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Post by bulasteve on Jan 18, 2017 10:20:12 GMT -5
Think rjm52 has got it. The discontinued Speer 225gr HP worked somewhat, but long gone now. Trying to get enough velo..well, velo nor expansion are the end goals. Think by the time your cast lead bullet is a reliable subject for expansion, you may find yourself now short on penetration. If your potential scenarios involve auto or walls, you may find you've now erred in the other direction. Room for thought and opinions. I still have the 250gr HP from Matts in the Bulldog now, but am content that it is still a 250gr chunk'o'lead at least. There are 185gr DEWC's in the basement that fly well too. Corbon DPX and similar and newer yet homogenous copper bullets may get us to a happy place, but the cost.. What's my life worth ? Sure that for a seldom fired after initial testing option, I could afford it I guess. You might find joy with a 255 WFN too. Other than the newest bullets just out, really nothing ground breaking in the .44spec.. Tried tested and true could be it's motto.
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Post by BigBore44 on Jan 18, 2017 12:02:40 GMT -5
I believe when I get my GP-44 in hand here soon (its @ my FFL's now) I will be running my cast 265gr WFNPB bullets, depending of course if they are accurate from it. I'm planning to try the Hornady Critical/Personal Defense rounds and the Barnes copper bullets (forgot the name ATM) to see what kind of accuracy I get. I figure no matter what bullets I choose I'm already ahead of many self defense rounds like 380, 9mm and such seeing how it's at .429/.430 to start with. Any expansion is just icing on the cake IMO IMO if you shoot a bad guy up close and personal, you'll have in & out holes leaking, so blood pressure will fall off quicker than just an entrance wound. Fat & Slow is a good thing in this instance I reckon..? Opinions please...?? Good luck with the testing. BigBore44
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paulg
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,420
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Post by paulg on Jan 18, 2017 12:51:47 GMT -5
My suggestion would be to just use a .44 bullet with the biggest meplat possible and as much velocity as you can stand and punch a nice clean hole through your target....
Bob
I 100% agree with this.
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Post by bigmuddy on Jan 18, 2017 13:29:13 GMT -5
As bulasteve has said I don't think you're going to get more velocity with Uniqe, at least not in a pressure realm safe for your Bulldog. PP would be, and is, my choice powder for all of my 44 special loads.
I guess I don't see the problem with the performance of the Matt's HP. Granted it did not expand in your latest test medium, but that full caliber bullet will penetrate well and do quite a bit of damage I would think. I'm afraid at the velocity you are shooting more expansion may result in sub par penetration.
Dan
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Post by savagedds on Jan 20, 2017 14:00:40 GMT -5
I decided to test Unique for velocity/accuracy. 44 Special Starline Brass Unique Powder CCI 300 LPP 1.52" OAL medium roll crimp 6.3gr- 752fps 6.6gr- 797fps Most accurate (pictured group) 6.9gr- 854fps (I believe this is over SAMMI maximum) 44 Special Starline Brass Power Pistol Powder CCI 300 LPP 1.53" OAL light roll crimp 6.5gr 714fps 7.0gr 755fps most accurate 7.5gr did not test in 2.5" revolver (949fps from 6" revolver) 8.0gr did not test in 2.5" revolver (977fps from 6" revolver) I have decided that either 7.0gr Power Pistol or the 6.6gr Unique would be good loads for the Charter Arms Bulldog but I will be carrying the Unique load in the future. I also tested 6.6gr Unique in a denim covered water jug test. The bullet penetrated 24" of water filled jugs (5 jugs and bounced off the 6th) Dragging denim with it the whole way. I now know that these bullets have the potential to get expansion but probably wont unless they meet something tougher than plastic jugs. The meplat prior to firing is 0.308" and the recovered bullet has a frontal diameter close to 0.420". Thank you all for your input and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I get so excited about shooting the bottles I forget to take a before picture.
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JM
.375 Atomic
Posts: 2,428
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Post by JM on Jan 20, 2017 14:21:36 GMT -5
Have you considered a heavy full wadcutter profile?
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