Reloading Henry Lever Action 44 Mag Subsonic Cowboy Loads
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- Опубликовано: 12 июл 2024
- I am reloading subsonic, Cowboy Action loads for my Henry Big Boy lever action rifle! Using 240grain semiwadcutter and round nose, flat point bullets with Hodgdon Universal powder! How do they shoot? Let's find out!
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Good video John, you do provide interesting source information like the Hodgdon cowboy load data that I didn’t know about.
Frank, Thanks! Glad you find the info useful. Stay warm and safe, I hear you have a bad winter storm there on the East coast!
Great testing 👍🏻🇺🇸
Thanks, and thanks for watching! The subsonic cowboy loads are fun!
Nice work. I've been interested in loading some 310 grain bullets for subsonic loads, but I've got a ton of 240 grain hardcast that I can use as well.
Thanks! I'll be doing some 300 grain bullets loads in the future. Let me know how your loads work out!
Nice work there, John. I've been wanting to try some Universal as like you said, it's supposed to be similar to Unique. That last subsonic load looked pretty good. As long as you don't pass through that tran-sonic threshold your accuracy should hold up better at further distances, rather than starting to tumble as it slows down. Thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks! Yeah, I am still working on more 44 Mag subsonic loads. More videos in the future!
I have allot of fun with subs!!love heavy for caliber Bullets
Yeah, I'll be working with heavier bullets in the future! But the 240s are fun!
Nice. I’ll use this video as a reference for when I start loading up some. I have a 14” 44 mag contender with a threaded barrel.
4lbs of universal and hp38 should last me a while.
Contenders are great guns! I am using HP38 for subsonics too and it is working fine. Hey, thanks for watching!
I like subs, more fun to shoot, cheaper on cost, quieter. Still very effective. Mike.
Thanks,! Yep, I agree. John
I watched one of your short videos where you were using 6.6 grains of HP-38 with a 240 grain lead bullet for a velocity of a little over 1.000 FPS.
I have H-38(I could not find any Universal)and wondering how much to drop the same load for use in the 44 special ? (I dont have a chronograph)
In your experience how about how many FPS does a rifle gain per inch over a 6 to 8 inch barreled Revolver using a Load with the burn characteristics of HP-38 ?
Thank's
A lot of variables. From some quick research I did, I would use 5.2 to 5.5 grains of HP-38 in 44 Special cases with a 240 lead bullet. HP-38 is a faster burning powder, I would expect approximately 200 fps difference from a 6" revolver to a 16" rifle. I hope this helps, and thanks for watching!
@@30-06john
Sounds good to me.
So with a powder like HP-38 there is approximately a 20 FPS gain per inch using a 240 grain Lead bullet ,going from a 6" revolver to a 16 inch barrel rifle ?
This information is very helpfull to me and I really appreciate it.
Thanks for your very helpfull video's on so many interesting subject's.
But that velocity difference can vary, it is an educated guess. Good luck on your loading!
Few questions for you.
For the subsonic loads did you prefer the Tite group.T or?he HP-38,the universal overall
Which subsonic load that was the quietest
Have you ever tried Bullseye for subsonic loads?
Thank.s
It was sort of a tie between Titegroup and Universal, both about equal for quietness. I never tried Bullseye, but I did try Accurate No.2, not as good as Titegroup or Universal.
@@30-06john
Thank's
I am going to try and find some universal
If I can’t what of these powders that I can find occasionally woul you pick
Tite group,hp-38,cfe,power pistol,231.244 ?
Using 44 special cases or Magnum cases with 200 or 240 grain lead RNFP bullets.
Of course wanting to remain subsonic
Thank’s
I think CFE-Pistol and Power Pistol are a bit too slow burning. HP-38 and W231 are the same powders. I have never used W244. Titegroup has been good for me. You did not mention it but Unique is a good choice. In a smaller case like the 44 Special, HP-38/W231 will be better than in the larger 44 mag case. I hope this helps!
@@30-06john
Very Informative
Thans for your advice !
Hi
I have been looking for subsonic load data for a 44/special/44 magnum Rossi 92 and have not been able to find the information that I want .
It seems as though everything I have found is peple trying to get the most velocity with no consideration that the the rifle is a lot quieter and easier to shoot with reduced loads.
Glad I Finally found your channel !
I tried going to the Hodgdon site and can see where it says cowboy loads but when I click on it it is blank which leads me to believe that for some reason they no longer have the data for view.
Anyway given that you have the information that you can see ,can you either post it here or send me the link that you have so can view it as well ?
I want to keep the velocities subsonic for ease on my ears and on my shoulder(mid sixties) but i am also wanting good load density in the case and if the rifle will function with the 44 special I would like to use it ,if not I will use the Magnum case.
Thanks
The Hodgdon Cowboy Load Data is still there at the Hodgdon's website, I just checked. Watch my video where I go to that document, and make sure you are clicking on the Cowboy Action Data with the PDF icon. Make sure you have Adobe Acrobat installed, free at their website. Hodgdon also has some subsonic data at their Reloading Center, just choose the cartridge and bullet weight. Pretty much all 44 Special is subsonic, out of a rifle it might be just over 1100fps. But if you use starting handgun loads, should be under 1100 in a rifle. I hope this helps and thanks for watching!
@@30-06john
I have went to the Website several(10 times) times now and unable to access the cowboy loads using my laptop but can acess it 2 different ways.
