I'm going to buy some of Beartooth's finest for my Ruger Redhawk in .41 Mag. Any recommendations? 250s? 265s? 280s?

Also, I've only ever loaded jacketed bullets, so any "best practices" for loading gas-checked hard-cast bullets is appreciated. Thanks guys.

Deck

21 grains of H110 with a 265 cast bullet is what I shoot from my Blackhawk. It will completely penetrate a Musk Ox at 80 yards broadside.

Sadly, I have only shot the 265gr of the 3 BTB offered. It shoots so well and recoil is so easy that in 5 years I never had a desire to try a different BTB in it. The 280gr interests me but not enough to try them yet.

I have WW265 and I understand it is very close in performance to H110. Anyone have any Blue Dot loads? I have shot a bunch of 210 Hornady XTPs over 13.5gr of Blue Dot and love the feel and accuracy. Unfortunately, I don't have a chrono.

Thanks for the info so far. Bill, would you be willing to PM me with load data? I'm curious as to what you mean by "easy" in recoil. 22.3gr of WW296 behind the 210 XTP is pretty violent (but accurate). Thanks.

If it matters, I own a Ruger RH 5.5" Stainless. Thanks again.

Deck

My pleasure,

BTB, 265gr WLN GC (.411 I think), Starline case 20.0gr of H-110, and Fed Mag primers. Does 1200 fps out of my 4 5/8" Blackhawk. Very accurate out to 100 yard so far. Depending on the size of your cylinder throats, you may max out around 19.0 gr of H-110.

Recoil is easy compared to a similar sized 44 mag. At least to me, it should recoil a lot more than it does as the Blackhawk is only a 39oz gun.

Wish I had a 41 mag Redhawk. Great gun! I have a couple in 44 mag and 45 Colt. With stock grips I find all but the lightest loads very abusive. I went to the Pachmayer Presentations (big grip) and that took most of the abuse out of all but the biggest loads. Depends a lot on what fits your hand. The standard Blackhawk grip tears me up. I use the Pachmayer on the 41 with great results. I use the Hogue on the GP in 357. Just a matter of what fits the hand.

If I had your Redhawk, I'd be mighty tempted to try out that 280gr bullet. Enjoy!

Thanks. BTW, I just had a hogue added, and it helps, but I was shooting justs my blue dot "personal defense" loads. Nothing really fixes the fact that the pistol grip of the RH always has an exposed metal strap in direct contact with your hand, I suppose.

I picked up the redhawk around Christmas. Some guy had three brand new on gunbroker and I ended up paying a premium, but not exhorbitant price, for an out-of-production revolver. Regardless, since my dad got his for bear protection in elk country, he's depended on me to load for him. I wanted to keep costs down, so I figured I would get what he has. Boy am I glad I did! What a great round/handgun.

Thanks for the data.

Deck

Thanks. BTW, I just had a hogue added, and it helps, but I was shooting justs my blue dot "personal defense" loads. Nothing really fixes the fact that the pistol grip of the RH always has an exposed metal strap in direct contact with your hand, I suppose.


Deck

Though it may/may not fit you, the Pachmayr does cover the back strap with rubber. I had tried other grips but nothing was close to the Pachmayr.

All things being equal (they never are), I'd lean toward the 280gr bullet for a bit extra penetration on big toothy critters. Still nothing wrong with the 265 gr one.

Thanks, Bill. I may have to try the Pachs. BTW, my dad shoots an older nickel-plated S&W 57N in .41. Would your recommendation remain the 265s? Should I drop to 250s for him for the weaker frame? Thanks again for taking the time.

Deck

Hey Deck,

The first question might be to ask if the 57 will take the long .450 nose of the 265gr and gives you a long LOA. The 280 gr has a bit shorter nose but I still do not know if it will fit in the 57. With older Smith's, I'd have some concern about too much bullet and too much pressure.

Above all, I just don't know how much is too much with the 57. Unless somebody jumps in with better advice, I'd look at the 250 gr, keep pressures down and develop a load with 2400, AA9 or the like.

It might be worth you while to put a call into Marshall Stanton. He should be able to set things straight quickly.

As always, thanks much. Bill you're a great resource, and your helpfulness is very much appreciated. As a 35 year-old, I feel like a babe on most of these threads, because though I've been hunting awhile, and I understand physics, the intricacies of the trade can be overwhelming. Thank you for your time and knowledge. I'll try to call Marshall when I get some time during the week.

Regards,

Deck

I have WW265 and I understand it is very close in performance to H110. . .

I assume you mean WW296 and got it displaced by the bullet weight mentioned earlier? Hodgdon's tech told me WW296 is the same thing as H110, right out of the same plant and just put into different packages. It is apparently a non-cannister grade powder packaged in cannisters for reloading, so its lot-to-lot variation is a bit greater than most shooters are accustomed to seeing in powders for handloaders. That leads people to say one is better than the other or that one is more accurate than the other in their gun, when it is actually the lot difference causing the change. This is also why you don't see the exact same loads for it in old Winchester and Hodgdon data. They developed the loads with different lots.

You're correct on my transposition of the 265gr and the WW296. That's interesting regarding the powder grade and lot variation. The lot I've got is apparently pretty warm. I guess I'll have to go powder shopping soon and start trying out some of the others listed in loadswap. Thanks much.

Deck