I have recently recieved my first Beartooth .41 cast bullets. They are the 280gr wlngc. I have checked the load swap and the only loads listed are a bit more horses than I need. I am wanting them to leave my S&W mod 57 (6" bbl) at between 850fps and 1000fps. I am going to load 10 rds today using win 296 but am wondering if anyone has done any work in the lower end of the velocity spectrum with this heavy of a bullet in .41 cal........any info is valuable.
Happy thoughts, Mark

Iowaloha Mark Phillips,

I am a .41 fan myself. I have just bought a new bullet mold for this caliber to play with.

I have not worked with 280 grain bullets in my Redhawk yet. I don't think WW 296 would be my first pick. May I suggest something like Blue Dot, AA#7, AA#9, IMR-4227, 2400?

I can't offer a start load. Most of those I listed are pretty friendly to the .410 bore though. Your velocity goal sounds like a good one. I think that you will meet it.

Good shooting to you sir,
Cheezywan

Thank you Cheezywan. I have just returned from shooting 10 rds of before mentioned with 18.5gr of win 296. I am happy with the feel of this load and no signs of excessive pressure. I have no chrony so I don't know velocity.
I thank you again for your input and will try Blue Dot as soon as I can get some.........the city is far from here. The bullet itself is a real performer, as I expected. I will try this load with the 296 on paper soon and do the 10th's tweeking to see what happens, I will write soon...........................
Thanx, Mark

Mark 296 needs to be used at the top end of the load spectrum. Go to the blue dot it works well for softer loads. I don't shoot anything over 210 grainers, but like them going the speeds your talking about and blue dot works well for me.

Always use a lighter bullet and have the best results with IMR 4227 and 4756 powders and a mag primer.

Iowaloha Mark Phillips,

I am a .41 fan myself. I have just bought a new bullet mold for this caliber to play with.

I have not worked with 280 grain bullets in my Redhawk yet. I don't think WW 296 would be my first pick. May I suggest something like Blue Dot, AA#7, AA#9, IMR-4227, 2400?

I can't offer a start load. Most of those I listed are pretty friendly to the .410 bore though. Your velocity goal sounds like a good one. I think that you will meet it.

Good shooting to you sir,
Cheezywan A company tech told me a canister they received had 2 labels on it and one was loose when he looked under the win 296 the other was h 110 I've been told they're close in performance I use both for my 45lc & 454 casull loads go to http://www.castperformance.com and look up their load data saw 110/296 for some loads.700x,unique

Mark,

The speed range you want for the .41 is comfortable to shoot and accurate for the short range.

Try this:

Lyman 210 gr swc
Win WLP primer
8 gr IMR 4756
1020fps-(S&W mod 657 6 in barrel)

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l101/Jon_K_2006/DSC_0001.jpg
50ft-offhand standing

A company tech told me a canister they received had 2 labels on it and one was loose when he looked under the win 296 the other was h 110 I've been told they're close in performance I use both for my 45lc & 454 casull loads go to http://www.castperformance.com and look up their load data saw 110/296 for some loads.700x,unique

My understanding with respect to the two powders is that WW296 is very slightly slower. I've seen it recommended as the best for high velocity .357 loads and have used it for that for many years, but I've been using H110 in my .41 Mag since the late 70s (first with a M57 in 8-3/8" stolen in 11/04 and now with a M657 in 7-1/2").

I also understand that Hogden is now the sole marketer for WW powders. Wonder if that might have anything to do with your cannister with 2 labels?

There are some powders that work very well in the .41 Magnum. I tend to use powders slightly faster than W-296 or H-110 for the .41 Magnum. Especially if barrel length is under 6". Same applies to .357 Magnum. For loads less than maximum, or "medium velocity" AA#7 is hard to beat. Jon K's load speaks for itself with SR-4756. That is a great group!

For high velocity jacketed loads in .41 Magnum, I am sold on AA#9, but for a 280 gr. cast load, it would be #7. Definitely looks like 4756 might be worth a try as well!

Mark,

The speed range you want for the .41 is comfortable to shoot and accurate for the short range.

