Powder for

[Bad Barlow]

Contender's recommendations would be mine too.

HS-6 or True Blue for mid-range power loads. H110 for the heavies. I don't do light.

All the recommendations above are good, but it's worth pointing out that all pistol powders fall into three overlapping categories. Fast, for light target loads, mid range for a broad spectrum of less than magnum loads,and magnum powders which are not suitable for reduced loads. Most of y'all know this, it's for noobs ,who are not pests by the way!

 

[LAH]

2400 will allow you to back off a little, so will Unique. Bullseye, Red Dot, Green Dot, & 231 are great for lighter stuff.

 

[Rclark]

I don't do light unless I am fire lapping . I don't do 'heavy' often either. My .44 Magnum loads are under 1100fps. My .45 Colt loads are under 1000fps, except for my woods load which is around 1100fps. Currently my general load for .44 Magnum is using 10gr of Unique under 240gr SWC (8.5gr will duplicate the .44 Special Skeeter Load). My .45 Colt is using 7.0gr Green Dot under a 250gr RNFP. Unique works well for .45 Colt too. That said, I've tested a lot of powders. I would have no problem using BE-86, Universal, Unique, True Blue, HS-6, Herco, 4227, 20/28, Green Dot, Red Dot, W-231, Power Pistol, AA #5, CFE Pistol, and Long Shot to name a few. Found good loads for each of these. If had to change to another powder, I'd go with True Blue, then Power Pistol, I think. Anyway, YMMV.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I personally regard TrailBoss as trash. It's fluffy, it costs more per container, and it has LESS powder int he same size jug. No point in downloading a Magnum and the .45 can be loaded anywhere from original black powder pressures to hotter than a .429 mag using more efficient choices.

.45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum do not use nearly the same powder generally. Pick a magnum powder for the .44 ... like H110/W296, 2400, LilGun, etc. For .45 Colt, you need to decide what kind of load you want then pick a powder. I used W231 under a 255 grain RNFP from a Lee mold.

 

[Rclark]

.45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum do not use nearly the same powder

Sure they do. You don't need to run the .44 Mag 'hot' all the time. You can run .44 Mag at .44 Special levels or anything in-between. The beauty of reloading. So same power can be used in both... Unique in .45 Colt, Unique in .44 Mag. As I stated above. I've personally never needed H110/W296. 2400 is the powder I would use 'if' loading at the high end as it doesn't have a 'narrow' load range like W296.

 

[Bad Barlow]

I personally regard TrailBoss as trash. It's fluffy, it costs more per container, and it has LESS powder int he same size jug. No point in downloading a Magnum and the .45 can be loaded anywhere from original black powder pressures to hotter than a .429 mag using more efficient choices.

.45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum do not use nearly the same powder generally. Pick a magnum powder for the .44 ... like H110/W296, 2400, LilGun, etc. For .45 Colt, you need to decide what kind of load you want then pick a powder. I used W231 under a 255 grain RNFP from a Lee mold.

You took the words right out of my mouth! I shoot 44's and 231 powder is excellent,Specials ,and my 44 mag(-p ) loads.
Trail Boss is supposed to be good for case filling,but its a pita to measure with bridging and grain cutting.

 

[Rclark]

Trail Boss 'is' very good for case filling. Double charges are impossible. Never had trouble with my Hornady powder measure, but I suppose all powder measures are somewhat different. I still have a 5# jug of TB that is filled it to the brim. Back when, I bought the small bottles and just dumped them in until jug was full. Probably around 6-7 pounds yet to be consumed. Just don't use it much anymore except for the occasional fire-lapping chores. Not a great powder, but works just fine for intended purpose.

 

[Don Lovel]

I use IMR 4227 and H4227, H110, Lil Gun for my 45 Colt needs. I have a +P 335gr Gas Check over H110 that performs with a crushing amount of energy in my 20" Rossi. Recoil is stout enough on the curved steel buttplate that I slide a pachmayer pad on. I don't shoot that load in my Bisleys. My wrist, palm and knuckles just do not need the abuse.
Heaviest I shoot out of handguns is a 325gr WFN at 1100fps using 4227
I load the 255gr Keith over 4227 to 1000fps for my 5 1/2" Bisley Vaquero

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Another vote for Green Dot.

