44 Magnum

I have an old Ruger Redhawk 44 magnum that I picked up used about 15 years ago. Never shot it, so I was thinking about selling it. My kids convinced me to keep it and put a scope on it.
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I loaded up some rounds with Xtreme 240gr RNFP 1.600” and Unique, to get it on paper and just get a general feel for it. I got it on paper @25yds with the 8.7gr load, then tried it at 50yds. 8.7gr was all over the place, 9.2gr was a little better, 9.8gr gave me a 6” group, the best of the day.

For my next trip out, I’ve got four new loads made up. This time I seated the 240gr Xtreme RNFP to 1.575”. The powders I’m trying are 12.5gr HS-6, 15.5gr AA7, 21.0gr IMR4227, and 10.5gr CFE Pistol.
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I really like how that Redhawk looks with the rail on top. Now I need to find Redhawk.


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So, here is my baby, the only thing I carry anymore for PA deer. A Ruger Super Redhawk in 44mag. It has a cheap Simmons scope on it for now, but it has been solid and I can live with it. I have had good success with some cast Stateline Bullets 245gr semi-wadcutters over 21.3 gn of IMR 4227. But, my hunting load always uses 24 gn of H110 under Speer 240g JHP, or Remington 240g SJHP bullets. They are very accurate and hit so damn hard :)

By the way, Jeffery. That is a sweet looking Redhawk, I like the looks better without the rail, but I understand. It should shoot awesome, like all the Rugers I have owned.

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Originally Posted by Flyeralan

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So, here is my baby, the only thing I carry anymore for PA deer. A Ruger Super Redhawk in 44mag. It has a cheap Simmons scope on it for now, but it has been solid and I can live with it. I have had good success with some cast Stateline Bullets 245gr semi-wadcutters over 21.3 gn of IMR 4227. But, my hunting load always uses 24 gn of H110 under Speer 240g JHP, or Remington 240g SJHP bullets. They are very accurate and hit so damn hard :)

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That’s a great looking rig. Ive got a mess of 240gr XTP’s that I’m going to work up a hunting load with, after I find a decent practice load.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flyeralan

By the way, Jeffery. That is a sweet looking Redhawk, I like the looks better without the rail, but I understand. It should shoot awesome, like all the Rugers I have owned.

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The scope rail is a weigand no drill and tap mount. I can put the redhawk back to its original configuration in 5 minutes if I need be.


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I took the scope off and checked all the base screws to make sure none had come loose, like the directions say. All the screws were good to go, I can’t imagine any coming loose with the amount of lock tite I used.


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I shot my next set of test loads yesterday. HS6 and AA7 were horrible, but IMR4227 and CFE Pistol did admirably with just over 3” groups at 50yds. I’m still getting used to scoped pistol shooting. This was definitely a step in the right direction.

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Thanks for following up with this! I am not surprised that IMR 4227 did well for you, and I may have to try CFE Pistol sometime.

So far these are just practice loads with plated Xtreme 240gr FP. I figure, as crappy as I am with this longer range scoped pistol stuff, I might as well get as much practice in while developing a practice load before I even think about a hunting load.

My next step is to load both IMR4227 and CFE Pistol again to see if I can duplicate last weekends results, and to get a velocity on them. If one really stands out above the other I will choose it as my practice load. Once I’m comfortable and “somewhat” proficient, I’ll start working on a hunting load.


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I shot the CFE and 4227 loads again, with less than spectacular results. I definitely feel it is the shooter. I did manage to get some velocities though. The IMR4227 load is 1132fps and the CFE Pistol load is 1095fps. I’ve loaded up a few more to run this test again.


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I think I finally got something figured out. I set up a new rest for my pistol, something to where I can hold it steady to test loads and not put much pressure on the barrel. I also noticed that the bullet that stays super sonic to the target is much more accurate (I kinda already knew this but being a pistol I hadn’t thought about it). IMR4227 with 240gr xtreme @1135fps shot a 1.75” group at 50yds. CFE Pistol with 240gr xtreme @1096fps shot a barely sub 8” group at 50yds. Next I’m going to try to duplicate the accuracy of the 4227 load, and bump up the CFE load to see if it will shoot more accurately.
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