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Posted: 8/7/2017 4:41:59 PM EDT
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I have a Hornady lnl ap, what die set would you guys recommend ?
what powder , bullet , and primers would recommend also ? will used in my S&W 629 performance center 2" barrel . range use mostly. |
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Dig out a reloading manual and start reading.
Then decide what your purpose is.... Plinking or Self Defense? If it were plinking I would look at 240gr SWC from a vendor that HiTek coats their bullets. If it were self defense..... I would look at Speer offerings...I think they make a short barrel Gold Dot which might a good fit, although is probably meant for 44 Special use. You have to leg work to develop a load for you gun! What is safe - accurate - reliable in one gun might not be in yours! |
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Dies are easy, get Hornady dies. The straight line seater is the stand out feature of Hornady dies. Much better set than RCBS or Lee dies.
Get a crimp die to separate bullet seating from crimping. Hornady makes a good one, also the Lee FCD (factory crimp die) is popular. Figure out how much you want to spend for bullets, then you will know what bullets to buy, jacketed, plated, or cast. Then figure out how fast you want to push them, this will choose the primer and powder. Get a copy Of Lyman 50 reloading manual, as it has data for jacketed and cast bullets. Plated bullets use cast data. Read Lyman 50, it will answer your questions on powder and primers. |
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The 44mag is an extremely versatile cartridge. It can loaded from mild to wild.
The previous posts are spot on. As far as brands of equipment goes you will get all kinds of opinions. Fact is there's likely not a bad one. You are using a progressive press so seat and crimp in separate steps. As far as powder and primers go you need to match those to your intended ammo. The way you do that is by reading load data. BTW: I load for a S&W performance center 500. Very nice. Motor |
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I use Hornady dies to load 44 mag in my LNLAP press. I have sometimes found Lee dies a little too short for use in my press properly, but I mostly bought Hornady dies to get the free bullets.
If you are looking for loads to practice plinking with, cast bullets are available from a wide variety of online vendors and will get you a lot more for the money than jacketed bullets. 10 gr of Unique powder under a 240gr cast SWC bullet is kind of a mainstay for a nice range load in my experience. YMMV. |
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Quoted:
Dig out a reloading manual and start reading. Then decide what your purpose is.... Plinking or Self Defense? If it were plinking I would look at 240gr SWC from a vendor that HiTek coats their bullets. If it were self defense..... I would look at Speer offerings...I think they make a short barrel Gold Dot which might a good fit, although is probably meant for 44 Special use. You have to leg work to develop a load for you gun! What is safe - accurate - reliable in one gun might not be in yours! 
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| I suppose somebody should mention that the 44 mag doesn't need to be loaded to maximum pressures to be effective and accurate. Mid-range powders like Unique, along with cast bullets also make for very effective loads. Light 44 S&Ws like your snubbie can be sort of painful at times. I fed my Mountain Revolver mostly Unique with 250 gr bullets I cast myself running around 1000 fps. |
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Start with this,
https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/972765/smith-and-wesson-barrel-assembly-s-and-w-629-5-6-1-2-ported-stainless-steel?cm_mmc=pf_ci_connexity-_-Gunsmithing+-+Gun+Parts+-+Pistol+-+%28Factory%29-_-Smith+%26+Wesson-_-972765 The find a smith to change the barrels. Now with a 6" barrel on the 629, you are opening up what you can load with the pistol in regard to hotter loads, and actual hit something as well. To be blunt, full loads in a 2" barrel are going to both a flame thrower, and going to be very, very hard on your wrists as well. So stating this, stay away from the slower burning powders like H110/296, #9, lil gun, 2400 and the likes trying to achieve max velocities. So if you have a reloading manual, your looking for a power that will produce a 1000fps for a 240gr bullet, using around 10grs of powder. As for loads to run for target practice, as stated, your looking for a med to light load, and powers around the unique burn range will produce a load that you should be able to shoot all day long. So something like a 240gr powder coated bullet, and pushed around 1000fps. To sum it up, check the powder manufacturers sites for their reloading data, and should be able to find a powder to use for your loads. To get you started, http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/ http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/ http://www.accuratepowder.com/load-data/ |
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Scroll down for some milder loads
http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt44mag.htm Bayou, sns, mbc bullet, all make nice hardcast coated 44 bullets Attached File Attached File |
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Quoted:
I suppose somebody should mention that the 44 mag doesn't need to be loaded to maximum pressures to be effective and accurate. Mid-range powders like Unique, along with cast bullets also make for very effective loads. Light 44 S&Ws like your snubbie can be sort of painful at times. I fed my Mountain Revolver mostly Unique with 250 gr bullets I cast myself running around 1000 fps. I have a 629 with 8 3/8 barrel for backup for deer hunting.. I used a 240gr swc with steal plates and drops them with mike tyson punched them.. I was very impress with unique and the recoil was nice.. for deer i stick with 296 and 200gr remington hp.. i got the best expansion with it, but a 2" vs a 8" 3/8 is huge difference. I bet the mid-range load would work very well in that 2" model. |
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