Shot loads in the .44 mag.

[Chuck 100 yd]

A friend asked me if I could load some shot loads for his .44 mag.
This morning ,while waiting for the Turkey and fixins , this is what I came up with.
They look like they will do the job.

Case full length resized but not belled or expanded
Case primed with standard primer.
6 gr. Bullseye (suggested load from CCI manual for their shot capsules)
Milk carton wad
Ox-Yoke brand .44-.45 caliber "Wonder Wad"
another milk carton wad (all seated hard on the powder)
aprox. 150 gr. #8 shot
Milk carton over shot wad
Crimped in my Lee factory crimp die.


Shot pattern at 10' (about a 11" spread from my Ruger Super Red Hawk 9 1/2")

Have fun!!

[Old Ironsights]

Nice. I'm still using Shot Capsules in my .38.

[Booger Bill]

I carried a speer shot capsule on top in a model 60 s&w years ago. I got in a fracas many years ago and stupidly hit a car window with the gun trying to get someone out of the car that had locked himself in it. I might have been dead and didn't know it. Later I found the gun was tied up from the impact as the shot capsule had bounced half way into the barrel tying up the gun!

[3leggedturtle]

Chuck, sure you know this, but you can use .303 or 30/40 cases after you turned down the rim to make use of the whole length of the cylinder for extra shot, if need be. I did this for a 44 Hotshot barrel. I used a Hot glue gun to seal end of cases. Nice looking pattern to. Have you shot anything with them to see how much they penetrate?

[Old Ironsights]

I carried a speer shot capsule on top in a model 60 s&w years ago. I got in a fracas many years ago and stupidly hit a car window with the gun trying to get someone out of the car that had locked himself in it. I might have been dead and didn't know it. Later I found the gun was tied up from the impact as the shot capsule had bounced half way into the barrel tying up the gun!

I only use them in a Derringer (primary snake gun) and a .357 Ruger (occasionally). That would be quite some impact to move it enough to bind up the Ruger...

[Chuck 100 yd]

3leggedturtle That is interesting.
They buried themselves into a sheet of 1/2" plywood far enough to be out of sight but so far that is all the testing I have done.
That load should be going almost 1100 fps according to Speer data using the shot capsule.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I still have a box of 50 44 mag shot loads my dad loaded for me about 20 years ago, haven't shot any due to sentimentality.

I've always wanted to reload 444 Marlin brass with a .410 wad shot load capped with plastic disc and crimped using a Lee 444 factory crimp die for use in my single shot .410 shotgun. Cheaper than factory loads and the brass lasts forever.

[AJMD429]

Chuck, sure you know this, but you can use .303 or 30/40 cases after you turned down the rim to make use of the whole length of the cylinder for extra shot, if need be. I did this for a 44 Hotshot barrel. I used a Hot glue gun to seal end of cases. Nice looking pattern too.

I'd love to see a Range Report on that...

[AJMD429]

I still have a box of 50 44 mag shot loads my dad loaded for me about 20 years ago, haven't shot any due to sentimentality.

I've always wanted to reload 444 Marlin brass with a .410 wad shot load capped with plastic disc and crimped using a Lee 444 factory crimp die for use in my single shot .410 shotgun. Cheaper than factory loads and the brass lasts forever.

It's been done before:

444 Shotshells 1.jpg

444 Shotshells 2.jpg

444 Shotshells 3.jpg

444 Shotshells 4.jpg

444 Shotshells 5.jpg

444 Shotshells 6.jpg

[Ji in Hawaii]

Probably where I got the idea.

[jeepnik]

Honestly, I don't use enough of them to bother making my own. I likely still have some of the first ones I've bought in some calibers. For most others it's probably the second "box".

[3leggedturtle]

Chuck, sure you know this, but you can use .303 or 30/40 cases after you turned down the rim to make use of the whole length of the cylinder for extra shot, if need be. I did this for a 44 Hotshot barrel. I used a Hot glue gun to seal end of cases. Nice looking pattern too.

I'd love to see a Range Report on that...

Used 7 1/2 shot, don't remember powder used. At 20-25 paces they would completely pepper and penetrate an old "steel" pop can. Never did shoot anything other than paper or objects with them. I also used a wood dowel to wrap "heavy red paper" around and glue them so that they would fit up inside the barrel for a lot of extra shot. Don't remember those loads patterning any better tho.

[Sixgun]

Chuck,
Those babies you made look too nice to shoot.

These things I made are absolutely devastating. These particular ones are loaded in 44-40 cases and I shoot them out of an original smoothbore 1894 Marlin, but I guess they could be used in anything 44-40. They contain 160 grains of #11 shot.

And if you don't use them for anything I guess you could get a 54 caliber round ball and use them for bowling. ----6

[Chuck 100 yd]

6 , Those you made do look good.
The guy I made mine for wanted them for Grouse. From past experience I know you need fairly large shot to penetrate the feathers on them. When I shot a couple using #12 shot they just flew off like they were not even hit. When hit with #9 shot they flop around and a second shot may be required but when hit with #7 1/2 or larger thet are either DRT or missed and they fly off to see another day.

[Sixgun]

Chuck,
I hear ya on the grouse thing. Yes, the #11 shot would be no good, but I must confess, they are hell on beer cans at 10 feet!

So.......I took your advice and made this one up. Ya think the shot is big enough?

Next to the 44-40 shot load, you will see these other weird looking rounds. Many years ago when most guys here were still in their diapers, I read an article in the American Rifleman on shot loads from WW2 that the airman kept with their 1911's for survival. Well, I was just a punk kid then but I had good genes so I knew how to think and just by looking at the pictures, I said to myself, "I can do that".

So........I took some .308 empties and cut them down and then used a (iirc) a 38-55 fls and made my very own shoulder. These babies will feed 100% in my Colt's Government Model but are not powerful enough to operate the action by themselves so I have to rack the action myself. I made about 25 of them.

This is what I have left and these are the exact ones I loaded 35 years ago.----6

[Chuck 100 yd]

COOL!

[don Tomás]

Tried making shot loads out of .410 hulls for my .45Colt back in 2006. I think Hobie still has the links working:

Modified 410 Shotshells fired out of a .45Colt pistol (Link)

OT - Modified .410 Shotshell Out Of a .45 Colt (Revisited)

[Chuck 100 yd]

don Tomás , COOL !! Thanks for the links. Chuck

[piller]

I have a few of the yellow shot capsules for a .44 Magnum that I was given when I bought a used .44 Magnum Ruger semi auto carbine a couple of years ago. I tried them, and on paper at 15 feet, the pattern with #9 shot is pretty good out of a Ruger Super Blackhawk.

[JerryB]

Something over 30 years ago I read an article by Mike Venturino about make .45 Colt shotshells. I still make them for the .45, I use the CCI shot capsules for .38/.357 and .44 special.
I used .45 gas checks one cup up over the powder and one cup down over the shot. I got the 7 1/2 shot from a friend that reloaded shotgun shells. They have a good pattern and will take care of any snake in my part of the world.

[Sixgun]

Jerry,
I know is a thousand to one but, be carefull with the the gas checks that are behind the shot. While it has never happened to me, I have talked to people over the years with a gas check that got stuck in the bore. At least that's what they thought happened because they noticed a messy spot in the bore that was not there before.----6

[JerryB]

Thanks Sixgun, I have not had that happen but I reckon it could be a possibility if the powder charge fell light.

[Ysabel Kid]

Very cool thread.