I loaded up some 44 specials for my suppressed levergun. Used Unique powder as an experiment. Super quiet and my buddy agreed. Funny thing though, he's not a reloader and he said that it smelled "Unique" I found particular humor in that.
I grew up "plinking" with a .22LR single shot, bolt action rifle. About thirty years ago I ran up on an article about the USS New Jersey during her WWII service. Apparently you can "plink" bunkers with 16" naval guns out to about fifteen miles or so with impunity....Recoil and muzzle blast be damned! The use of the term "plinked" as it referred to the USS New Jersey and the use of her main battery against heavy fortifications has stuck with me all these years, but for the life of me, I have not been able to find that particular article again. Switching gears, I just ran up on a Rossi R92 in .44Mag with an octagonal barrel, priced at just under $600.00, new in the box. The Rossi is of "rifle lenght" and seemed to have a very smooth action compared to some earlier R92s I've had the occasion to play with, so to speak. It's not a real Winchester or Marlin but I'm considering buying it and using it as my truck gun. Great video as usual! Keep 'em comin'!
Thanks! I had designs on that very model of Rossi you described and drove up to Shreveport only to find it sold. So I bought the Miroku 1892 .357 Magnum instead. If I ever run into that model again, I won't let the opportunity pass.
Love the 44mag . I have the Henry 44mag brass and octagon barrel. Great plinker,and I especially liked seeing your grandson getting involved in handloading.He looks like an heir apparent to the ranch.
My favorite light loads for the 44 are loaded with WW231/HP38 and a home cast bullet. Cheap, accurate and fun. Even in a handgun recoil allows long sessions of shooting. The 44 is my favorite due to its versatility from mild to wild. The model 92 is just a fun rifle to shoot which just adds to the enjoyment. Looks like you may have a new budding shooting partner.
WW231 is a powder I have yet to try and yet it is all over every reloading manual for the 44 Magnum. And yes my grandson has all the earmarks of being a great shooter someday. He wasn't too sure about those cows at first though :-)
Hi George, aren't grand kids awesome!! Sure looks like he had a ball with his papaw. It's good teaching him things about the shooting sport young. Did with my grandson. He just turned 10 Sunday and his mom got him a 22 Savage bolt action and I had already (at Christmas) gotten him a Ruger Wrangler in 22. We spent the afternoon plinking cans and other targets of opportunity. What a wonderful day it was. Have to admit he's a fine shot with both! Hope to hear you playing the harmonica again in a few weeks! Thanks for all your hard work George.
First off, great presentation. 44mag is one of my favorite cartridges. I’d love to get a Winchester 92. Aside from revolvers, I’ve only shot the 44mag in a Browning 92. Light rifle and kicks a bit with full power hunting loads. But pleasant with “cowboy action” loads. Been reloading for many years. Can’t get dadgum primers right now, grr.
Thanks! I appreciate that! And you are right about primers. I have to buy mine on GB at inflated prices to feed the channel. But that doesn't apply to most.
Highly entertaining, as always, George. The 44 mag is next on my list. I'm currently waiting, not so patiently, for Ruger to start crafting the Marlin1894 so I can buy one! Thumbs up on the grandson time - that's really good stuff! Thumbs down on the copyright issue... Jeez.
Yeah, that really pushed a couple of my buttons. I filed a dispute and would probably have won because all the evidence points to that song, along with all the old hymns are in the public Domain. But I couldn't publish until the dispute was settled so I bit my tongue and made the edit.
I have a Henry Big Boy 20" with 1:20 twist. I use 4 different rounds. Powder coated. The larger 300+ rounds can be drill pressed with a tapered end mill bit to make a 250-280gr hollow point. I use Ramshot Enforcer powder and having good results. I also use my .452 bullets 240gr , powder coat them, and then run them thru my .430 sizing die. They run great!!!!!!
Excellent information George! I’m thinking of a similar rifle in .357 magnum. I know the 44 is more powerful but I’d prefer to match the caliber of my dad’s revolver. He thought that the 357 and 35 Remington used identical bullets when he bought the pistol and is upset that they don’t.
Very accurate shoot especially the opening intro! My plink powder (45colt carbine) is Trail Boss sub 1000fps with 250gr bullet, also Tight Group powder. I prefers the Trail Boss when useing my progressive press as it meters well and a double charge would be very noticeable. Great work!
Great video as always. Trail Boss is a great plinking load. 7.2 grains is about 900 FPS and hearing safe but very accurate with ZERO recoil. Strange that copyright business would involve a 150 year old hymn. Thanks again
Been looking for Trail Boss now for almost a year. Would love to try that out. As to the copyright claim, there is a huge penalty potential (channel removal) for copyright infringement, but no penalty for false claims. So things like this happen. 😒
Reporting back on my Miroku 1873 in 45 Colt. Took delivery last week and shot it this past Monday. Got several good groups at 50 yds using Meister 200 gr RNFP cast bullets. The standouts were with 6.5 gr of Unique, 7.0 gr of Unique, 9.0 gr of CFE Pistol and 5.5 gr of IMR 700X. They each shot about two to two and a half inch groups. Have since installed a Marble Tang Peep Sight (they have a new one made specifically for this drilled and tapped tang) and need to get back to the range and sight it in. Hope it helps tighten the groups some more. I’ll let you know how it goes. Update. Sighted in the Marble tang sight. Needed to raise and move the windage left. So much better than the buckhorn sights for my aging eyes. Groups did tighten up a bit.
@@TargetSuite Not a problem. Too long? Too much nasty UA-cam boolit stuff? Who knows. Just watched a good video from duelist1954 about UA-cam politics and monetization.
44 mag is definately a plinker. Ive found memories of the early 90's casting 44 cal lead bullets and loading up light loads using Bullseye with my uncle for use in our 44 mag revolvers. Used to plink and do it real cheap in those days. That 44mag levergun makes a great 100yd hunting rifle, self defense tool, and of course plinker.
If you are looking for affordable casting equipment. Check Lee. I have molds for 357,44,4570,30-30. And sizer dies all from Lee. My cast bullets are for gas checked bullets. And I use the Lee lube. Just put a little in a plastic dish and swirl the bullets. I get really good accuracy. And it becomes affordable to shoot.
Good shooting for aged eyes and open iron sights George. Nice to see you starting the next generation young - hope you’re paying minimum wage! I download .357 Mag cases for my Winchester 94 and use lead heads and a mild dose of Unique powder; regularly turns in one-hole groups at 25 metres, and cheap. Your Winchester looks more rifle than carbine, I always thought carbines had barrel bands and no forestock nose cap, but I’m probably wrong about that. Sorry to hear about the copyright claim, just sad.
We're both getting paid well with time spent together ;-) And you are right about the technical designation. Winchester does call that a Short Rifle . . . with the same barrel length as their carbine.
In addition to plinking, reduced loads are great for moving youngsters, or new shooters, from .22 rimfire to centerfire rifles. I used reduced loads when training my sons, and now grandsons. 12:19 That's how I started handloading! That, and I "stacked wads" for my dad for shotshell loading. Before one piece wads, we had to use stacks of card and felt wads. Usually two or three. My dad would give me the wad boxes and I would stack the wads in order hand slide them over next to the loading machine. 😁
That's my plan with all my grandkids. Get them used to the larger calibers, without building fear or flinch. And where I can, get them active at the reloading bench. Thanks!
My revolving rifle .44 mag (rossi circuit judge) is fun to shoot but the recoil makes for very short plinking sessions. I also have a rossi 92 .44 that kicks way too much for plinking. My old ruger semi auto .44 magnum was a dream for plinking though.
You've got some great rifles there and with the right ammo, long sessions are possible. Except of course for the Ruger Carbine. It needs stout loads to cycle properly. Maybe I should break out mine and determine how wimpy I can go before it fails to feed properly. Hmmm?
