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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/19/2024 9:27:02 PM EDT
I have a 44 Big Boy Steel Carbine side gate So far i have tried
I beleive all of these are hi tek coated .......240 swc bayou bullets , 240 smasher mbc rnfp and 225 gr acme rnfp all of these keyhole with my gun These same loads work perfectly in a 7.5 ruger super redhawk 240 xtp pushed with unique shoot absolutely outstanding no issues at all. Curious if anyone has a "cheaper" alternative to the xtp's that is known to work????? I love shooting this thing but it would be nice to take the cost down a bit.... Like every other gun manufacturer they don't want you using reloads so i'm thinking calling cs and asking wouldn't be helpful. |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 2/19/2024 10:17:50 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Urimaginaryfrnd]
[#1]
Stay with the coated 240 gr and test other powders.
Try 2400 and H110 NOTE: H110 is always a Large MAGNUM pistol Primer 2400 can be Large Standard |
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Posted: 2/20/2024 8:23:39 AM EDT
[#2]
For mine, I've been loading a 240 gn TC plated bullet from Evergreen Ballistics. 18 gns of AA#9. No issues other than a little hard on my shoulder.
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Posted: 2/20/2024 10:13:13 PM EDT
[#3]
Check out the EE, I bought a bunch of bullets from a guy closing out his father's shop. 500 300-grain bullets, $50 shipped. I've never ordered bullets before and was impressed at how heavy that little box was.
 Lucky Gunner tested out .357 and .44 Henry Xs, iirc the 44 shot 180s the worst, 240s ok and 300s the best. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/20/2024 11:24:25 PM EDT
[#4]
my load data is
240 swc bayou bullets 10.5 unique, 240 smasher mbc rnfp 9.5 unique and 225 gr acme rnfp 9.5 unique Do you guys think i'm shooting them to fast? or just wrong powder? Load data is all over the place for 44 mag so..... I don't want a stuck bullet dropping to low. |
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WI, USA
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Posted: 2/21/2024 1:06:11 AM EDT
[#5]
Dad's old 44mag load he worked up years ago. 240XTP with 20grains of 2400. Super accurate and kills deer very nicely. Works great in the 629's, Marlin 1894, Henry X, and my favorite Ruger 96/44.
Have a practice load using 180 XTP's in 44 special cases. |
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Posted: 2/21/2024 12:02:22 PM EDT
[#6]
Never used unique or had a henry, but I've loaded subsonic 44mag with fast powders as slow as 750-800fps in rifles and never had a bullet get stuck.
Have you tried a plated bullet? |
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Posted: 2/21/2024 7:49:15 PM EDT
[#7]
SHot everything from Remington ammo to Winchester white box 44 through my Henry, no issues, no keyholing.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/21/2024 8:59:29 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rob940: SHot everything from Remington ammo to Winchester white box 44 through my Henry, no issues, no keyholing. Any lead / coated bullets? Thats my issue. Mine shoots hornady xtps outstanding! |
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Posted: 2/22/2024 6:28:37 PM EDT
[#9]
What diameter do the bullet measure? My Henry slugs to .434 which is pretty common for 44 rifles? I can’t imagine that causing keyhole but crazier things have happened.
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Posted: 2/22/2024 8:02:00 PM EDT
[#10]
I experienced keyholing with leverevolution 225gr. Xtp's shoot very well
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/22/2024 8:37:38 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigtex84: What diameter do the bullet measure? My Henry slugs to .434 which is pretty common for 44 rifles? I can’t imagine that causing keyhole but crazier things have happened. .4305 for the mbc 240 smasher .431 for the acme 225 The xtp's are supposedly .430 i haven't measured them and i haven't slugged the brl..... |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/22/2024 8:41:20 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Morgan321: Never used unique or had a henry, but I've loaded subsonic 44mag with fast powders as slow as 750-800fps in rifles and never had a bullet get stuck. Have you tried a plated bullet? No i mean once i hit plated prices...... i might as well shoot xtp's and just not jack with anything else. I may try to slow some way down and see if that helps but i'm going to load up a few hundred xtp's first as thats what i set up for last. I slowed my last batch of xtp's down anyway since the one deer i've shot so far the bullet pretty much exploded inside hoping to get some deeper penetration. It did kill effectively and i doubt any deer in the south would go far. |
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Posted: 2/26/2024 11:02:08 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By acman145acp: Any lead / coated bullets? Thats my issue. Mine shoots hornady xtps outstanding! |
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Posted: 2/27/2024 9:03:16 PM EDT
[Last Edit: compuvette]
[#14]
My two Henry 44’s have yet to see a jacketed round. I’ve had good luck with Acme 240gr coated SWC’s and Win244. My 2 Henry’s are a 20” side gate All Weather and a 20” older Classic. The All Weather has the newer 1/20 barrel, the Classic has the older 1/38 twist.
