44 Mag Subsonic-Which powders ?

[Landry308]

Have a SRT 77/44 on the way. Which powders are best for subsonic 300gr bullet loads ? I know most of the magnum pistol powders don't react too well to lower pressures. Any link to data appreciated.

[mk23]

9.0 grs of Trail Boss and a 250 gr Sierra Silhouette curtesy of Rick is what I am using right now with my Douglas barreled 77/44/. Very consistent

You might be able to do a reduced TB load with 300gr if you want to..

[pmc]

Worked up a load for a buddy's SRT 77/44. Ended up with 8 gr of Trailboss and a 240 JHP. Got about 875 fps. There is a little room for some more velocity there.

Pmc

[Landry308]

I'll get some Trailboss to try. I already have on hand the following which may work also : HS 6 & 7, Blue Dot, Unique, 231, Universal Clays, WSF.

[rick983]

As I have posted here before, 9 to 10 grains of Trail Boss and a 250 grain Sierra bullet are devastating in my Ruger 77/44. Consistant 1" groups at 100 yards and it burns very clean. I like the fact that this load almost fills the case to capacity, thus eliminating the possible difference from powder shifting around in a large case. Good shooting!!!

[lumper]

I have been using (from memory here) 11 gr of trail boss over a 240 gr JHP in my johns guns intrigal 77/44. It is not as loud as some other subsonic loads. It is my standard load now.

[jessmcquaid]

Has anyone loaded the Hornady 265 gr rifle .44 Mag bullets? I am trying to make a similiar load to the EBR subsonic. I wonder if trailboss would be a good powder for that?

[rick983]

Has anyone loaded the Hornady 265 gr rifle .44 Mag bullets? I am trying to make a similiar load to the EBR subsonic. I wonder if trailboss would be a good powder for that?

I think 9 to 10 grains of Trail Boss would be perfect for that bullet. Good shooting!!!!!!

[lumper]

Has anyone loaded the Hornady 265 gr rifle .44 Mag bullets? I am trying to make a similiar load to the EBR subsonic. I wonder if trailboss would be a good powder for that?

I am not sure if this bullet is going to expand well. I have shot some, and they were accurate enough, and very quite, but I have not shot any deer to check bullet expansion. I would guess not, since the bullet is designed for higher velocities. It should still poke a nice hole though.

[JohnInNH]

Before Trail boss came around or many of the powders made for reduced loads (thanks to SASS matches) I used American Select instead of Unique as it was not as dirty.

I have had good luck with it and a big jug will last a LONG time. IIRC it's 8.3 gr for a 200 gr FPRN and 8 gr for 240 gr SWC Works well in my Rugar Vacaros and my Marlin Lever

I have only used the Trail Boss in the 308... Not so "trail bossy" LOL. I have a LOT of American Select and will just use the Trail Boss for the 308..

If you have some that you use for your shotgun American Select will work well in the 44 for reduced loads.

[jessmcquaid]

Lumper,

Do you get good expansion with your 240 grain load with 11 grains of TB?

I just got my reloader setup for .44 and was starting to load some test rounds.

[jmorris]

Since you have them you might give 10.0 grains of Blue Dot or 11.2 grains of HS-7 with a 300grain JHP. For low buck subsonic a 240 grain SWC and 7.8 grains of Win 231 or 8.0 grains of Unique should do the trick.

[Landry308]

Are ya'll getting better accuracy with heavy or light crimp, with the subsonics ?

[rick983]

In my suppressed Ruger 77/44 a charge of 9.0 gr. of Trail Boss and a Sierra 250 gr. Jacketed Tournament bullet gets 1000 fps and the 100 yard accuracy is an honest 1". I don't use any crimp as the recoil with the suppressor is negligible. There's a huge bunch of guys on the internet chat rooms who constantly say Trail Boss is NOT for jacketed bullets. Sorry boys, it works great!

[JohnInNH]

One of the advantages of a 44 mag is that it is biased on a caliber that is ancient. Even some modern ammunition is still designed around the moderate velocity of the 44 Spl.. Components still allow us to take advantage of the more controllable 44 spl and obviously that's subsonic.