Almost any caliber is good for plinking if you reload . Good shooting George great round. I've seen some full auto videos and think a waste of money and ammo. My full auto days ended in 2010. Looking forward to seeing that Ruger semi auto again nice rifle. Well another great video. One more thing I reload 7.62x39. It's on the shelves for about 40 cents a round. probably cheaper in bulk . But you have to get brass casings I won't shoot steel casings out any rifle maybe a bolt action or a lever gun not in a semi auto. I was told not to and it stuck I might be wrong. I use that brass only for my Ruger Mini thirty. It's a great round for plinking and other things. See you next week stay safe. Maybe you can play for us soon!
Thanks again! I always appreciate your comments. And like you, any propensity I had for full auto has long since been replaced with a more casual style of shooting.
Plinking has become a costly experience, even when reloading. I fear that we may never return to the pre-2019/2020 days when primers/ammo/powder were plentiful. I know we went through this before in 2008-2016...but I just don't see an adjustment coming soon. Between Politics, Manufacturing and Cost Center expectations it has be discovered that people will pay whatever is asked.
What a great video, I just don't understand why people can't just let you play your harp. I guess that's all they have to do with their time. I use Hogedon Tite Group, 9 grains 240 grain bullet, the recoil isn't bad, don't know what the velocity is yet. When I go up North I play to the Lake, the lake doesn't answer or complain about songs, Take Care and Stay Safe.
Thanks Frank. There are copyright trolls, likely programs that search and "destroy". I just wish the platform would "punish" those that make false claims like the one made against me. But it is what it is and we'll meet here until we can't anymore. And like you, I'll keep bending those reeds . . . mostly entertaining the cows.
George I used to load Hornady & Speer round balls over reddot powder doing about 560-575, deadly on squrils out of my 10.5" SBLK Hawk or 1894 Marlin. So much fun and cheap compared to Serria 210gr. jhc over max H110 powder deer loads. That's the powder or WW296 for full power 44mags till you get to 300grn.s
It can be with reduced loads using cast bullets. I use a 200 gr. RNFP cast bullet in .44 Special cases with 7.5 gr of Unique powder. No need to use magnum cases which just create extra empty space in the case...plus in a tube magazine you can get an extra round in before having to reload. The RNFP bullet feeds through a lever action better than a Keith style SWC. You have to be careful using reduced loads that you never "double charge" a case. Another good reason to use .44 Special cases for light loads in the .44 Mag. I use an old Lyman 42498 mold which was designed for the .44-40. With straight wheelweights it drops bullets at .428"/205 gr., which is a bit small for .44 Special/Mag. (I size 429421 Keith style bullets to .430") It gives good accuracy in my guns and works well in tube magazine guns. There are other 200-215gr. molds available with similar bullet shapes. I don't own any .44-40 chambered guns, but I got a good deal on that mold at a gun show years ago...when one could find such things at gunshows.
I have been reluctant to "branch out" with 44 Special cases, but surely, that would be the better ballistic solution for reduced loads. To improve on performance in the larger cases I even tried topping the charge off with corn meal but didn't see much improvement with velocity spread and SD.
@@TargetSuite I have used cornmeal also, particularly in reduced rifle loads, .405 WCF in particular. Supposedly it holds the powder against the primer for better ignition. I never used cornmeal in pistol cases. Nothing against it, but if the juice ain't worth the squeeze I prefer using a medium burning rate pistol powder like Unique, that bulks up a bit more. There are a couple powders which were designed for "Cowboy Action Shooting" loads which give reduced velocities and bulk up in the case. Hodgdon "Trail Boss" is one. But, like a lot of other things, I prefer to use versatile gunpowder. I use Unique in most pistol loads (except .38 wadcutter, .32 ACP and .380) and some rifle reduced loads. I have been using Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot and 2400 for so long I don't know what I would do without them! I have also used 240 gr. Lyman 429421 bullets, seated to crimp over the top edge of the shoulder (instead of the "crimp groove") With the same powder charge it fills the case better...but uses more lead to do it...and the SWC, especially seated like that, gives not such smooth feeding in lever guns.
I did some chrono work with cornmeal over this 6gr of Clays using both standard and magnum primers. There was no discernable difference with any variation. Plus, the smell of burning cornmeal did not help the ambience😄
@@TargetSuite 🤣 I use cornmeal in fire forming "blank" loads. Yeah...definitely do that outside in fresh air. The first time I fire formed a .30-06 to .35 Whelen, I did it in my garage. I told my wife I had to "do something and you may hear some noise". Silly girl, she was probably expecting power tool noise. Mmm hmm...nope. I fired the load into an empty 5 gallon bucket. The noise was as loud as a regular load, but accentuated by the bucket, and there was burned cornmeal smoke filling the garage! My wife came running, thinking I had blown up the whole garage! 🤣 I was standing there, with the rifle muzzle still in the bucket when she ran in. All I could manage was..."What?" In my best "I dint do nuthin" tone. The bucket was none the worse for wear. I now fire all fireforming loads outdoors. As Chin Lee said in "True Grit"..."Outside is for shooting!"
I really enjoyed the your grandson helping out. He seemed to get a kick out of it. The "entities" are party poopers. How does the 44 mag compare to the 32 Special for accuracy? You have to search for a new soda source, in Ohio we call it pop . Have a good one:)
It was fun watching him be a "big boy". We'll do more of that every time he comes here. I haven't shot the 32 enough to have a strong opinion, but initial "results" say it is "substantially" more accurate than the 44 Magnum.
Thanks George, great video! The view of your body movement when firing the two different loads told the whole story. Appreciated the info. On your handloads. I may have to try that Clay's powder, (if l can find it or afford it).
Guess Im late on this one, only saw it was there when I watched your 3 Rugers. Still waiting on ammo to comeback beforeI plink with anything. No space to set up reloading, and I dont have a cool little helper. Lol Thanks for the video
I have a brass big boy 44,and a Ruger super Blackhawk hunter 44. It's good for everything. Hunting big game,and plinking. I hand load very heavy hard cast gas checked bullet s for hunting. And cast wheel weight low power plinking rounds. It makes it affordable. The 44 is my favorite round
Thank you. It is hard to "run" a Winchester without getting your head hit with cases! You got me motivated to take the Marlin 1894 44mag to the back range to plink a few bowling pins. If you dropped the velocity down to 1000 fps would it make much difference in what we hear?
There was a big difference in report between the hot and the "not" loads. But I don't think a little more reduction in power would make the "not" loads much quieter. Now if I could get the velocity down around 800, it might start approaching ear safe? Maybe?
My plinker is my Browning SA22 or my Henry 38/357 that does real well with my reloaded 38s. I don't know If I told you or not, but Linda and I have been foreign missionaries for 37 years, and I like your music. -Gunny T sends
Nice rifle, I have a Henry brass big boy carbine with the large loop I absolutely love that gun. I am curious what powder charge your using with the CLAYS I'm using a very light 6.8gr of the CLAYS with a 200gr home cast lead round nose its very manageable and a pound of powder goes a long way, oh and one more question what would you consider the cutoff for a cost effective plinker?
Those loads were only 6.0gr of clays. Really easy to shoot. Even with your load we can get over 1000 rounds out of a pound. That and the right cast bullets equal a pretty cost effective load.
Wow only 6.0gr of clays. And your getting over 1100fps I figured I'd be lower than that I don't have a chronograph so I had no idea how fast they were going
@@TargetSuite Yep, instead of buying expensive 577 Snider cases or making cases out of brass 24 gauge instead buy modern plastic primed 24 gauge from Ballistic Products and cut them down to 1.9 inches, add between 55 to 80 grains of 2FG powder with cornmeal to fill the space between powder and round ball, press the ball in firmly and fill in the space between the case mouth and ball with grease. Velocity is between 900 and 1300 fps. It's very cheap to shoot and will drop a hog pretty quick, accurate too.
My Rossi Puma 44 mag is not a real fun gun to shoot with full house mag loads. But I use 44 Special brass, a home cast Lyman 429421 (Elmer Keiths famous 44 solid SWC) and 6.5 grs Unique. It shoots good on paper, is capable of handling coyote sized varmints and has felled injured horses and cattle without a problem. It's also pleasant enough to shoot that my sons used it when they were younger. Use the same load in my Smith 24-3 and Charter Bulldog. In the Bulldog it..."gets your attention" a bit more than factory 44 Special! :)
For a lot of folks, it's hard to imaging a 44 Mag 6 pound rifle being unpleasant to shoot. But you are right about full house loads. They are attention getters.