 

[seasterl]

Accurate No.5 has been great for light loads. It meters consistently and shoots cleanly.

 

[Durango Dave]

If you shoot 44 Mag cowboy loads, the recipe is a lot like 45 Colt.
6.9 grains of Win 231 will work for both. I've used that for both cartridges.
6.2 grains of TiteGroup ... dito
I shoot lots of cowboy loads but of course the 44 Mag can take much higher pressures so you go go up from there but check your handloading book.
I'm guessing you want the same powder for both. If you want faster speeds out of your 44 Mag you'll want a slower burning powder than the two I mentioned. If you use a fast burning powder for magnum loads you'll get high pressures and your cases will be hard to eject.

EDIT: if you'll accept two different powders try 21 grains of H110 for the 44 Magnum.

 

[contender]

".45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum do not use nearly the same powder generally."

I politely disagree with this also.

I test several powders when I'm working up the most accurate & efficient load in all calibers. As such,, 2400 & 4227 both perform quite well in either caliber. And they have a wider range of loads available or in other terms,, more forgiving. H110/296 is more of a top end loading type of powder,, and is less forgiving.
But I chase the most accurate ammo I can produce for each individual gun. I have found that 2400 & 4227 do quite well in many of the calibers that start with a "4". I consider them to be very versatile powders. Same with HS6 & Unique.

 

[btmonnat]

H110 inmy 44 mag. And winchester 231 in my 45acp

 

[Maverick]

"I would like to shoot a little lighter than full blown loads. Just want to lighten the recoil"

As mentioned there are several options…I would pick HS-6, Tru Blue or W231

You do NOT want H-110 for this task.

 

[Mobuck]

There's a difference between 'a little lighter' (than max loads) and LIGHT LOADS. H110/WW296 don't have much flexibility to 'back off' the upper end. That's where something like AA#9 is worthwhile.
I don't load much revolver ammo these days and don't pay much attention to powder use but this is what I found over the years.

 

[protoolman]

Also Herco would be ideal for your purposes. It's just a bit slower burning than unique. Hard to find recently though.

 

[Laserbait]

I'm a pest I know.
Could someone reccomend about 3 to 4 powders that would be good for 45Lc and 44mag. I would like to shoot a little lighter than full blown loads. Just want to lighten the recoil. I don't hunt so full loads are just not needed. Seems like about 30 years ago I used Unique for 44 mag. Anyway any suggestions appreciated
Thankyou I'm under the weather and wife is too. Just want order some powder and primers and set back and wait. Thanks again

Some of my favorites are Win 231/HP38 (same powder, different brands) for the pretty light loads, It's economical, and makes accurate loads. HS6 is good for between full power mag loads from H110 / Win 296 and light loads with Win 231/HP38 loads.

 

[daveag.]

Unique, Longshot, H110 and Lil Gun

You Do Not want H110 in lighter loads. That works best in stiffer loads. And Mag primers. My only squib round was with H110 and standard CCI prime.

 

[Laserbait]

Trail Boss is perfect for what you want-BUT-it's unobtonium as far as I can find.

Yeah, Hodgdon said that Trail Boss is dead now, but they're looking for a replacement.

 

[daveag.]

I personally regard TrailBoss as trash. It's fluffy, it costs more per container, and it has LESS powder int he same size jug. No point in downloading a Magnum and the .45 can be loaded anywhere from original black powder pressures to hotter than a .429 mag using more efficient choices.

.45 Colt and .44 Remington Magnum do not use nearly the same powder generally. Pick a magnum powder for the .44 ... like H110/W296, 2400, LilGun, etc. For .45 Colt, you need to decide what kind of load you want then pick a powder. I used W231 under a 255 grain RNFP from a Lee mold.

I use same load on both .44 M and .45 C. AA#9 , 2400. 20 grains, or so, for both.