H110 vs Unique in a 44mag

[44man]

It is true that in many cases a cast boolit can use more powder then jacketed but I will never say that because of a few experiences with more then a few powders.
One example was a moderate load of 4198 in the 45-70 using a jacketed bullet. All was fine, shot good. I went to a cast GC boolit of the same weight, hard lead. It shot decent at around 1600 fps, then I had a few that spiked to over 1800 fps and stuck brass. (Between a group one and two load.)
Now there are a lot of reasons this can happen so I won't list them and did not want to try and fix it so I changed powder and have had no problems since.
It is one of those things we can never predict and will not be found just working up a load because you can shoot a lot of what you think is OK---until that one.

[DougGuy]

.429 what powder measure do you use? I had horrid luck with a Lee Pro trying to throw H110 I hated it. Powder everywhere, very staticky. I have a Dillon 550 that does very well with H110, and a modified original Lee with a billet adjustable bar that is the cat's meow, not one single grain of H110 spilled, and the most consistent charge weights I have ever been able to measure..

For all the negative comments about H110 I am guessing you must be using a Lee Pro Auto Disk, just going by my own experience with one.

One more question, I am seeing a max of 20.6gr 2400 in your load data, showing 37,200psi pressure. There are a few loads shown on that page that go over 36,000psi. Many years ago S&W approached SAAMI and got them to lower the max pressures for the cartridge from 40,000psi to 36,000psi to help them with so many warranty returns on their model 29s. If your data is older than that change, I would suggest using a more modern set of data.

I have to agree with the crowd here, my usage of Unique is for cowboy loads in .45 Colt, and if I was looking for mild loads for the .44, I could use it for that purpose. I have settled on 2400 as the powder of choice in my .44 Magnum because it's better at 3/4 throttle so to speak than reducing loads of H110 into the 1150f/s range for hunting. If I want to sink my finely crafted cast boolits farther into the dirt on the other side of the deer, they make H110 for that purpose, a purpose that it seems to excel at with no equal.

One more habit I got into years and years ago is sticky notes. I load a batch and use a sticky note in the lid of the ammo box to denote what is in there. Some loads I will dot the primer with a magic marker to distinguish them from others in the same box. From that habit, I can go back to loads I put up 30yrs ago and tell exactly what powder, boolit, primer is in that load, and usually how well it grouped. When you get old, you will really thank yourself for doing this..

[.429]

i have been running it thru a Lee Perfect Powder Measure. i havn't even tried it in my Lee Pro Auto Disk. the billet piece sounds interesting. i'm not using that page for load data anymore. that page is out of a Lyman 49th. 2400 is a powder that i've yet to try but i prob will at some point since so many seem to like it.

.429 what powder measure do you use? I had horrid luck with a Lee Pro trying to throw H110 I hated it. Powder everywhere, very staticky. I have a Dillon 550 that does very well with H110, and a modified original Lee with a billet adjustable bar that is the cat's meow, not one single grain of H110 spilled..

For all the negative comments about H110 I am guessing you must be using a Lee Pro Auto Disk, just going by my own experience with one.

One more question, I am seeing a max of 20.6gr 2400 in your load data, showing 37,200psi pressure. There are a few loads shown on that page that go over 36,000psi. Many years ago S&W approached SAAMI and got them to lower the max pressures for the cartridge from 40,000psi to 36,000psi to help them with so many warranty returns on their model 29s. If your data is older than that change, I would suggest using a more modern set of data.

I have to agree with the crowd here, my usage of Unique is for cowboy loads in .45 Colt, and if I was looking for mild loads for the .44, I could use it for that purpose. I have settled on 2400 as the powder of choice in my .44 Magnum because it's better at 3/4 throttle so to speak than reducing loads of H110 into the 1150f/s range for hunting. If I want to sink my finely crafted cast boolits farther into the dirt on the other side of the deer, they make H110 for that purpose, a purpose that it seems to excel at with no equal.

One more habit I got into years and years ago is sticky notes. I load a batch and use a sticky note in the lid of the ammo box to denote what is in there. Some loads I will dot the primer with a magic marker to distinguish them from others in the same box. From that habit, I can go back to loads I put up 30yrs ago and tell exactly what powder, boolit, primer is in that load, and usually how well it grouped. When you get old, you will really thank yourself for doing this..