If I do a search for Hodgdon cowboy data done on my laptop I see where there are quite a few people who have said the same thing ,that the data was gone and others who have saved it would provide a link
and I can acces the data by using the link on my Laptop OR I can directly acess the cowboy data when using my iphone.
Either way I can see now that they are only showing Maximum loads for pistol and carbine but It does not say whether the velocities are from a pistol or a carbine.
I also went to the subsonic Data and all I have been able to find is Subsonic data for Rifle cartridges not for Handgun cartridges when shot through a carbine .
I can toggle back and forth Between Pistol and Rifle velocity for the 44 Magnum and 357 magnum which doesn't help at all when I am wanting Data for a 44 special and a 38 special for Increased magazine capacity and in addition from everything I have read says a carbine or rifle will increase sometimes 3-700 fps over a 4-6 inch barrel Pistol.
So what throws me is that how can a Hodgdon Pistol load taken from a approx 8 inch barrel show 6.5 grains of Universal giving 853 fps but yet show the same 6.5 Grains of Universal shot from a 20 inch barrel giving only 927 fps ? Only a 74 fps increase from a barrel that is 12 inches longer ?
That means that the the rifle is only Gaining about 6 fps per inch over the Pistol !!
I think that Hodgon has something,some descrepency going on here that I am not understand as that is less than the difference between shot to shot fired from a gun using High quality ammo.
Do you know of a alternative To the Hodgon site where I can cross reference the data to better understand(hopefully) the reason for this ?
Thanks
If you go to the normal Hodgdon load center, not the subsonic section, it shows mild load data for 44 Special and 38 Special. Most of the loads are using a fast burning powder, not a slow powder, so velocity gain is less out of a carbine. If you can find it, Oregon Trail bullets had a load manual with cowboy action data, look on the web, not at their website anymore. I hope this helps and good luck!
I heard Henry rifles don’t shoot lead bullets well and especially those SWC bullets ? I have a Henry BigBoy 44 mag 20” barrel . I only shot 240 jacketed bullets most round flat points different brands all shoot excellent.. I shot those Berry’s 240 (.429) jacketed with 19-19.5 grains of h110 they shot well. What I’m trying to get at is so I could use rnfp lead bullets with universal powder I would save money for just target 🎯 and it won’t mess up my barrel ? Where can I get those 240 rfp bullets and would trailboss work ? Do I need that gel for the lead bullets ? Why do lead cast bullets show an over all length ? I don’t know as much as you but I would love to shoot lead , sub sonic loads right with minimum powder after all it’s just target 🎯 shooting. Thanks 🙏
OK, let me try and answer your questions! I have not heard that Henry rifles do not like lead bullets. Mine shoots them fine. Shooting lead bullets may "lead" your barrel if velocities are high. Hard cast lead should not but softer cast bullets like cowboy action bullets probably will. Cleaning a barrel of lead is not hard but may take a bit of time. If velocities are kept below about 1200 fps, leading should be minimal. Finding bullets should not be hard, MidwayUSA and other online retailers sell them. Local gun stores that sell reloading supplies may have them too. Trailboss is an excellent powder for cowboy type loads. You mentioned gel, I think you mean the bullet lube on lead bullets, they usually already have it on. I wish you luck on finding the correct bullets and loading up cowboy loads for your Henry 44 magnum!
@@30-06john I’m thinking RNFP from missouri bullet company it says 18 Brinell and bullet length is .686-it’s 27 thousandths bigger than most 44 cal bullets on sale , should I be worried about this ? Thanks for responding I really Appreciate it !!!
Sorry about the delay in responding, somehow your reply was marked as spam and hidden. The 27 thousands longer length should not be an issue. That sounds like a .430"(44 magnum), 240grain bullet, should work fine.
I looked on the web and asked if a Henry 4 magnum would function fine with 44 special and the concenus is yes.
I am curious if you have tried using 44 special in your rifle?should pick up 1 more round to be loaded into the magazine and even less powder which could mean less recoil as well.
with either 44 special or the subsonic 44 magnum it is highly likely that 2 or 3 things could inprove accuracy.
! thing would be to slug the bore of the barrel and use either a exact matched bullet in diameter of a little bigger bullet than the the slug that you used to find the diameterr oF the bore of the barrel.You can lap the barrel and increase the accuracy and decrease any leading that you have.
All these to do things are easy to do.
Although it may sound counterintuitive also you a softer bullet than Hard cast.
A hard cast bullet will not slug up to fill the bore.Not only killing accuracy potential because of that reason but by the Hard Cast bullet to fo this that means thatbeing so hard that it lets propellant gasses use to propel the bullet that the gasses find the loosest part of the barrel bullet fit and escape through the gap between the bullet and bore and create More bullet leading than a softer bullet would !
But most think that a HARD Cast bullet creates less leading whn in actuality it creat more leading thana softer bullet do to the reasons I just spoke about.
Something to think about !
Thanks for yur help and hope this helps you.
I have not used 44 Special cases but should work. Only problem I noticed is when loading very heavy 44 Mag, if the length is too long, will not feed. Many variables when it comes to accuracy. I have not really noticed any bad leading but I try to keep lead bullets below 1100fps in a rifle. Thanks and thanks for watching!
@@30-06john
Could you just seat the bullet slightly deeper?
Maybe try the 44 special cases which are supposedly 1/8 or .125 shorter than the 44 Magnum case.
You can seat and crimp the bullets deeper. Won't be in the crimp groove but if using softer lead bullets, easy to crimp anywhere. Of course have to adjust load data.
@@30-06john
Sure