I've been shootn 240 HC over 6gr of 231 out of mt lil 4 5/8 Blackhawk and love it. I picked up a bunch of 240 XTP's and want to try them. Does anyone have a load to share?

Welcome to the best shooting forum on the WWW. My favorite loads for my 44 specials are 240 gr LRNFP ahead of 5.5 gr HP38 / W231, 800 fps and a 250 gr LSWC ahead of 8.0 gr Power Pistol at 925 fps. Both loads are within pressure specs. The first load is my walking around load and the second is my hunting load.

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A truely successful life is mostly based on how well you handle PLAN B.

Welcome, Ol Bull. My favorite "everyday" load is 18 grns 2400 under a home cast 260 grn swc or a 250 Thompson gc swc for 1200 (+ or -), depending the particular gun it's fired from. My hunting load in my RBH is the 200 grn Hornady hp over 27grns of H110 for 1510fps. In my Marlin 94 .44mag I like a 240grn hp over, IIRC, 25 grns H110 for between 1600 & 1700 fps.

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Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.

Stupid me, you were referring to the .44SPL and not the MAG. I like the same cast bullets over either 7.5 grns Unique or 16 grns of 2400 for 900 plus and 1150 fps.

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Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.

Never trust an "Internet Load" without checking a manual

In my 4 5/8" New Model BlackHawk I shoot 240 grain Nosler JHPs with 9.0 grains of Power Pistol for 1050 fps.

16 grains of H2400 (old stuff) does 1060 fps with the same jacketed bullet or with a 250 grain HardCast.

These loads shoot about 3" high @ 25 yards with the standard issue rear sight bottomed out.

These loads wouldn't be safe in most non-Ruger 44 Specials.

Thanks guys. My lil Ruger Flattop really likes my 240gr lead/231 load at 825fps. I'd like to get these XTP's to about 1000fps. I think i'll try some 2400 and some Power pistol.

The hottest 44 special 240 gr TXP load I have used out of my Blackhawk is 18.0 gr of H110 at 1120 fps over a shooting crony. I don't load this any longer as I reserve all loads over 1000 fps for 44 mag loads. I don't think anything I will shoot with my 44 special will know the difference from a 950 fps and a 1100 fps load. If you are looking for muzzle velocity, lead bullets can be pushed faster at lower pressures since the are softer and slicker.

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A truely successful life is mostly based on how well you handle PLAN B.

My Lee Manual lists separate load tables for the XTP, Jacketed, Lead, and Plated bullets. It is pretty much the only resource I have seen for XTP and Plated bullets. I would imagine Hornady has info on the XTP since it is theirs.

Those are both excellent powders for the 240-250 beit cast or jacketed.

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Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself…To insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable…They deserve a place of honor with all that’s good…”
George Washington

I have had OK results with the Speer 200 gr offering in my 44 spl. I did not get good results with the loads I tried with the 240 XTP. Just me though. I would rather shoot lead through the pistol and I have not found a cast load to suit me there yet. I am not working with the 44 spl right now but I will be watching your progress and I will report if I get to do more work with it, this summer. You could search and look at Rocky's posts. He has done a lot of work with the special as has many others here.

If you want to try something else: In my NM 44 Special BlackHawk, the most accurate load I've found is the 200 grain XTP over 9.6 grains of Power Pistol. It does 3 shot groups in less than 1/2" @ 25 yards. Velocity is 1130 fps in a 4 5/8" barrel.

Many other NM Blackhawk owners have great results with this particular bullet and powder.