, just something that would not make it too difficult to de-prime.
Keep us posted.

Carson,

Have you chrono'd that 14.0 Blue Dot .44 Spl load yet? I get about 1150 with 12.0 Blue Dot and a 240 LSWC in my Smith 624, 6.5 inch barrel. Dave Scovill (Handloader magazine) published a load of 13.0 Blue Dot with the 250 Keith LSWC giving a smidge over 1200.

14.0 Blue Dot (assuming a 240-250 weight bullet) is a pretty stout load.

Regards,
BigIron

[ 06-17-2003, 02:52: Message edited by: BigIron ]