You can also take advantage of the high velocity a 44 mag and other faster cartridges. Bullets are available for that speed as well.

The 44 caliber is a hand loaders dream. As is the .357 caliber. Straight wall case, massive selection of bullets, and even works well with black powder using 44 Spl & 38 Spl brass.

I would not shoot lead bullets only Jacketed bullets. But still you have an excellent selection.

[bigbigpig]

I tried rick983's 9.0gr of Trail Boss today on my SRT 77/44 but instead used a Sierra Sports Master 240gr bullet. It worked great! I didn't chrono any of it or put it on paper but none went supersonic and all seemed to hit the same spot in the dirt. I had some 6 and 7 gr loads made up with the same bullet but didn't shoot them. I'm afraid that's way too low after using the 9.0 with good success. Next weekend if it's not raining I'll get speed and accuracy results with it.

9.0gr Trail Boss
CCI 300 primer (not magnum)
Sierra Sports Master 240gr JHC
No crimp

[jreinke]

Go here: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp They have 10 different loads for .44 Remington Magnum in the pistol section for 300 grain Hornady XTPs, over half are subsonic. The loads use Hodgdon, Winchester & IMR powders.

[Handloader]

Subsonic 44 Mag Ruger 77/44

Best Load to date for a John’s Guns Integrally Suppressed Ruger 77/44

8 Grains HP-38 with Hornady 240g XTP
5 Round group at 1.79Inch at 100 yards
Velocity at 1023 Average (only five shots, with about a 40 f/s spread)
Crimped only enough to take out the bell
COAL at 1.6085 inch

When zeroed at 50 yards, it takes -6.75 MOA for 100 yards (verified).

Trailboss sucked at 10, 10.5, 10.7, 11g many fliers (6-12 inch group)
Titegroup at 7.2g was a runner up

[fullBattlerattL]

Subsonic 44 Mag Ruger 77/44

Trailboss sucked at 10, 10.5, 10.7, 11g many fliers (6-12 inch group)
Titegroup at 7.2g was a runner up

I've been using 9 and 9.5 g of Trailboss (with a Hornady 240 g. xtp) myself and noticed that many of my loads are not consistant. Lots of fliers like you mentioned. My loads were pretty darned quiet though, but a couple strays, sometimes not even hitting paper is frustrating. i would like to try a different powder. The 8 grs. of HP-38 I'd like to try. I could acquire that a most stores that sell reloading supplies? I'm a total noob when it comes to reloading. Thanks!
john

[mk23]

Yeah, I need to get some HP38 and give it a try too

[Garrett]

Go here: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp They have 10 different loads for .44 Remington Magnum in the pistol section for 300 grain Hornady XTPs, over half are subsonic. The loads use Hodgdon, Winchester & IMR powders.

Good luck finding any 300 gr. XTPs right now. They have been backordered most places I've checked for over a year now.

Oh yeah - I have good luck using Win 231 for subsonic loads in both 240 and 300 gr. loads.

The 300s will cycle in the Desert Eagle with or without the can. The 240s won't cycle without the can on though.

[selph arms llc]

As I have posted here before, 9 to 10 grains of Trail Boss and a 250 grain Sierra bullet are devastating in my Ruger 77/44. Consistant 1" groups at 100 yards and it burns very clean. I like the fact that this load almost fills the case to capacity, thus eliminating the possible difference from powder shifting around in a large case. Good shooting!!!

What primers are you using?

[rick983]

I'm using Federal Large Pistol primers, not magnums.

[BIG_GUNNUT]

I have a Silent Destroyer done by Tom Denall. I am using 6.5gr Red Dot, CCI 300 primer, and 300gr Nosler Sport bullets. I am using a medium crimp. Never had one go supersonic (they are stupid quiet) and they are reasonably accurate.

[Mark K.]

10 gr Blue Dot for 300grn- subsonic without porting... I use this in my Win 94 AE and Sound tech M can- sweet quiet!

I reload 265 grn hornaday but go for the gusto with a hot load of blue dot- havent bothered to subsonic it, as the 300 grn gives better down range performance for a big slow bullet...