Since my buddy Marko has got into reloading, I decided to gather up a few beads & trinkets around the house for him. Among the geegaws in the care package are a couple of the little "gimme" Hogdon reloading data brochures. I was perusing them before tossing them into the sack and, for the first time since I picked them up, flipped as far back into them as the "Cowboy Action" data...
I never had stopped to think before that you could just toss a Pyrodex pistol pellet into a .44 Magnum case. Apparently a 240gr SWC seated over one gives a reasonable ~1075fps at crazy low pressures. If one has a stainless .44 Magnum revolver (and this one does,) could there be an easier reloading gimmick? Load. Shoot. Wipe the cack off. Smile. No weighing or scooping or measuring or futzing about with charge weights... It's a lazy gal's reloading paradise. I am so there!
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15 comments:
Ah, Pyrodex...
I remember shooting cap and ball with my dad years ago and his take on black powder vs Pyrodex.
Basically he said he decided he liked the Pyrodex better because he felt safer handling it and that the odor from shooting a lot with it, like old underwear smoldering on a campfire, was better than the old fffg which smelled like rotten eggs that had come back up into your nose. Or words to that effect.
Of course, we also tried out some "hot" loads with fffg first topped with P set off by hotter caps in the Ruger. Never tried them in the Colt copies. But I digress...
FFFg black powder is cheaper, and less corrosive.
Just fill the case, and don't compress.
Never thought about using pellets. It should work well but just for the record Tam, Pyrodex requires the same cleaning regimen as black powder and like Kris said, it's more corrosive than black. Good old (dish) soap and water cleans pyrodex just fine but you must clean shortly after shooting or you WILL get rust.
kristopher,
While Pyrodex residue is more hygroscopic than plain ol' FFFG residue, I don't think that makes much difference to a 629. ;)
I realize going the BPCR route would give me more flexibility, but if I'm doing that, I might as well use smokeless. The charm of the pellet is the simple, measurement-free, scoop-free loading. Perfect for a Lyman Tong Tool in the field.
Tam have you considered using Triple 7 pellets instead of Pyrodex?
I would, but they don't offer them in pistol sizes.
Good lord! I thought *I* was lazy!
Next thing you'll be buying that fancy store bought ammynition!
If you like that, get yourself a 44 walker repo and step back in time say 160 years and enjoy the same response.
I get a grin ever time I touch mine off just experiencing the recoil of it.
Yeah, my Remington doesn't buck like a Walker. :(
I am sure yours is much different recoil then the Walker, but you as a history buff would appreciate the history and interest of shooting a Walker.
Step back into a time of the Texas revolution and colonization where the folks were riding on horses with 2 Walkers as horse pistols.
Carrying a 2nd Walker gives a whole new meaning to the term "tactical reload"!
You might be surprised.
If anything would rust that pistol's alloy, pyrodex would do it ... or at least eat the springs for lunch.
After reading the latest Gun Tests review of .44 Magnums, I'm becoming more convinced that the 629 ain't the ideal .44 Magnum platform. They had cylinder unlocking problems and here it is 2007. S&W should probably make the 629 a triple lock.
"Unlocking", or "counter-rotating"?
(And no, the 629 won't stand up to the rhino-rollers like a Redhawk, but that's not what I use it for...)
Great, like I don't have enough things tugging at my attention, y'all had to remind me that I haven't shot my Xmas Walker yet...or even my 1860 Army. Only have a Remington 1858 powder measure, though...damn, I gotta spend money now....
"Unlocking", or "counter-rotating"?>
Well, Gun Tests isn't a model of clarity there: "The more serious problem was that the cylinder often unlocked after ignition, even after firing the milder .44 Special rounds. This left the chamber out of alignment and the hand that drives against the ratchet was out of position. The shooter needed to turn the cylinder manually until the lock slipped into the groove on the outside of the cylinder."
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