@@TargetSuite My particular Puma is right about 5.5 lbs with the metal carbine butt. Great for carrying, but not fun to shoot. A slip on recoil pad lengthens the stock and adds a little cushion. Maybe when I was younger I'd have manned it out, but at 61 with arthritis, I'll gladly save the full house stuff for hunting and use the light loads for other 99.9% of what I do!
I like plinking with .44 special hand loads. I can’t handle continual recoil from full house.44 magnums, but .44 special is/was as affordable as any other ammo when I was doing it a couple years ago. The best part is I use my two favorite guns, my 4" S&W 29-2 and my Winchester 94AE trapper. Unfortunately my shooting buddy moved away so I’ve not shot much other than 9mm and .22lr lately, but now that I’ve seen this, I might have to pull those old girls out for a little dance.
Actually no. With the full house loads I have to take out the rear sight elevator and let the Marble Arms Bullseye rest on the barrel. So for the video, I dug that elevator out of my spares kit and installed it. I will probably do more shooting with the light loads anyway now that I have found a load that shoots fairly well
I happen to have it in my lap as I sit here responding to comments. Ruger determined that the barrel was "shot out" and wouldn't recrown it. They wanted to destroy the gun and sell me a new one at a discount. I said no thanks and asked for it back. I'm getting a local guy to recrown it. He is also looking at getting an action block for that gun in case it really is shot out and needs re-barreling.
Great video. Who made the 44 carbine? As far as diet soda goes, die diet soda! Lol You have a great helper there for hand loading. I have a harmonica but can't play it worth a hoot. If I could get cattle to come to me when I played I'd be in heaven.
The one in this video is made for Winchester by Miroku in Japan. They are really nice rifles. I also have one in .357 Magnum and my son has one in 45 Colt.
Plinking load for a 44 120gr .433” lead round ball and 3.5 to 4 grains of Unique. It gets about 550 to 600 fps and works fine in pistols. It makes a lot of plinking loads per pound of powder. It likely would work in a rifle too. Never tried it; but it shoots pretty accurately out of a pistol; round balls are easy to make or buy a bag full to try.
Given cheap ammo, a good AK clone can be fun plinking. A guy at the range on Sunday insisted I shoot a mag's worth from his unusual AK clone. It didn't have a pistol grip, but just a thumb hole in a heavy stock. while that stock didn't fit my hand well, I was able to destroy targets he had been shooting at for hours and not hitting. Mostly I think the guy wanted me to put my skill where my mouth was, even though I hadn't shot an AK in about 45 or 50 years. ..but it quickly came back to me, that gun was accurate, fun to shoot, and the ammo was the best kind, somebody else was paying for it lol. The AK's I was used to were not all that accurate, as they tended to be nearly clapped out barrels with ammo that... well you never knew what you'd get. My new Savage 62F makes a great plinker... out of the box it shot high at 50 yards, but was right on at 100. I was hitting 100 yard targets the guys with their large fancy guns with huge scopes could not hit... iron sights on mine. at 114 dollars now, it's a great buy. they were 99 but have gone up just a little in these times. Another guy tried out my rifle, and he let me try his 9mm. withe the damn Fiocchi ammo he had, it was not accurate, so therefore not a good plinker. but he had his grandfather's old bolt 22 Marlin, it's beat up but shoots well he had a pre-64 winchester 3030 model 94 with him as well, but had no ammo for that. it was a well used, much carried gun, but still in very good shape mechanically. I told him he should not restore them except for any mechanical repairs needed, leave the scars that tell the stories. He offered to let me try his grandfather's 22, but I declined, he's the only one that should be shooting that. His name is Austin, a very nice young man. on the way out, the poor guy had a flat, I mean the tire was ripped up like crazy. He had a spare and cell reception so there was nothing I could do for him, but I hope he got going quickly as it was starting to get dark. I meet the nicest people at the range. I really don't get out much, but I love the range on a Sunday afternoon.
My old man got me started about that age. The press was built before WWII. I'll get it out and research it. I'm not using it now because the die threads are different. I only got 2 sets but may rethread some new dies.
Great video. So many of the shooters at Camp Perry use Clays in their 45 autos. Clean burning even at light load levels. It is a shame though about the copyright claims on that fine old hymn. I wonder what Horatio Spafford would think about that after his making such a great gift to the world. I believe his intent was that while deep in sadness over the death of his daughters something good would come from it. I can't believe he did that so over a century later greedy persons could exploit the simple act of sharing with us all the very gift he wanted us to have.
Just in the last couple of days I have found a website that will issue public domain documentation for old hymns like that. It only costs five bucks per document so I have started building a library. It's worth every penny.
hi, i whish you !!! i would make a question, i ask to you why when you compare the recoil of the two cartriges in both cases upon fire the hammer goes on the first mount ?!? bye, bye
I had to chuckle at the 'recoil' topic with the 44. After shooting 40-50 each from the 444 and the 45-70, I leave the last box for the 44. The recoil is so much less than I was dealing with, it almost feels like even the factory loads feel like a 22 in comparison. It's still my favorite gun.
240 g head home cast over 5 g of reddot in mag case,shoots well as aplinking gun ballard barrelreg clover leaves at 25 yrds and real tite stuff at 50yrds
@@TargetSuite to be honest i only use red dot for short range stuff and western shoots,for longer range as i say i use hp38 at eight and a half grains ,found this ok for comp work out to 3 or 400 yards as i said elswhere it was interesting that over up to 5o yards the higher load would have an impact point lower than the smaller load when aimed at same point ,thinking this is due to the hotter load shooting flatter also had some good results with 30 g true black topped up with semolina to fill the cASE pretty gentle and good accuracy,may be a surprise but I am from the uk
Since I answered your first comment I had a chance to load up some Red Dot and compar it with the Clays. Velocities were very similar at 6.0 grains but the extreme spread on the Red Dot was almost triple what it was on the Clay's. I don't know how that translates to accuracy but for now I'm going to stick with a Clays.
2020 CCI Blazer brass 22LR with rebate was just under 3 CENTS (see: Caps) per round. Now I see it going for 18 Cents or more if you can get it. Insane. The worst part is that Ammo manufacturers always put 22 LR production at the bottom of the list as it's the least profitable. Only after they have had a long run of the others do they get around to 22LR. That typically means several years between runs.
One thing for me is the fact that 44 Magnum has all the good reloading characteristics of a pistol cartridge. Brass life, simple case prep, reload with a square deal b press. However, it retains a lot of the great characteristics of a rifle round at reasonable ranges. Plus, it's just fun to shoot...
Gosh it's hard to find 10 cent 22lr ammo anymore! That's just not right either! But I'm with you. Nothing like a pocket full of 22 ammo, a favorite rifle, and time on your hands.
@@TargetSuite So weird with the ammo prices in the US. I can still get decent .22lr match ammo for 7 Euro cents a piece ($0.085) in Germany. And that's nicely packaged competition ammo, not some big box of rounds. Around here since at least 2019 ammo prices have been stable. Only gun prices went up by like 10-15%
I think anything can be fun for plinking, if you can load up some pleasant ammo for it. My 1892 rifle is a bit older than yours (no 44 magnum in 1914), but I see no reason not to make up some 38-40 handloads to run through it. It’s all fun. 👍
Is The 44 Magnum Carbine Good For Plinking ? YOU BET IT IS !!!!! I don't load light loads in my 44 magnum for plinking. One load 240 gr JHP or LSWC over 2400 for use in a Marlin 1894 lever gun, Ruger Redhawk and Super Blackhawk plus TC Contender Super 14. I tend to "plink" much more with a 22 long rifle revolver or rifle. Ammo, no problem, I've been stocking up for retirement; I'm here now and life is good. The best "plinker" is the Ruger 10/22 carbine.