Try this:

Lyman 210 gr swc
Win WLP primer
8 gr IMR 4756
1020fps-(S&W mod 657 6 in barrel)



Outstanding group! Recently picked up a 4" 657 myself, & plan to try out some CPBC & Beartooth 250's.

I am also looking for an accurate commercially available (cost effective) bullet for offhand target work. Assume the Lyman 210 is hand cast? What would you recommend for us non-casters?

Just a quick clarification, Winchester WW296 and Hodgdon H110 are identical powders and load data can be used for either powder.

Speer and Nosler offer value packs for us non jacketed shooters. Berrys and Rainier make economical plinking jacketed bullets, but don't use them for hunting. They are offered through MidwayUSA and Cabelas.

Just wondering, but why the 280 grain bullets for the 41? I do shoot the www.castperformance.com 255 gr gas checked bullets out of my 6 1/2" Blackhawk. I am also try some of Marshals bullets from right here at www.beartoothbullets.com, but haven't shot any as of yet so can't tell you how they perform. I generally stick to the 210-220 range in everything else.

I think that alot of fans of the .41 magnum shoot bullets that are 210 to 220 grains because of the history of the cartridge. I do so myself and find myself "rich" with bullets that are in that weight range. They do shoot well.

I spoke to a Sierra tech a couple of times years back " suggesting" a heavier version of their JHC design. All he did was make note of my suggestion. He was polite and suggested that I should try the 170 grain version. Thank you very much, but that is not what I want!

At that time, I had near 250 grains in my mind. My "optimal load" would be;

The heaviest bullet that could be stabilised with a 1 in 20" twist at a safe presure below the speed of sound.

280 grain might be about right in some revolvers to that end?

.410 is .410. .44 is .429. .429-.410=.019 If I want bigger I will do a .454. .454-.410=.044. There, that is a few tenths of an inch!

I think that Marshall Stanton of Beartooth Bullets fame has already done the homework for us?

There is a load that will work"hard" with that bullet.

Cheezywan

Cheezy, I agree with you on the 250 grain range. When you start loading the 250-255 range bullets, it seems the 41 really start performing. but, when you get to the 265-300 range, you start to loose alot of performance. I have loaded the 170 Sierra JHC and they shoot very well, I have been trying them on deer this year, but haven't gotten anything yet. They do work great on coyotes. The one exception to the rule is the 200 gr Remington. It shoots great in all of my 41's. Problem is, Midway always has them on backorder and they are hard to come by. Got to be saying something.

I tend to agree with sticking with bullets in ithe 210-220gr range for the .41 mag. I was thinking that for some reason I needed a huge peice of lead coming out of my .41 for some reason :confused: . That is until I was testing some 210gr SWC @ 950fps, I could not belive how deeply those slugs buried in the dirt when I was testing them ( Imanaged to recover2 of the bullets). I think that I would go one step further and ad the 230gr Keith style bullet also I can't imagine that you could do appreaciably better with a heavier slug. As for powders again I have to agree with sticking with either AA#9 or 2400 in the 4'' bbls. Here is a nice read on the .41 with some 230gr Dry Creek bullets, since Creek don't cast no more you can get the same slug from Lead Head. BTW has anyone here used the Montana Bullet works 220gr Keith bullet?.

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=16

Hello folks, I apologize for my absence, I'm a gunsmith in Mt. very busy, wonderful state.....anywase I have been working w/ the 280 bullet in my s&w 57 6" and having good results. The load my revolver likes and I like is 19.5 win 296. I don't know the velocity but it may be true that the bullet is a bit much for the cartridge. I have seen that no matter what charge I use it seems the bullet is falling faster than it is moving foward at about 150 yds, I expected this and have seen it before. Many Many years ago I was swaging .458 cast rifle bullets to .452 to put in my .45 colt, same thing was observed. The thing is that there is no substitute for mass. My application for this .41 load is " Whomper Stomper " and out too 75 yds or so it is absolutly terrific in this capacity. I am now looking at using the 250 gr beartooth in my .41, I have a feeling though that nothing is going to compare w/ the 280 gr........
Always be careful, Safe shooting...Mark