.44 Special and +P range

[marcruger]

Hi Folks,

For starters, I have read Brian Pearce's articles on 44 Special, especially the one with +P levels.

I am interested in TiteGroup in 44 Special. It is such a consistent powder.

I have noticed the big gap between top end 44 Special (in deference to old guns) and bottom end 44 Magnums. This is the "middle ground" where 44 Special +P seems to live.

The highest 44 Special TiteGroup load I can find in 240 grain LSWC 44 Special is 5.0 grains, and runs in the 850fps range. Under 12k psi.

In shooting 44 Special in 44 Magnums, it is obvious the guns can handle more pressure than 12K psi.

I am not one to do crazy things with hotrodding cartridges for velocity. I am strictly a "middle of the road" handloader. That said, 12kpsi TiteGroup 44 Special loads in a 44 Magnum revolver seems like there is some room for slightly higher.

That said, I saw mentioned once that TiteGroup can produce pressure spikes once past a certain point.

Does anyone have any test data for loads like 5.2 grains or 5.4 grains of TiteGroup in a 44 Special with a 240 grain LSWC? Only to be shot in a 44 Magnum revolver.

If I am thinking in dangerous territory, please let me know.

Many thanks and God Bless, Marc

[pleadthe2nd]

I don't think .2 -.4 of titegroup will cause any trouble, but I wouldn't go too far above max with that powder, when I was using titegroup in 45 colt, going over max published data, did not gain anything in terms of velocity, or accuracy, I believe the powder has limitations, and switched to unique, now hs6, since my unique supply is gone, I don't believe titegroup will get you the results you're looking for, safely

[bula]

Many better powder choices to play in the +P zone. Do you have other powders ?

[z1r]

There is a lot of variation in velocity for those "+P" loads. What velocity are you looking to achieve? At around 1000 to 1100 fps with a 240-250, I run Power Pistol. To be fair, the are several other powders that perform well in this range including Unique and Universal. I'm sure there are others too but I've settled on PP because I can use it in so many chamberings.

I love Titegroup for more sedate loads in both the 44 spl and 45 colt. Anything over 1100 and I move to "slower" powders.

[marcruger]

I do have access to other powders. What brought this up was testing 240 grn LSWC with 5.0 grns of TiteGroup against the old faithful Lyman "accuracy" load of 6.9 grns of Unique. What I saw on the chrono was a big improvement in SD and ES with the TiteGroup. That said, the TiteGroup was over 150fps slower. Both were about equally accurate on the given day, considering my shooting. The TG ES was 14 and SD of 5. The Unique turned in ES of 52 and SD of 16. All were tested with the powder back against the primer just to be fair.

My brain pondered, "Can I get another 50 fps or so with similar accuracy and data with TiteGroup?"

Sounds like I will accept less velocity and not breach 5.0 grains of TG. The only negative I see is if front sight heights are sufficient at lower velocities. Thankfully I am not loading for a SAA or Vaquero where POA/POI are a big factor.

Many thanks folks. God Bless, Marc

[harold89]

Power Pistol is where I would be looking. Good luck!

[bigbore5]

Universal, Longshot, #7, Major Pistol. That's why they created those powders. To fill that middle range.

[sixshot]

Longshot gets the nod for me, but there are several powders that will get you there.

Dick

[z1r]

Funny thing is, even though the ES with Unique isn't the smallest, it was always very accurate. Good enough for me to consistently break clay pigeons at 75 yds back in the day.

These days, my powder choice more often than not comes down to what is consistently available locally and how versatile it is.