Me too, at least before I found Clays. I compared loads with each powder and the extreme spread/standard deviation was much, much better with Clays. But for short range plinking that wouldn't matter.
44 magnum has become one ofy favorite rounds. It can absolutely be a plinker. One of the light loads that I like is 20 grains of IMR 4227 under a 240 grain hard cast bullet. I ordered some 44 special brass and I'm going to try dropping that charge back to around 13 grains. As soon as the little guy started pulling that lever with one hand I knew he was hooked.
Careful loading down IMR 4227 you can get inconsistent discharge and not have all the powder burn up and possibly get a squib, last time I tried loading it down I was shooting at a fifty yard target and the first 6 were fine and the next one didn't sound as loud and have as much recoil the next two were fine and the last one, I saw land in the dirt half way to the target
The ironic thing about the "old tyme" hymns is that many borrowed heavily from the chorus and melody of popular drinking songs in the pubs. I wonder if the hymn writers secured permission from those on bar stools before releasing their "new" creations?
First off, i was thinking you needed a taller assisstant but seeing as how he has to reach up, he can put all of his body weight into it...lol. "BLAST diet soda, tastes like swill but blasts when shot" . I would have told them ( the entities) to stuff it and showed the harmonica footage with sound...if its public domain then they have no claim.
Unfortunately the way copyright claims work on UA-cam is that you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Which I was. But I didn't want the video to be held in limbo for a month waiting on Resolution.
I was trying to duplicate 44 special power levels with this light load. I think I was pretty close, but the 44 Special would likely offer better accuracy . . . a lot better.
For factory ammo, I like the HSM Cowboy Action 200 grain loads for plinking. I found that there is not a noticeable difference in recoil between the 44 special and 44 mag version out of my Marlin. I think published specs are 850fps for the special and 975fps for the magnum. They are identical in price and accuracy (both are nothing to write home about), so I generally get the 44 mag version for the brass.
@@dylanhayden8825 I’ve tried both of those with my model 29 and I like them. They’re accurate enough for just playing around. They seem to be quite smoky if I recall correctly though.
For me, plinking, which would require an abundance of ammo, would have to be inexpensive. Well we know that’s no longer possible, so could plinking be a thing of the past?
@@TargetSuite I was loading like crazy all winter long. Then it dawned on that I can’t take it with me and started shooting again. Having fun. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
“ The Ultimate Utilitarian Rifle” The Lever Gun in 44Mag, is not just a good pinker, but a overall great rifle platform in plinking and hunting! Just a Note about Marlins 44Mag Lever action, all of the JM Marlins suffered from very large Throats, why they did this no one can tell me. What this means is, for Cast bullets to shoot good, even Jacketed, they need to be a bigger Diameter, you “Must” fill the throat for accuracy, that means your bullet needs to fill the entrence of the Throat, that will center the bullet, and it will let the bullet spin on its axis correctly. A small diameter bullet can enter the Throat off center, and will cause a stabilization problem, hence Bad Accuracy. We here about the Marlin 44Mag key holing often, NOT BECAUSE OF THE MICROGROOVE RIFLING, because of the oversized Throat. In our Marlins in 44Mag, we use .434/.435 cast bullets, dropped straight from the molds. With Jacketed bullets, we’re have ordered Hawk Bullets at .433, and they really shot good. For plinking we use a 265gr Ranch Dog bullet mold, it has a gas check, but you do not need it when used as a plinker, my kids were raised shooting this wonderful Marlin 1894!
Up here in British Columbia 🇨🇦 a box of 100 .22lr is around $16 whereas a box of 20 .44mag is around $60 so, no a .44 is not a plinking gun up here. I’m still getting one though 😎
I always enjoy your info because I am retired and looking at a44mag rifle to go with a old revolver I have glad to see the grand son taking interest.
Sounds like perfect timing. I highly recommend the Miroku Winchesters. They are sweet rifles
All the way from northern Alberta I can see you're a good man George.
I'm humbled. Thank you!
Great video, good to see your teaching the next generation how to reload
Thanks! It's fun to get the little ones involved.
I loaded up some 44 specials for my suppressed levergun. Used Unique powder as an experiment. Super quiet and my buddy agreed.
Funny thing though, he's not a reloader and he said that it smelled "Unique" I found particular humor in that.
Haha! It does have a different smell!
It smells rather unique.
😄😄
I grew up "plinking" with a .22LR single shot, bolt action rifle. About thirty years ago I ran up on an article about the USS New Jersey during her WWII service. Apparently you can "plink" bunkers with 16" naval guns out to about fifteen miles or so with impunity....Recoil and muzzle blast be damned! The use of the term "plinked" as it referred to the USS New Jersey and the use of her main battery against heavy fortifications has stuck with me all these years, but for the life of me, I have not been able to find that particular article again. Switching gears, I just ran up on a Rossi R92 in .44Mag with an octagonal barrel, priced at just under $600.00, new in the box. The Rossi is of "rifle lenght" and seemed to have a very smooth action compared to some earlier R92s I've had the occasion to play with, so to speak. It's not a real Winchester or Marlin but I'm considering buying it and using it as my truck gun. Great video as usual! Keep 'em comin'!
Thanks! I had designs on that very model of Rossi you described and drove up to Shreveport only to find it sold. So I bought the Miroku 1892 .357 Magnum instead. If I ever run into that model again, I won't let the opportunity pass.
Love the 44mag . I have the Henry 44mag brass and octagon barrel. Great plinker,and I especially liked seeing your grandson getting involved in handloading.He looks like an heir apparent to the ranch.
That brass and blue Henry is a beaut! Congrats!
It was cool watching 4 of the 5 ejected shell casing land in the ammo box at the beginning of your video. Great video, thank you.
Thanks for watching!
You have a great helper thier sir ! I hope he can enjoy all the joys of shooting sports we do and have . 🇺🇲👍
He's on the right track so far.
My favorite light loads for the 44 are loaded with WW231/HP38 and a home cast bullet. Cheap, accurate and fun. Even in a handgun recoil allows long sessions of shooting. The 44 is my favorite due to its versatility from mild to wild. The model 92 is just a fun rifle to shoot which just adds to the enjoyment. Looks like you may have a new budding shooting partner.
WW231 is a powder I have yet to try and yet it is all over every reloading manual for the 44 Magnum. And yes my grandson has all the earmarks of being a great shooter someday. He wasn't too sure about those cows at first though :-)
Hi George, aren't grand kids awesome!! Sure looks like he had a ball with his papaw. It's good teaching him things about the shooting sport young. Did with my grandson. He just turned 10 Sunday and his mom got him a 22 Savage bolt action and I had already (at Christmas) gotten him a Ruger Wrangler in 22. We spent the afternoon plinking cans and other targets of opportunity. What a wonderful day it was. Have to admit he's a fine shot with both! Hope to hear you playing the harmonica again in a few weeks! Thanks for all your hard work George.
Grandkids are great! I'm looking forward to shooting with this little guy. He'll probably turn out to be a better shot than me.
@@TargetSuite LoL I know my grandson is a better shot then me! Proud of him.
First off, great presentation. 44mag is one of my favorite cartridges. I’d love to get a Winchester 92. Aside from revolvers, I’ve only shot the 44mag in a Browning 92. Light rifle and kicks a bit with full power hunting loads. But pleasant with “cowboy action” loads. Been reloading for many years. Can’t get dadgum primers right now, grr.
Thanks! I appreciate that! And you are right about primers. I have to buy mine on GB at inflated prices to feed the channel. But that doesn't apply to most.
Highly entertaining, as always, George. The 44 mag is next on my list. I'm currently waiting, not so patiently, for Ruger to start crafting the Marlin1894 so I can buy one! Thumbs up on the grandson time - that's really good stuff! Thumbs down on the copyright issue... Jeez.
Yeah, that really pushed a couple of my buttons. I filed a dispute and would probably have won because all the evidence points to that song, along with all the old hymns are in the public Domain. But I couldn't publish until the dispute was settled so I bit my tongue and made the edit.
