Posting this just for the amusement of the board.
I bought a 44mag Henry X model last year, 17.4 barrel. I wanted it just for the potential of more "bush" hunting, shooting a deer under 100y. I've got a red dot on it. We've all heard about what the best powders for 44mag, but what about for top velos from a rifle? I used Speer 220gr FPJ pills, COAL of 1.605, virgin Winchester brass. The test was between 300MP, H110, and VV N110. I scoured the internet and reloading data trying to find max loads for this bullet, but there was very little I could find. On some, I ended up just going for an in between of a 200 and 240gr bullet. I did find one loading for the N110.
So, for the 300MP I used 27gr, H110 26gr, and N110 24gr. For those that don't use them, 300MP and H110 are spherical and N110 is extruded. So, for that loading of N110, it was actually JUST starting to be compressed to where the COAL actually changed to 1.610. I assume with some shaking and seating of the powder, along with some crunching, you could probably get it to 24.5 gr. Someone may jump on and say I could have used 27 for the H110 as well, but this was the best I could find. Even so I don't think adding another gr would have made it match either of the other two.
The results of 5 shot averages: 300MP 1820 fps, H110 1748 fps, and N110 1864 fps.
Of worth noting, the N110 was also the most accurate and had the least deviation. Now, this is hitting a paper target at 50y with a red dot, so using scope I could have been more accurate. Still, the groupings looked a good bit better with the N110.
For me, the N110 is the clear winner for this rifle. The pressure should be lower, and it was the most accurate. I'll eventually do a test with some other bullets, I just wanted to see what kind of velo I could actually get with the lighter bullet. I've got plenty of 240gr XTPs to use, along with a box of 225gr FTX and 265 gr FTX. I've seen reviews that the 265gr is an excellent dear round, while the 225 fragments.
I bought a 44mag Henry X model last year, 17.4 barrel. I wanted it just for the potential of more "bush" hunting, shooting a deer under 100y. I've got a red dot on it. We've all heard about what the best powders for 44mag, but what about for top velos from a rifle? I used Speer 220gr FPJ pills, COAL of 1.605, virgin Winchester brass. The test was between 300MP, H110, and VV N110. I scoured the internet and reloading data trying to find max loads for this bullet, but there was very little I could find. On some, I ended up just going for an in between of a 200 and 240gr bullet. I did find one loading for the N110.
So, for the 300MP I used 27gr, H110 26gr, and N110 24gr. For those that don't use them, 300MP and H110 are spherical and N110 is extruded. So, for that loading of N110, it was actually JUST starting to be compressed to where the COAL actually changed to 1.610. I assume with some shaking and seating of the powder, along with some crunching, you could probably get it to 24.5 gr. Someone may jump on and say I could have used 27 for the H110 as well, but this was the best I could find. Even so I don't think adding another gr would have made it match either of the other two.
The results of 5 shot averages: 300MP 1820 fps, H110 1748 fps, and N110 1864 fps.
Of worth noting, the N110 was also the most accurate and had the least deviation. Now, this is hitting a paper target at 50y with a red dot, so using scope I could have been more accurate. Still, the groupings looked a good bit better with the N110.
For me, the N110 is the clear winner for this rifle. The pressure should be lower, and it was the most accurate. I'll eventually do a test with some other bullets, I just wanted to see what kind of velo I could actually get with the lighter bullet. I've got plenty of 240gr XTPs to use, along with a box of 225gr FTX and 265 gr FTX. I've seen reviews that the 265gr is an excellent dear round, while the 225 fragments.
