Powder for short barrel 44 mag?

[benny]

Howdy all,

Getting set to order a S&W perf. ctr. 629 with a 2 5/8" barrel from my local dealer and I was wondering which powders would be good choices for the short barrel length?  I assume the slow burners like h110 will not be the best, too much powder burning outside of the barrel.

Hoping to develop just a few loads.  I want to give the barnes 225gr xpb a try, maybe getting 1200fps out of it.

A 240-250 practice / special load and same weight hotter trail load.

A 300gr hardcast load, hoping to get 1100fps without too much trouble to be used only occasionally.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[Grumulkin]

H110/Win. 296 is not a slow burner and would be one of the better powders for your purpose.  Blue Dot also makes a very nice 44 Mag. load.

It is a common misconception that one needs faster powders in shorter barrels.  The powder most accurate in a long barrel will probably be the most accurate in a short barrel as well.

[mcwoodduck]

I load Blue Dot in mine.

[Smokin Joe]

I'll have to add the third vote for Blue Dot. It works great in short 44 mags.

[gypsyman]

Sorry to disagree with ya Grumulkin, but W296/H110 are slow burning pistol powders. That's why you need the amount of powder in the case. Faster burning powders are AA No.5,W231,Bullseye and Unique. Less powder, higher pressure quicker. Blue Dot is right in the middle. I doubt that you can get 1200 fps out of that short a barrel. MAYBE, with a 180gr bullet. Let us know what you find out. gypsyman

[sk330lc]

Unique and 2400 are good down load short barrel powders. 

[Bigeasy]

296 and 110 (both the same powder)  will most likely still give you your highest velocity, but at the expense of high muzzle flash.  At least that was the case with a Smith 29 I had with a 3 inch barrel.  Its always a good idea to get your loads from a good manual, like Speer, Lyman, etc.

Larry

[Cheesehead]

I have used Red Dot with success in my 5" 44.

Cheese

[mechanic]

Unique   +1

[Lloyd Smale]

powders that will give you the highest velocitys with safe pressures are the same for a short barrel as a long one. 110/296 aa9 4227 and 2400 are about the best. I never liked bluedot and dont use it any more at all. It goes from mild pressure to wild pressure with just a small increase in charge weight and to be honest i never had it give better accuracy in a sixgun then hs6 or 2400 did. hs6 and 2400 meter much better. Id NEVER use bluedot for top end loads in a progressive press.

[benny]

Thanks guys,
I guess I was a little off base with my thinking which turns out to be a good thing becuase most of what I have on hand are slow burners like h110.  I also have some vhit n110 which I am going to try as I hear it produces much less flash than h110. Anyone ever load Acc 5744 in the 44, I see a load listed for a 325gr lead bullet that is listed just under 1100fps (from a longer barrel I am sure, but not specified) at only 27800cup.  That looks like it might be a nice load in a short barreled smith...