I love the versatility of the 44 Magnum. With reloads, they can take care of all your needs. I have a JM stamped Marlin 1894 that is a dream to ahoot.
Amen! My point exactly! Congrats on the 1894. Looking forward to what Marlin releases this fall/winter.
I have a Henry Big Boy 20" with 1:20 twist.
I use 4 different rounds. Powder coated.
The larger 300+ rounds can be drill pressed with a tapered end mill bit to make a 250-280gr hollow point.
I use Ramshot Enforcer powder and having good results.
I also use my .452 bullets 240gr , powder coat them, and then run them thru my .430 sizing die. They run great!!!!!!
Excellent information George! I’m thinking of a similar rifle in .357 magnum. I know the 44 is more powerful but I’d prefer to match the caliber of my dad’s revolver. He thought that the 357 and 35 Remington used identical bullets when he bought the pistol and is upset that they don’t.
Thanks Michael! As you probably know, I have the .357 Magnum version of this rifle as well and love it.
Great video George! Those light reloads look like the ticket for fun plinking!
They are! Thanks for watching!
Very accurate shoot especially the opening intro! My plink powder (45colt carbine) is Trail Boss sub 1000fps with 250gr bullet, also Tight Group powder. I prefers the Trail Boss when useing my progressive press as it meters well and a double charge would be very noticeable. Great work!
Thanks. I've been on the hunt for Trail Boss for a long time. I'll strike gold one of these days
Great video as always. Trail Boss is a great plinking load. 7.2 grains is about 900 FPS and hearing safe but very accurate with ZERO recoil. Strange that copyright business would involve a 150 year old hymn. Thanks again
Been looking for Trail Boss now for almost a year. Would love to try that out. As to the copyright claim, there is a huge penalty potential (channel removal) for copyright infringement, but no penalty for false claims. So things like this happen. 😒
Reporting back on my Miroku 1873 in 45 Colt. Took delivery last week and shot it this past Monday. Got several good groups at 50 yds using Meister 200 gr RNFP cast bullets. The standouts were with 6.5 gr of Unique, 7.0 gr of Unique, 9.0 gr of CFE Pistol and 5.5 gr of IMR 700X. They each shot about two to two and a half inch groups. Have since installed a Marble Tang Peep Sight (they have a new one made specifically for this drilled and tapped tang) and need to get back to the range and sight it in. Hope it helps tighten the groups some more. I’ll let you know how it goes. Update. Sighted in the Marble tang sight. Needed to raise and move the windage left. So much better than the buckhorn sights for my aging eyes. Groups did tighten up a bit.
Thanks for the update, and sorry for the late reply. For some reason your comment was locked up in "Needs review" jail.
@@TargetSuite Not a problem. Too long? Too much nasty UA-cam boolit stuff? Who knows. Just watched a good video from duelist1954 about UA-cam politics and monetization.
44 mag is definately a plinker. Ive found memories of the early 90's casting 44 cal lead bullets and loading up light loads using Bullseye with my uncle for use in our 44 mag revolvers. Used to plink and do it real cheap in those days.
That 44mag levergun makes a great 100yd hunting rifle, self defense tool, and of course plinker.
Sounds like great memories! Boy I wish I still had all my casting stuff from back in the 70s. I could really do some cheap shooting then
You said it all
If you are looking for affordable casting equipment. Check Lee. I have molds for 357,44,4570,30-30. And sizer dies all from Lee. My cast bullets are for gas checked bullets. And I use the Lee lube. Just put a little in a plastic dish and swirl the bullets. I get really good accuracy. And it becomes affordable to shoot.
Three things, the cattle sure do love the harmonica, what a great grandson? I hope you saved a Blast for the shop memorabilia wall.
Thanks all the way around. And yes, I did save a Blast Soda!
Good shooting for aged eyes and open iron sights George. Nice to see you starting the next generation young - hope you’re paying minimum wage! I download .357 Mag cases for my Winchester 94 and use lead heads and a mild dose of Unique powder; regularly turns in one-hole groups at 25 metres, and cheap. Your Winchester looks more rifle than carbine, I always thought carbines had barrel bands and no forestock nose cap, but I’m probably wrong about that. Sorry to hear about the copyright claim, just sad.
We're both getting paid well with time spent together ;-) And you are right about the technical designation. Winchester does call that a Short Rifle . . . with the same barrel length as their carbine.
If you dont reload and buy ammo, it seems like the .357 Magnum is the most cost effective to feed also considering they can run .38 Special
In addition to plinking, reduced loads are great for moving youngsters, or new shooters, from .22 rimfire to centerfire rifles. I used reduced loads when training my sons, and now grandsons.
12:19 That's how I started handloading! That, and I "stacked wads" for my dad for shotshell loading. Before one piece wads, we had to use stacks of card and felt wads. Usually two or three. My dad would give me the wad boxes and I would stack the wads in order hand slide them over next to the loading machine.
😁
That's my plan with all my grandkids. Get them used to the larger calibers, without building fear or flinch. And where I can, get them active at the reloading bench. Thanks!
Another great video Sir. Good to see you training up the next generation of reloader 🙂
Thanks 👍 Yep. That was great time with the grandson.
My revolving rifle .44 mag (rossi circuit judge) is fun to shoot but the recoil makes for very short plinking sessions.
I also have a rossi 92 .44 that kicks way too much for plinking.
My old ruger semi auto .44 magnum was a dream for plinking though.
You've got some great rifles there and with the right ammo, long sessions are possible. Except of course for the Ruger Carbine. It needs stout loads to cycle properly. Maybe I should break out mine and determine how wimpy I can go before it fails to feed properly. Hmmm?
Almost any caliber is good for plinking if you reload . Good shooting George great round.
I've seen some full auto videos and think a waste of money and ammo. My full auto days ended in 2010. Looking forward to seeing that Ruger semi auto again nice rifle. Well another great video. One more thing I reload 7.62x39. It's on the shelves for about 40 cents a round. probably cheaper in bulk . But you have to get brass casings I won't shoot steel casings out any rifle maybe a bolt action or a lever gun not in a semi auto. I was told not to and it stuck I might be wrong. I use that brass only for my Ruger Mini thirty. It's a great round for plinking and other things. See you next week stay safe. Maybe you can play for us soon!
Thanks again! I always appreciate your comments. And like you, any propensity I had for full auto has long since been replaced with a more casual style of shooting.
Plinking has become a costly experience, even when reloading.
I fear that we may never return to the pre-2019/2020 days when primers/ammo/powder were plentiful.
I know we went through this before in 2008-2016...but I just don't see an adjustment coming soon.
Between Politics, Manufacturing and Cost Center expectations it has be discovered that people will pay whatever is asked.
Paul, I hope you're wrong, but suspect you are right.
What a great video, I just don't understand why people can't just let you play your harp. I guess that's all they have to do with their time. I use Hogedon Tite Group, 9 grains 240 grain bullet, the recoil isn't bad, don't know what the velocity is yet. When I go up North I play to the Lake, the lake doesn't answer or complain about songs, Take Care and Stay Safe.
Thanks Frank. There are copyright trolls, likely programs that search and "destroy". I just wish the platform would "punish" those that make false claims like the one made against me. But it is what it is and we'll meet here until we can't anymore. And like you, I'll keep bending those reeds . . . mostly entertaining the cows.
I guess I should use Hogedon H-110
Another great video. 👍 The copyright claim stinks.
It does! Thanks!
Thank you for another great video.
Thanks! And thank you for watching!
44 mag is a versatile cartridge i have a long history with that round going back to 1973 in hand gun and rifle got in to reloading early on
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George I used to load Hornady & Speer round balls over reddot powder doing about 560-575, deadly on squrils out of my 10.5" SBLK Hawk or 1894 Marlin. So much fun and cheap compared to Serria 210gr. jhc over max H110 powder deer loads. That's the powder or WW296 for full power 44mags till you get to 300grn.s
Well you're the second guy in the comments to suggest round balls. I will pick some up and see what that's all about :-)
It can be with reduced loads using cast bullets. I use a 200 gr. RNFP cast bullet in .44 Special cases with 7.5 gr of Unique powder. No need to use magnum cases which just create extra empty space in the case...plus in a tube magazine you can get an extra round in before having to reload. The RNFP bullet feeds through a lever action better than a Keith style SWC.
