Post by savagedds on Jan 15, 2017 18:53:19 GMT -5
Earlier this year I purchased a Charter Arms Bulldog 2.5" with the black nitride finish. It was mainly purchased for use with shot capsules while hiking. However, due to the weight, I can wear it every day and barely know its there. I wear scrubs to work and with the DeSantis Soft Tuck Size 2 it doesn't pull my pants down like my S&W 3913.
I tried several different self defense loads in the bulldog but none really made me happy.
Buffalo Bore "200 gr anti-personnel" - my preferred load until today- heavy recoil, good accuracy, penetrated 36" of pumpkins in a straight line
Underwood "200gr bulldog Gold Dot" - I expected at lot from this load but multiple targets showed yawing of the bullets at only 10 yds. and consequently mediocre accuracy (1081fps from a 6" revolver that did not tumble)
HSM 240gr SWC cowboy- this was to be my brass collecting round but it turned out to be quite accurate and shot to POA. Starline brass was a selling point for this practice ammo.
Sig V-crown 200gr JHP- very good accuracy shot to POA and mild recoil. I tested this round for expansion in wet news paper. Three rounds were tested; only two were "caught" and both of those did not expand
Dismayed, I continued carrying the buffalo bore 200gr Anti-personnel wadcutter; but I wanted something else. After reading Elmer Keith's "six guns" I became interested in cast hollow points. Since I do not cast bullets yet, I perused the commercial casters and found Matts Bullets.com and his 250 grain RFHP (follow the embedded link). This bullet is cast of 20:1 lead:tin alloy and expected to expand down to 44 special velocity. I purchased these along with some other .430" bullets and 3 days later they showed up. Each bullet costs $0.22 before shipping but that is way cheaper than other self defense bullets.
I read article after article on reloading 44 Special but the best, most comprehensive, and well laid-out article was Brian Pierce's from Handgunner (follow embedded link).
In this article he extols the virtues of Power Pistol for standard pressure rounds. I started my load development as follows:
Starline Nickle Plated Brass
CCI 300 LP Primer
Matt's 250 RFHP
1.53" OAL bottom of crimping groove and my flat point seater stem made the meplat slightly flatter
Power Pistol
6.5gr Middle- no chronograph reading (poor accuracy)
7.0gr Lower Left- no chronograph reading (great accuracy 4 shots <0.5"@10yds) (755fps from 2.5" Bulldog)
7.5gr Lower Right- 949fps (mediocre accuracy)
8.0gr Upper Left -977 fps (poor accuracy very inconsistent)
for comparison the underwood bulldog 200gr Gold Dot 1081fps
All initial chronographing was done with a 44 magnum 6" revolver. I went back and tried the 7.0 grain load with the chronograph attached to my bulldog. I have the magneto speed V2, so attaching it to a 2.5" revolver led to much consternation. Luckily it worked without any problems and the 7.0 grain load clocked 755 fps and 319ft/lbs.
Lastly to be thorough I wanted to test penetration/ expansion. I gathered some loose topsoil in a 5 gallon bucket and made sure not to pack the dirt so that it was very loose. From 7yds the bullet penetrated all but 2" of the dirt/bucket or about 12" and expanded to 0.819"! I was ecstatic and now have a SD load that shoots to POA, allows quicker follow up shots and still penetrates/expands. If you're looking for a standard pressure 44 special hollow point, take a look at Matt's Bullets 250 RFHP.
Next to the Underwood 200gr Gold Dot
I tried several different self defense loads in the bulldog but none really made me happy.
Buffalo Bore "200 gr anti-personnel" - my preferred load until today- heavy recoil, good accuracy, penetrated 36" of pumpkins in a straight line
Underwood "200gr bulldog Gold Dot" - I expected at lot from this load but multiple targets showed yawing of the bullets at only 10 yds. and consequently mediocre accuracy (1081fps from a 6" revolver that did not tumble)
HSM 240gr SWC cowboy- this was to be my brass collecting round but it turned out to be quite accurate and shot to POA. Starline brass was a selling point for this practice ammo.
Sig V-crown 200gr JHP- very good accuracy shot to POA and mild recoil. I tested this round for expansion in wet news paper. Three rounds were tested; only two were "caught" and both of those did not expand
Dismayed, I continued carrying the buffalo bore 200gr Anti-personnel wadcutter; but I wanted something else. After reading Elmer Keith's "six guns" I became interested in cast hollow points. Since I do not cast bullets yet, I perused the commercial casters and found Matts Bullets.com and his 250 grain RFHP (follow the embedded link). This bullet is cast of 20:1 lead:tin alloy and expected to expand down to 44 special velocity. I purchased these along with some other .430" bullets and 3 days later they showed up. Each bullet costs $0.22 before shipping but that is way cheaper than other self defense bullets.
I read article after article on reloading 44 Special but the best, most comprehensive, and well laid-out article was Brian Pierce's from Handgunner (follow embedded link).
In this article he extols the virtues of Power Pistol for standard pressure rounds. I started my load development as follows:
Starline Nickle Plated Brass
CCI 300 LP Primer
Matt's 250 RFHP
1.53" OAL bottom of crimping groove and my flat point seater stem made the meplat slightly flatter
Power Pistol
6.5gr Middle- no chronograph reading (poor accuracy)
7.0gr Lower Left- no chronograph reading (great accuracy 4 shots <0.5"@10yds) (755fps from 2.5" Bulldog)
7.5gr Lower Right- 949fps (mediocre accuracy)
8.0gr Upper Left -977 fps (poor accuracy very inconsistent)
for comparison the underwood bulldog 200gr Gold Dot 1081fps
All initial chronographing was done with a 44 magnum 6" revolver. I went back and tried the 7.0 grain load with the chronograph attached to my bulldog. I have the magneto speed V2, so attaching it to a 2.5" revolver led to much consternation. Luckily it worked without any problems and the 7.0 grain load clocked 755 fps and 319ft/lbs.
Lastly to be thorough I wanted to test penetration/ expansion. I gathered some loose topsoil in a 5 gallon bucket and made sure not to pack the dirt so that it was very loose. From 7yds the bullet penetrated all but 2" of the dirt/bucket or about 12" and expanded to 0.819"! I was ecstatic and now have a SD load that shoots to POA, allows quicker follow up shots and still penetrates/expands. If you're looking for a standard pressure 44 special hollow point, take a look at Matt's Bullets 250 RFHP.
Next to the Underwood 200gr Gold Dot