[dragon813gt]

H110 works fine in the PAD......if you like it all over your bench. This is what mine does. But I know there are others that have no problems w/ it leaking. I only use H110 w/ a Chargemaster so I don't worry about it leaking. It has worked fine in my PPM as well.

[44man]

The very best for the money is the Redding BR measure with the baffle. For large calibers like the .50, they have a great drop tube extension that slip fits the smaller one and still works for small calibers. It comes with a small and large powder adjustment so you can go from a gr of Bullseye to a huge charge in a rifle.
I do not even feel 296 and have weighed out ten charges all at once in the pan to find 1/10 gr difference.
I do NOT want a measure on top of a press to be jiggled and banged.

[Moonie]

To those that have problems with the disk measures and fine ball powders, I had one that leaked and one that didn't. Sanding down the body fixed the issue and made the gap between the disk and the hopper the same as the one that didn't leak. Making the wiper work the way it is supposed to. It really is a simple fix.

[.429]

http://youtu.be/imYUkQzgVmc here is a follow up via video. the H110 was sold, just didn't care for it

[Hickok]

Following this with interest. Just wondering if HEAVY charges of fast powder like Unigue in magnum cases would accellerate forcing cone wear over a heavy charge of slower powder such as 2400 or H110?

I use Unigue for mid range loads in .44 mag. in a 900 fps load, but go to 2400 for magnum loads.

[44man]

Following this with interest. Just wondering if HEAVY charges of fast powder like Unigue in magnum cases would accellerate forcing cone wear over a heavy charge of slower powder such as 2400 or H110?

I use Unigue for mid range loads in .44 mag. in a 900 fps load, but go to 2400 for magnum loads.

No, but it is too much instant thump on the boolit.

[Hickok]

Thanks 44man. Always wondered about fast burning powder and forcing cone wear.

[cbrick]

Following this with interest. Just wondering if HEAVY charges of fast powder like Unigue in magnum cases would accellerate forcing cone wear over a heavy charge of slower powder such as 2400 or H110?

What will accelerate forcing cone wear is too soft of a boolit at high velocity. As for heavy charges of fast powder in a magnum case . . . It all depends on if your goal is accuracy or just a big bang. As 44man suggested, it's the pressure/time curve. With the fast powder you get ALL of the velocity tight now, kinda like smacking it in the hieny with a large sledge hammer and that's it. With the slower powders the boolit starts to move and gains velocity as it travels down the bore until peak pressure is reached. Much better for magnum/higher velocities and much better for accuracy.

Rick

[44man]

What will accelerate forcing cone wear is too soft of a boolit at high velocity. As for heavy charges of fast powder in a magnum case . . . It all depends on if your goal is accuracy or just a big bang. As 44man suggested, it's the pressure/time curve. With the fast powder you get ALL of the velocity tight now, kinda like smacking it in the hieny with a large sledge hammer and that's it. With the slower powders the boolit starts to move and gains velocity as it travels down the bore until peak pressure is reached. Much better for magnum/higher velocities and much better for accuracy.

Rick

I can't say it better.

[.429]

What will accelerate forcing cone wear is too soft of a boolit at high velocity. As for heavy charges of fast powder in a magnum case . . . It all depends on if your goal is accuracy or just a big bang. As 44man suggested, it's the pressure/time curve. With the fast powder you get ALL of the velocity tight now, kinda like smacking it in the hieny with a large sledge hammer and that's it. With the slower powders the boolit starts to move and gains velocity as it travels down the bore until peak pressure is reached. Much better for magnum/higher velocities and much better for accuracy.

Rick

How soft? And what velocities?

[44man]

How soft? And what velocities?

I use water dropped WW boolits at 1316 fps for 310 to 330 gr boolits. I use 21.5 gr of 296 with all to the 330 gr when I drop to 21 gr.
I use Unique and 231 for fun only. 7 gr. Do NOT try to reach 296 velocities with fast powders.

[Hickok]

Thanks Cbrick and .44man for the information. I have heard some say they burned out a forcing cone with heavy charges of Unique, like Unique was a death sentence to a revolver, this gives a reliable explaination.

[.429]

I use water dropped WW boolits at 1316 fps for 310 to 330 gr boolits. I use 21.5 gr of 296 with all to the 330 gr when I drop to 21 gr.
I use Unique and 231 for fun only. 7 gr. Do NOT try to reach 296 velocities with fast powders.

I'm talking about the forcing cone wear