You have to be careful using reduced loads that you never "double charge" a case. Another good reason to use .44 Special cases for light loads in the .44 Mag.
I use an old Lyman 42498 mold which was designed for the .44-40. With straight wheelweights it drops bullets at .428"/205 gr., which is a bit small for .44 Special/Mag. (I size 429421 Keith style bullets to .430") It gives good accuracy in my guns and works well in tube magazine guns. There are other 200-215gr. molds available with similar bullet shapes.
I don't own any .44-40 chambered guns, but I got a good deal on that mold at a gun show years ago...when one could find such things at gunshows.
I have been reluctant to "branch out" with 44 Special cases, but surely, that would be the better ballistic solution for reduced loads. To improve on performance in the larger cases I even tried topping the charge off with corn meal but didn't see much improvement with velocity spread and SD.
@@TargetSuite I have used cornmeal also, particularly in reduced rifle loads, .405 WCF in particular. Supposedly it holds the powder against the primer for better ignition.
I never used cornmeal in pistol cases. Nothing against it, but if the juice ain't worth the squeeze I prefer using a medium burning rate pistol powder like Unique, that bulks up a bit more. There are a couple powders which were designed for "Cowboy Action Shooting" loads which give reduced velocities and bulk up in the case. Hodgdon "Trail Boss" is one.
But, like a lot of other things, I prefer to use versatile gunpowder. I use Unique in most pistol loads (except .38 wadcutter, .32 ACP and .380) and some rifle reduced loads.
I have been using Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot and 2400 for so long I don't know what I would do without them!
I have also used 240 gr. Lyman 429421 bullets, seated to crimp over the top edge of the shoulder (instead of the "crimp groove") With the same powder charge it fills the case better...but uses more lead to do it...and the SWC, especially seated like that, gives not such smooth feeding in lever guns.
I did some chrono work with cornmeal over this 6gr of Clays using both standard and magnum primers. There was no discernable difference with any variation. Plus, the smell of burning cornmeal did not help the ambience😄
@@TargetSuite 🤣 I use cornmeal in fire forming "blank" loads. Yeah...definitely do that outside in fresh air.
The first time I fire formed a .30-06 to .35 Whelen, I did it in my garage. I told my wife I had to "do something and you may hear some noise". Silly girl, she was probably expecting power tool noise. Mmm hmm...nope.
I fired the load into an empty 5 gallon bucket. The noise was as loud as a regular load, but accentuated by the bucket, and there was burned cornmeal smoke filling the garage! My wife came running, thinking I had blown up the whole garage! 🤣 I was standing there, with the rifle muzzle still in the bucket when she ran in. All I could manage was..."What?" In my best "I dint do nuthin" tone.
The bucket was none the worse for wear.
I now fire all fireforming loads outdoors. As Chin Lee said in "True Grit"..."Outside is for shooting!"
Hahahaha!
I really enjoyed the your grandson helping out. He seemed to get a kick out of it. The "entities" are party poopers. How does the 44 mag compare to the 32 Special for accuracy?
You have to search for a new soda source, in Ohio we call it pop .
Have a good one:)
It was fun watching him be a "big boy". We'll do more of that every time he comes here. I haven't shot the 32 enough to have a strong opinion, but initial "results" say it is "substantially" more accurate than the 44 Magnum.
@@TargetSuite Sounds good.
Thanks George, great video! The view of your body movement when firing the two different loads told the whole story. Appreciated the info. On your handloads. I may have to try that Clay's powder, (if l can find it or afford it).
Thanks for your comment. Clays is a great powder to use. Charges are really small so you get a ton of rounds out of a pound of powder.
Good shooting. And a very nice rifle. God bless.
Guess Im late on this one, only saw it was there when I watched your 3 Rugers. Still waiting on ammo to comeback beforeI plink with anything. No space to set up reloading, and I dont have a cool little helper. Lol Thanks for the video
Early or late, I'm glad to have you!
Nice shooting!! Fun slow mo!
Thanks! Good to hear from you as always!
I have a brass big boy 44,and a Ruger super Blackhawk hunter 44. It's good for everything. Hunting big game,and plinking. I hand load very heavy hard cast gas checked bullet s for hunting. And cast wheel weight low power plinking rounds. It makes it affordable. The 44 is my favorite round
Very impressed with the way you ejected those spent cases right back into the ammo box. 🤣
I only noticed that later. And so far you are the only one to have noticed. I'm starting to think nothing escapes your sharp eyes😄
Me too, George. And you acted like it was nothing.
It is well with my soul. Thanks for that.
Great future reloader there :) Too bad about the song, that is a wonderful one.
"It is well. . . " is one of my favorites. In the future, I'll have to figure out a way to make sure there wont be issues before uploading the video.
Thank you. It is hard to "run" a Winchester without getting your head hit with cases! You got me motivated to take the Marlin 1894 44mag to the back range to plink a few bowling pins. If you dropped the velocity down to 1000 fps would it make much difference in what we hear?
There was a big difference in report between the hot and the "not" loads. But I don't think a little more reduction in power would make the "not" loads much quieter. Now if I could get the velocity down around 800, it might start approaching ear safe? Maybe?
Appeared like you had some excellent help reloading! 😊
Yes. He has a great future in front of him :-)
My plinker is my Browning SA22 or my Henry 38/357 that does real well with my reloaded 38s. I don't know If I told you or not, but Linda and I have been foreign missionaries for 37 years, and I like your music. -Gunny T sends
I think you mentioned your missionary work a long time ago in a comment. By the way that SA-22 would be at the top of my list for a good plinker.
That's a great song. Look forward to it.
👍👍
Nice rifle, I have a Henry brass big boy carbine with the large loop I absolutely love that gun. I am curious what powder charge your using with the CLAYS I'm using a very light 6.8gr of the CLAYS with a 200gr home cast lead round nose its very manageable and a pound of powder goes a long way, oh and one more question what would you consider the cutoff for a cost effective plinker?
Those loads were only 6.0gr of clays. Really easy to shoot. Even with your load we can get over 1000 rounds out of a pound. That and the right cast bullets equal a pretty cost effective load.
Wow only 6.0gr of clays. And your getting over 1100fps I figured I'd be lower than that I don't have a chronograph so I had no idea how fast they were going
My favorite Plinker is a 577 Snider with 24 ga plastic shotshells and a 60 cal round ball. Love that funky old gun...LOL
Ok, I've got to look that one up :-)
@@TargetSuite Yep, instead of buying expensive 577 Snider cases or making cases out of brass 24 gauge instead buy modern plastic primed 24 gauge from Ballistic Products and cut them down to 1.9 inches, add between 55 to 80 grains of 2FG powder with cornmeal to fill the space between powder and round ball, press the ball in firmly and fill in the space between the case mouth and ball with grease. Velocity is between 900 and 1300 fps. It's very cheap to shoot and will drop a hog pretty quick, accurate too.
Wow! That's an interesting setup!
I use powder coated lead 'keith' bullets with trail boss for cheap practice plinking.
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My Rossi Puma 44 mag is not a real fun gun to shoot with full house mag loads. But I use 44 Special brass, a home cast Lyman 429421 (Elmer Keiths famous 44 solid SWC) and 6.5 grs Unique. It shoots good on paper, is capable of handling coyote sized varmints and has felled injured horses and cattle without a problem. It's also pleasant enough to shoot that my sons used it when they were younger. Use the same load in my Smith 24-3 and Charter Bulldog. In the Bulldog it..."gets your attention" a bit more than factory 44 Special! :)
For a lot of folks, it's hard to imaging a 44 Mag 6 pound rifle being unpleasant to shoot. But you are right about full house loads. They are attention getters.