240gr Acme SWC 9gr Win244, 1.61” COAL, Win LP 20” Henry AW: 1285fps 4” 29-2: 1058fps 3” 629-6: 1028fps I haven’t had any stability issues. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/27/2024 11:14:13 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: My two Henry 44’s have yet to see a jacketed round. I’ve had good luck with Acme 240gr coated SWC’s and Win244. My 2 Henry’s are a 20” side gate All Weather and a 20” older Classic. The All Weather has the newer 1/20 barrel, the Classic has the older 1/38 twist. 240gr Acme SWC 9gr Win244, 1.61” COAL, Win LP 20” Henry AW: 1285fps 4” 29-2: 1058fps 3” 629-6: 1028fps I haven’t had any stability issues. This gives me a little hope then i will try to slow them down a little more and i have some hp38 i can try. I’ve never had this issue before but i’ve never loaded lead for a rifle before either. Like i said it shoots the 240 xtps outstanding |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/27/2024 11:23:22 PM EDT
[#16]
I just looked it i can slow it down substantially with hp 38 / published data
Hopefully i can get around to this in next few weeks |
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Posted: 3/3/2024 6:57:42 PM EDT
[#17]
I’ve got to amend my statement. Took the two Henry’s to the range today as it is 65 and beautiful outside. Bagged the rifles at the hundred yard bench and shot my Win 244 240gr Acme SWc load again. This time the All Weather shot fine, but the classic keyholed 50% of the rounds. The last time I shot it the temp was much lower as I got that rifle in November.
Just for reference, the Classic is an older one with the 1/38 twist barrel. The All Weather is a side gate with the 1/20 twist. I’ve got a 500 bullet pack of Acme 200gr RNFP coated that I’m going to load up and see how they do in the older Henry. Being shorter and lighter I’m hoping they’ll stay stable. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 3/4/2024 8:52:56 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: I’ve got to amend my statement. Took the two Henry’s to the range today as it is 65 and beautiful outside. Bagged the rifles at the hundred yard bench and shot my Win 244 240gr Acme SWc load again. This time the All Weather shot fine, but the classic keyholed 50% of the rounds. The last time I shot it the temp was much lower as I got that rifle in November. Just for reference, the Classic is an older one with the 1/38 twist barrel. The All Weather is a side gate with the 1/20 twist. I’ve got a 500 bullet pack of Acme 200gr RNFP coated that I’m going to load up and see how they do in the older Henry. Being shorter and lighter I’m hoping they’ll stay stable. Do you think its speed or??? I loaded up more xtps this weekend to make sure i had something to Shoot. Went to cycle a few just because found out what a pita it is when screws come loose and round is stuck in tube load gate area ,…. Got it apart and back together again wow what a pain. Hopefully ill have time to load way down and next week and test. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/4/2024 9:21:06 AM EDT
[#19]
Have you ever slugged the rifle’s throat or bore?
