American Handgunner Jul/Aug 1981 - Jeffersonian

Your Initiation To The Big Boomers
Can Be Made A Lot More Pleasant If
You Take It A Step At A Time ...
By Mike Venturino
W
e are living in the age of the magnum
handgun.
Metallic silhouette shooting with handguns
is a fast growing sport; handgun
· hunting is being legalized in many areas;
and the total selection of magnum handguns
available from various manufacturers
is simply amazing.
The only benefits a magnum handgun
offers over the standard calibers are power
and flatness of trajectory. On the other
hand, the side effects of that power are
rroise and recoil-both of which make the
magnum a very difficult handgun to learn
· to shoot accurately.
No one that I have ever met has become
even a mediocre shot with a magnum
handgun by using full power loads in it
from the very beginning. To become an
accurate marksman with a hard-hitting,
big bore handgun requires much practice
with what I term "learning loads; handloads
for a big bore handgun that are
mild-say no more than 900 FPS at the
most, and accurate." By accurate I mean
groups no larger than two inches at 25
yards-when the handgun is fired from
either a mechanical or sandbag rest.
Another requirement for "learning
loads" is that they be relatively cheap. This
· is a tall orderin this day and age, but since
At the far left, notice that recoil
is slight. That's because author is
using his "learning loads." The gun
is a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum. Inset
shows usual recoil of .44 Magnumhow's
that for a big jump? Top photo
shows target with a nice 25 yd. group
measuring J~" shot with author's best
load of Bullseye. This powder and the
Unique have been around a long time
and make great learning loads. Cast
bullets make good loads for inexpensive
shooting and were used by writer.
So, learning loads were set up to be
cheap, accurate, and to lessen recoil.
AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JULY / AUGUST 1981
it takes much ammo to become good with
a handgun, cost is a consideration.
Jacketed bullets for this variety ofhandload
are a waste-pure and simple. For
"learning loads" their ability to expand
into the classic mushroom is useless, and
worse yet, at low velocities it is possible for
them to stick in a handgun's bore. And
they are too expensive for most of us to
shoot hundreds and thousands away in
practice.
If a handgunner does not cast his own
. bullets then the soft, swaged lead bullets
put out by various manufacturers are the
ticket. Unless driven too fast they will not
lead the bore.
For those who already own bullet casting
equipment the moulded lead bullet is a
far better route to go. Casting your own
bullets gives you a latitude in bullet
weight, alloy, diameter, and lubricant not
available to shooters of stor.e-bought
bullets.
I know my cast bullets are good because
I have tested thousands of them through
over a dozen handguns using a Lee Pistol
Machine Rest. I have yet to find a revolver
that will not shoot groups of at least two
inches at 25 yards with the proper loads-'"
with cast bullets!
Self-cast bullets are good and by far the
cheapest bullets available. I know!
. Bullet design is not greatly important fOf
"learning loads" except that the bullet
should be accurate. If the shooter will do
most of his practicing at paper targets then
the standby wadcutter shape or the semiwadcutter
is best because ofthe clean holes
they will cut. For varmints such as gophers
or small game this same reasoning is
sound.
However, if a roundnose bullet (or
mould) is all that is available don't sell it
short. Some ofthese old-fashioned looking
bullets are amazingly accurate.
For myown use I have generally settled
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