@@TargetSuite My particular Puma is right about 5.5 lbs with the metal carbine butt. Great for carrying, but not fun to shoot. A slip on recoil pad lengthens the stock and adds a little cushion. Maybe when I was younger I'd have manned it out, but at 61 with arthritis, I'll gladly save the full house stuff for hunting and use the light loads for other 99.9% of what I do!
Amen on the light loads for fun.
I started reloading with my uncle. Loaded on a spartan press then went to a Dillon 550. It used to be cheap. Not any more. Still fun at any cost.
I like plinking with .44 special hand loads. I can’t handle continual recoil from full house.44 magnums, but .44 special is/was as affordable as any other ammo when I was doing it a couple years ago. The best part is I use my two favorite guns, my 4" S&W 29-2 and my Winchester 94AE trapper. Unfortunately my shooting buddy moved away so I’ve not shot much other than 9mm and .22lr lately, but now that I’ve seen this, I might have to pull those old girls out for a little dance.
Yes. Those guns deserve a lot of attention.
Great shooting.
Thanks!
George, did you notice any significant shift in point of impact between the light loads and the max loads at that distance?
Yes, There was a substantial change in POI.
@@TargetSuite I'm assuming you've got your rifle sighted in for the more powerful load and just adjusted point of aim for the lighter load?
Actually no. With the full house loads I have to take out the rear sight elevator and let the Marble Arms Bullseye rest on the barrel. So for the video, I dug that elevator out of my spares kit and installed it. I will probably do more shooting with the light loads anyway now that I have found a load that shoots fairly well
Off subject question what's the word on the Ruger 22
I happen to have it in my lap as I sit here responding to comments. Ruger determined that the barrel was "shot out" and wouldn't recrown it. They wanted to destroy the gun and sell me a new one at a discount. I said no thanks and asked for it back. I'm getting a local guy to recrown it. He is also looking at getting an action block for that gun in case it really is shot out and needs re-barreling.
Great video. Who made the 44 carbine?
As far as diet soda goes, die diet soda! Lol
You have a great helper there for hand loading.
I have a harmonica but can't play it worth a hoot. If I could get cattle to come to me when I played I'd be in heaven.
The one in this video is made for Winchester by Miroku in Japan. They are really nice rifles. I also have one in .357 Magnum and my son has one in 45 Colt.
Plinking load for a 44 120gr .433” lead round ball and 3.5 to 4 grains of Unique. It gets about 550 to 600 fps and works fine in pistols. It makes a lot of plinking loads per pound of powder. It likely would work in a rifle too. Never tried it; but it shoots pretty accurately out of a pistol; round balls are easy to make or buy a bag full to try.
That's an interesting concept. Next time I'm in Houston I'll pick up some 44 caliber round balls and see what you're talkin about
Given cheap ammo, a good AK clone can be fun plinking. A guy at the range on Sunday insisted I shoot a mag's worth from his unusual AK clone. It didn't have a pistol grip, but just a thumb hole in a heavy stock. while that stock didn't fit my hand well, I was able to destroy targets he had been shooting at for hours and not hitting. Mostly I think the guy wanted me to put my skill where my mouth was, even though I hadn't shot an AK in about 45 or 50 years. ..but it quickly came back to me, that gun was accurate, fun to shoot, and the ammo was the best kind, somebody else was paying for it lol. The AK's I was used to were not all that accurate, as they tended to be nearly clapped out barrels with ammo that... well you never knew what you'd get.
My new Savage 62F makes a great plinker... out of the box it shot high at 50 yards, but was right on at 100. I was hitting 100 yard targets the guys with their large fancy guns with huge scopes could not hit... iron sights on mine. at 114 dollars now, it's a great buy. they were 99 but have gone up just a little in these times.
Another guy tried out my rifle, and he let me try his 9mm. withe the damn Fiocchi ammo he had, it was not accurate, so therefore not a good plinker. but he had his grandfather's old bolt 22 Marlin, it's beat up but shoots well he had a pre-64 winchester 3030 model 94 with him as well, but had no ammo for that. it was a well used, much carried gun, but still in very good shape mechanically. I told him he should not restore them except for any mechanical repairs needed, leave the scars that tell the stories. He offered to let me try his grandfather's 22, but I declined, he's the only one that should be shooting that. His name is Austin, a very nice young man. on the way out, the poor guy had a flat, I mean the tire was ripped up like crazy. He had a spare and cell reception so there was nothing I could do for him, but I hope he got going quickly as it was starting to get dark. I meet the nicest people at the range. I really don't get out much, but I love the range on a Sunday afternoon.
Sounds like you had a great Sunday!
@@TargetSuite best day ever
oh other than the mag problem, my lady loves the savage too.
My old man got me started about that age. The press was built before WWII. I'll get it out and research it. I'm not using it now because the die threads are different. I only got 2 sets but may rethread some new dies.
Interesting! I bet that is one great press . . . with great memories!
Question posed and answered in first 30 seconds!
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That looks like a really fun little rifle to pack and shoot. Really accurate too.
Yes. It's a sweetie!
I guess I should use Hogedon H-110 for lever 44 mag loads ,apparently Tite Group burns too fast, creating less velocity maybe good for plinking.
I believe you are right.
A few grains of red dot in special cases with a bulk lead SWC ought to be quite pleasant.
Great video. So many of the shooters at Camp Perry use Clays in their 45 autos. Clean burning even at light load levels. It is a shame though about the copyright claims on that fine old hymn. I wonder what Horatio Spafford would think about that after his making such a great gift to the world. I believe his intent was that while deep in sadness over the death of his daughters something good would come from it. I can't believe he did that so over a century later greedy persons could exploit the simple act of sharing with us all the very gift he wanted us to have.
Just in the last couple of days I have found a website that will issue public domain documentation for old hymns like that. It only costs five bucks per document so I have started building a library. It's worth every penny.
hi, i whish you !!!
i would make a question, i ask to you why when you compare the recoil of the two cartriges in both cases upon fire the hammer goes on the first mount ?!?
bye, bye
That's a really good question. These Miroku Winchester's are made with a rebounding hammer.
Cow and kid magnet. Great video.
Thanks!
When will you show some love for a Marlin 444 ??
Whenever I can cet my hands on one😉
Love that 1892!
Amen! It's a sweet one for sure!
Raise a glass to Blast and to a frothy finish - effortlessly effervescent to the end!
Haha! Yes! What a tribute!
I had to chuckle at the 'recoil' topic with the 44. After shooting 40-50 each from the 444 and the 45-70, I leave the last box for the 44. The recoil is so much less than I was dealing with, it almost feels like even the factory loads feel like a 22 in comparison. It's still my favorite gun.
Yes definitely 22-ish compared to the 45-70 or the 444 Marlin
Good looking bunch of Charolais and black Angus .
Yep and they are getting fatter by the day. Wish they were mine ;-)
240 g head home cast over 5 g of reddot in mag case,shoots well as aplinking gun
ballard barrelreg clover leaves at 25 yrds and real tite stuff at 50yrds
Interesting. I've got some Red Dot and some IMR Red, which I think is an equivalent. I may give those a try as well.
@@TargetSuite to be honest i only use red dot for short range stuff and western shoots,for longer range as i say i use hp38 at eight and a half grains ,found this ok for comp work out to 3 or 400 yards as i said elswhere it was interesting that over up to 5o yards the higher load would have an impact point lower than the smaller load when aimed at same point ,thinking this is due to the hotter load shooting flatter also had some good results with 30 g true black topped up with semolina to fill the cASE pretty gentle and good accuracy,may be a surprise but I am from the uk
Since I answered your first comment I had a chance to load up some Red Dot and compar it with the Clays. Velocities were very similar at 6.0 grains but the extreme spread on the Red Dot was almost triple what it was on the Clay's. I don't know how that translates to accuracy but for now I'm going to stick with a Clays.
2020 CCI Blazer brass 22LR with rebate was just under 3 CENTS (see: Caps) per round. Now I see it going for 18 Cents or more if you can get it. Insane. The worst part is that Ammo manufacturers always put 22 LR production at the bottom of the list as it's the least profitable. Only after they have had a long run of the others do they get around to 22LR. That typically means several years between runs.
