Hunting Forum

Does anyone have an opinion on the best powder to reload 44 Rem Mag and 45 ACP?  I like the 4227 for the 44 but have not found any data for using it in the 45.

Hi Hondopop. on the 44mag I use 2400 @ 19.0 grain of powder with the Horhady 240gr HP/xtp bullet. It work great out of my Ruger.

I run Win 296 with the 240 XTP for hunting loads, Unique with a 240 gr cast bullet for messing around and don't load for the 45. I don't think you'll find one powder that does it all well, Unique and a couple of others will probably work OK for all uses but you really need at least 2 powders.

Just looked at Hodgdon's website, Longshot and several others are listed for both the 44 and 45, don't have a clue how well they will do double duty.

Dale

I have been loading for both of those cartridges for many years. In my Ruger .44 magnum I use WW296. I tries 4227 and noticed some yellow flakes of powder still in the casings, so I stopped with that one. H296 was way hotter than I liked, so not that one. I have used these powders in competition shooting and narry a problem.

In my .45 ACP I use Alliant Unique with excellent results. CCI 300 primer and either a 230 FMJ or a 200 Hornady XTP work well.

Luck on your travels.

Askin' a firearms enthusiast, which is the best powder for a specific firearm, is like askin' which firearm is the best for a specific game.  Every one of us will have a differant answer.
Was a time that I prefered alliant Blue Dot, for both calibres. However, Blue dot, as much of Alliants products, is exceptionally, temp sensative. At this time, however, I am useing Western Powders, eather Ram shots, True Blue or thier Accurate Arms AA#7. Eather powder will give me good results in both guns! I have found that Western Powders product is more temp stable, which when liveing in a country with extreme temp variations, is important.
Many of our powders are temp stable, and would probably do just as well for my needs. I just happened to settle on Western---for the time being!

The 44 Mag and 45 ACP, at top loads, are in very different zones. The 44 operates at 35-40,000 psi, while the 45 is about 19,000. No one powder will work best for both. Optimum powders for the 44 Mag will be in the "very slow for a handgun" group, such as H110(WW296), 2400, Lil Gun, or 4100. The best ones for a 45 ACP will be in the "medium handgun" group such as Unique, Universal, WW231(HP38), and HS6. Fortunately, this "medium" group works very well for midrange and plinking loads in the 44 Mag. Any of these "medium" powders will easily drive a 200-240 gr lead bullet from a 44 Mag at 750-1000 FPS -a much more pleasant experience than full power loads. While the now-extinct Trap-100 was my favorite, WW231 has worked best for me. For "softball" loads, I prefer Tightgroup or Trail Boss in virtually every handgun caliber.