If a cast bullet isn’t at least groove size or better 0.001” then accuracy can suck. Cast needs to fit. Tapping a slightly over sized ball down the throat and tapping it back out can give you numbers as can a chamber cast. I am not saying it’s not a rifling twist rate and speed issue, just another thing to look at. |
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Posted: 3/4/2024 2:04:41 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By acman145acp: Do you think its speed or??? I loaded up more xtps this weekend to make sure i had something to Shoot. Went to cycle a few just because found out what a pita it is when screws come loose and round is stuck in tube load gate area ,…. Got it apart and back together again wow what a pain. Hopefully ill have time to load way down and next week and test. I don’t know. I was having some ejection issues as well so I went ahead and contacted Henry. They were super responsive and I’ve got a shipping label to send it in. They are going to look into the keyhole and ejection issues. I’ll update the thread with how it goes and what they do. My “Classic” is from 2004 so it’s an early one. My 2022 44 All Weather side gate shoots and runs like a top as does my 2023 357 Model X. I’m hoping they swap the 1/38 barrel for a 1/20….. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 3/4/2024 3:09:51 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SteelonSteel: Have you ever slugged the rifle’s throat or bore? If a cast bullet isn’t at least groove size or better 0.001” then accuracy can suck. Cast needs to fit. Tapping a slightly over sized ball down the throat and tapping it back out can give you numbers as can a chamber cast. I am not saying it’s not a rifling twist rate and speed issue, just another thing to look at. I will probably do this eventually but my issue is Im not going to start casting I see no readily available resonably priced options for custom sizes to buy |
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Posted: 3/7/2024 3:37:06 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: I don’t know. I was having some ejection issues as well so I went ahead and contacted Henry. They were super responsive and I’ve got a shipping label to send it in. They are going to look into the keyhole and ejection issues. I’ll update the thread with how it goes and what they do. My “Classic” is from 2004 so it’s an early one. My 2022 44 All Weather side gate shoots and runs like a top as does my 2023 357 Model X. I’m hoping they swap the 1/38 barrel for a 1/20….. The rifle made it to Henry today. The wait begins..... |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 3/13/2024 9:56:13 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: The rifle made it to Henry today. The wait begins..... Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: Originally Posted By compuvette: I don’t know. I was having some ejection issues as well so I went ahead and contacted Henry. They were super responsive and I’ve got a shipping label to send it in. They are going to look into the keyhole and ejection issues. I’ll update the thread with how it goes and what they do. My “Classic” is from 2004 so it’s an early one. My 2022 44 All Weather side gate shoots and runs like a top as does my 2023 357 Model X. I’m hoping they swap the 1/38 barrel for a 1/20….. The rifle made it to Henry today. The wait begins..... Hope you let us know how this all turns out. I didn’t get a chance to load any lead down yet . But i did go to the range today to test it after putting it back together. I fired a 100 rnds of my new xtp load it shot like a dream 9.5 unique The screws didn’t work loose either idk the must have not snugged them at factory. Ill post the final outcome on lead when i download these. |
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Posted: 3/14/2024 10:57:16 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By acman145acp: Hope you let us know how this all turns out. I didn’t get a chance to load any lead down yet . But i did go to the range today to test it after putting it back together. I fired a 100 rnds of my new xtp load it shot like a dream 9.5 unique The screws didn’t work loose either idk the must have not snugged them at factory. Ill post the final outcome on lead when i download these. Got shipping notification from Henry today. Called in and spoke to a rep to see what they did. New barrel, bolt, bolt lugs, inner and outer mag tube. It’s like they replaced most of the rifle! It will be coming back with a 1/20 twist versus the 1/38 so I’m hoping it’ll shoot like the All Weather. I’ll have it back early next week. I’ll get it to get it to the range next weekend to zero and see how she shoots. So far VERY impressed with Henry’s customer service. For reference, this is a 2004 production rifle and I’m not the original owner. They could have told me to pound sand. |
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Posted: 3/18/2024 1:39:52 PM EDT
[#25]
Rifle is back in my hands. Looking down the barrel, it is definitely 1/20 twist based on visually tracking the rifling. Other than the selected scratches on the furniture and the minor wear on the receiver this thing looks brand new. It’s literally snowing here today so no range trip. Gonna try this weekend.
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Posted: 4/7/2024 4:08:44 PM EDT
[#26]
Finally shot the rifle today along with my All Weather. It’s not exactly warm and the wind was high. I didn’t shoot great groups at 100 yards. My best was 3 inches from the All Weather. However, all the holes looked good shooting 240 grain Acme SWC’s over Win 244. No keyholes this time with the Classic after the barrel replacement.
Once it warms up a bit more I’ll head back out with my SWC reloads as well as some Winchester 240 grain soft points. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 4/10/2024 9:33:27 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By compuvette: Finally shot the rifle today along with my All Weather. It’s not exactly warm and the wind was high. I didn’t shoot great groups at 100 yards. My best was 3 inches from the All Weather. However, all the holes looked good shooting 240 grain Acme SWC’s over Win 244. No keyholes this time with the Classic after the barrel replacement. Once it warms up a bit more I’ll head back out with my SWC reloads as well as some Winchester 240 grain soft points. Glad it worked out for you. I haven’t got to downloading to see if i was shooting them to fast yet but i will. Works been ridiculous so my free time has been pig hunting not reloading. |
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