H.V. Loads of Yesteryear

.44 H.V. Replication Loads of Yesteryear

Lately, I have been working with my '94 Marlin Cowboy Ltd. (24") replicating those vintage factory offerings. As I recall. [a.k.a.] "44-40 Willy" had done some of this in the past.

  The jacketed bullets I have used have been 1.) R-P 200 gr. .427", 2.) Winchester 200 gr. .426" 3.) Speer 200 gr. .429" The groove diameter in my rifle is .428" and all of the bullets shot well even though both the R-P and Winchester were smaller than the groove diameter. Surprisingly, the smallest group was fired with the Winchester bullet that was .002" under groove diameter. 

Using R-P cases, here are the loads I have tried:

• 20 / 2400 / 1,670 f.p.s.

• 21 / 4759 / 1,619 f.p.s. (Capacity load)

• 21 / H4227 / 1,610 f.p.s.

• 25 / XMP5744 / 1,630 f.p.s. (Capacity load)

  All of these loads shot groups in the 1 1/2" range @ 50 yards.

The best group to date came with a slightly higher charge of H4227 under the Winchester bullet.

22 / H4227 /1,685 f.p.s. went into less than 1" for 5 shots @ 50 yards....but the powder had to be positioned to the back of the case to get that result/