Crazy times for sure! Looking forward to a return to "normal". Not sure it will ever come.
is using mortar rounds still plinking or even a 88 artillery round?
Haha! They certainly would satisfy the "fun factor" but not the cost or recoil model 😄
One thing for me is the fact that 44 Magnum has all the good reloading characteristics of a pistol cartridge. Brass life, simple case prep, reload with a square deal b press. However, it retains a lot of the great characteristics of a rifle round at reasonable ranges. Plus, it's just fun to shoot...
You are absolutely right. From every angle, the 44 Mag is a great cartridge and when paired with a great lever gun, it really shines!
G.K. U.S.A. What are the maximum loadings with Buffalo Bore, Underwood, etc. Can they safely shoot 265gr., 300gr.,and Hardcast bullets?
If I can keep my plinking costs to below 10 cents a pop I'm good with that. Long live the 22 lr.
Gosh it's hard to find 10 cent 22lr ammo anymore! That's just not right either! But I'm with you. Nothing like a pocket full of 22 ammo, a favorite rifle, and time on your hands.
@@TargetSuite So weird with the ammo prices in the US. I can still get decent .22lr match ammo for 7 Euro cents a piece ($0.085) in Germany. And that's nicely packaged competition ammo, not some big box of rounds.
Around here since at least 2019 ammo prices have been stable. Only gun prices went up by like 10-15%
That's still 9mm for me. Even with scarce primers.
@Heinrich der Schwabe Those are great prices!
@@TargetSuite 40 t0 50 bucks a brick and that's Canadian buck
I think anything can be fun for plinking, if you can load up some pleasant ammo for it. My 1892 rifle is a bit older than yours (no 44 magnum in 1914), but I see no reason not to make up some 38-40 handloads to run through it. It’s all fun. 👍
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Silly copyright infringement...150 yrs. Really, come on. Great videos!
Yep that was some program running on autopilot. That really needs to be fixed
My Browning Model 92 44 Magnum is a kicker with full power factory ammunition. I load it down to 44-40 velocity and my shoulder says thanks.
That was my goal here as well. Cheaper loads that require less shoulder behind them😄
@@TargetSuite Your light load is very close to the ballistics of the rimfire 44 Henry flat used during the Civil War in the Henry lever action rifle.
Is The 44 Magnum Carbine Good For Plinking ? YOU BET IT IS !!!!!
I don't load light loads in my 44 magnum for plinking. One load 240 gr JHP or LSWC over 2400 for use in a Marlin 1894 lever gun, Ruger Redhawk and Super Blackhawk plus TC Contender Super 14.
I tend to "plink" much more with a 22 long rifle revolver or rifle. Ammo, no problem, I've been stocking up for retirement; I'm here now and life is good. The best "plinker" is the Ruger 10/22 carbine.
Haha! Millions of folks would agree with you about that 10/22
I still use good ol Red Dot for my plinking loads.
Me too, at least before I found Clays. I compared loads with each powder and the extreme spread/standard deviation was much, much better with Clays. But for short range plinking that wouldn't matter.
44 magnum has become one ofy favorite rounds. It can absolutely be a plinker. One of the light loads that I like is 20 grains of IMR 4227 under a 240 grain hard cast bullet. I ordered some 44 special brass and I'm going to try dropping that charge back to around 13 grains. As soon as the little guy started pulling that lever with one hand I knew he was hooked.
Haha! Yep it took him about 45 tries to figure out he could do it one handed.
Careful loading down IMR 4227 you can get inconsistent discharge and not have all the powder burn up and possibly get a squib, last time I tried loading it down I was shooting at a fifty yard target and the first 6 were fine and the next one didn't sound as loud and have as much recoil the next two were fine and the last one, I saw land in the dirt half way to the target
@@tripleoughtstoll8690 I went back and checked my load data notebook. It was 22 grains.
Great video as always, is there an email where I can contact you?
Hi Lloyd. Sorry for the late reply. You can reach me at targetsuite@gmail.com
The ironic thing about the "old tyme" hymns is that many borrowed heavily from the chorus and melody of popular drinking songs in the pubs. I wonder if the hymn writers secured permission from those on bar stools before releasing their "new" creations?
Good point.
What about a muzzleloader for plinking? Fun, cheap and recoil is managable...
And it's slow shooting. The best kind for young and old (er) shooters alike😉
First off, i was thinking you needed a taller assisstant but seeing as how he has to reach up, he can put all of his body weight into it...lol. "BLAST diet soda, tastes like swill but blasts when shot" . I would have told them ( the entities) to stuff it and showed the harmonica footage with sound...if its public domain then they have no claim.
Unfortunately the way copyright claims work on UA-cam is that you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Which I was. But I didn't want the video to be held in limbo for a month waiting on Resolution.
With 44 Special loads I believe it would be quite fun.
I was trying to duplicate 44 special power levels with this light load. I think I was pretty close, but the 44 Special would likely offer better accuracy . . . a lot better.
For factory ammo, I like the HSM Cowboy Action 200 grain loads for plinking. I found that there is not a noticeable difference in recoil between the 44 special and 44 mag version out of my Marlin. I think published specs are 850fps for the special and 975fps for the magnum. They are identical in price and accuracy (both are nothing to write home about), so I generally get the 44 mag version for the brass.
@@dylanhayden8825 I’ve tried both of those with my model 29 and I like them. They’re accurate enough for just playing around. They seem to be quite smoky if I recall correctly though.
A good one is a loaded one! 👍🏾😀❤️🇺🇸
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Yes
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Try some cowboy loads big difference.
Not a bad rifle..
It even puts the brass back in the box..
Haha! I spent 30 minutes after filming trying to find the one missing case. No luck!
@Michael Hosea I haven't given up yet😄
For me, plinking, which would require an abundance of ammo, would have to be inexpensive. Well we know that’s no longer possible, so could plinking be a thing of the past?
Never!!! 😄 Maybe we shorten our sessions, but shooting for fun will never go away.
@@TargetSuite I was loading like crazy all winter long. Then it dawned on that I can’t take it with me and started shooting again. Having fun. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
“ The Ultimate Utilitarian Rifle” The Lever Gun in 44Mag, is not just a good pinker, but a overall great rifle platform in plinking and hunting!
Just a Note about Marlins 44Mag Lever action, all of the JM Marlins suffered from very large Throats, why they did this no one can tell me.
What this means is, for Cast bullets to shoot good, even Jacketed, they need to be a bigger Diameter, you “Must” fill the throat for accuracy, that means your bullet needs to fill the entrence of the Throat, that will center the bullet, and it will let the bullet spin on its axis correctly. A small diameter bullet can enter the Throat off center, and will cause a stabilization problem, hence Bad Accuracy.
We here about the Marlin 44Mag key holing often, NOT BECAUSE OF THE MICROGROOVE RIFLING, because of the oversized Throat.
In our Marlins in 44Mag, we use .434/.435 cast bullets, dropped straight from the molds. With Jacketed bullets, we’re have ordered Hawk Bullets at .433, and they really shot good. For plinking we use a 265gr Ranch Dog bullet mold, it has a gas check, but you do not need it when used as a plinker, my kids were raised shooting this wonderful Marlin 1894!
Thanks for your comment. A lot to digest but very good information. Thanks again !
I heard the Plink, so i would say yes.
Haha!
A good wide range on ammunition 👍
Yes, I thought they covered the spectrum from hot to not pretty well.
Up here in British Columbia 🇨🇦 a box of 100 .22lr is around $16 whereas a box of 20 .44mag is around $60 so, no a .44 is not a plinking gun up here. I’m still getting one though 😎
44 mag is a decent round. If you don't want to reload I would suggest 357 mag in a rifle not pistol
Yep. I also posted a video on the .357 Mag Carbine a few weeks ago.
You should have got, in terms of plinking, a mod. 92 in .357 Magnum, and then use it with .38 Specials. Much less cost with this cartridge.
I have a model 92 in 357 Magnum. I posted a video about that a few weeks ago.