Just loaded up 50 .44 mag loads. Probably shouldn't have done it with a sinus infection, but ended up loading 19 grains of H110 equivalent instead of 21 grains. Am I going to have to pull the bullets and dump the powder? These are my deer/black bear loads and was just wondering. Any help is appreciated.

Yes, you should pull the bullets and start over. From the Hodgdon web page: "H110 Loads should not be reduced more than 3%. Reduce H110 Loads 3% and work up from there. H110 if reduced too much will cause inconsistent ignition. In some cases it will lodge a bullet in the barrel, causing a hazardous situation (Barrel Obstruction). This may cause severe personal injury or death to users or bystanders."

Since you did not state bullet weight, I can only assume a 240 grain bullet, with H110, maximum is 24.0 gr. Therefore, a start load, reduced 3% is 23.3 gr. (my Hodgdon manual list start for this bullet as 23.0 gr.). However, regardless of what bullet you are using, 19 gr. from 21 gr. is WHOLE lot more than 3%. Safety and reliable ignition dictates that you should pull the bullets and start over.

What was the bullet weight?

Just loaded up 50 .44 mag loads. Probably shouldn't have done it with a sinus infection, but ended up loading 19 grains of H110 equivalent instead of 21 grains. Am I going to have to pull the bullets and dump the powder? These are my deer/black bear loads and was just wondering. Any help is appreciated. Beartooth bullets 325g WLNGC, CCI 350 magnum large pistol primers, and new starline brass. I just went out and shot them and didn't have any stuck rounds, but got 1.25" accuracy (6 shot at 25 yards). Didn't chrono them. They are certainly less punishing than the 24grain rounds I did up this morning. Any ideas as to how much velocity I lose? Are they still acceptable for stopping black bears at 25-50 yards? Thanks in advance.

Hi,

With that heavy of a bullet, I would not personally expect problems with H110. I know Hodgdon suggests not reducing loads much, however you've got enough bullet weight to make it burn OK - in my experience. It's generally more of a problem re: reduced loads with H110 / WW296 when you have a fairly light bullet for the caliber.

But..... if there is ANY doubt about the contents of that load - pull them. Better safe than sorry.

And certainly I would recommend you work up with a chronograph. 24 grains with that bullet sounds pretty stout. Not saying it's excessive, but it's not a good idea to work up to max loads without checking velocity.

Stopping a bear is a matter of hitting the right spot. We've hashed this one out a few times - for some cheap entertainment, do a few searches on the topic.

Good luck.

Hi,

With that heavy of a bullet, I would not personally expect problems with H110. I know Hodgdon suggests not reducing loads much, however you've got enough bullet weight to make it burn OK - in my experience. It's generally more of a problem re: reduced loads with H110 / WW296 when you have a fairly light bullet for the caliber.

But..... if there is ANY doubt about the contents of that load - pull them. Better safe than sorry.

And certainly I would recommend you work up with a chronograph. 24 grains with that bullet sounds pretty stout. Not saying it's excessive, but it's not a good idea to work up to max loads without checking velocity.

Stopping a bear is a matter of hitting the right spot. We've hashed this one out a few times - for some cheap entertainment, do a few searches on the topic.

Good luck.

MikeG,

Many thanks. I'll punch them through the chronograph and see what I am looking at. The 24g loads were very very stout, but I had no primer deformations or apparent case stretch after checking with calipers. They were abusive in the recoil department, though.

If you were using WC820, you should be okay since you have such a heavy bullet. My experience with WC820 leads me to believe it's faster burning than H110 anyway, closer to AA#9. ==Bob

Hi Lefty 44,
I have shot that 325 gr bullet quite a lot. I have used WW, Remington and (my favorite) Starline brass.

Spcifically with Starline brass (though Fed Mag primers), I found the working max to be 21.5 gr of H-110. IN my experience, 24.0 gr of H-110 would be way over normal pressures for a 44 mag. Primer deformation is one of the least reliable ways of determining pressure. There is a good chance your origional load of 21.0 gr of H-110 is a near perfect load for that bullet in your 44 mag.

Just my 2 cents worth

Bill