.44 mag rifle guys

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What loads are you shooting?

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I've considered carbine setups so you could standardize ammo with a sidearm (.357 or .44 are the obvious choices, but also 9mm) - and the thing I come across in research is that - barrel length is almost everthing ( ) - so, the longer the barrel, the more you want a heavier bullet pushed by slower burning powder because you have all that length to travel.

You're going to find a lot of factory loads in .44 mag are optimized for fast burn/shorter barrel which is understandable. The 300s tend to be effective out of longer barrels, but probably overkill for most targets.

The Winchester/Marlin lever guys do report good groups with some 240 loads and even some 200s (like the Hornady 200 XTP).

I think you're going to have to do it the hard way - particularly if you're sticking with the Ruger Semi - get a box of about 10 or 15 different loads and figure out which ones group and cycle better.

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75 yards

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And that's the other factor favoring heavier bullets - with a handgun, few are even attempting shots more than 50 yards. With anywhere from n 16" to 22" barrel, you're going to take some 100 yard and, perhaps, even 150 yard shots with the right set up.

I don't know what length barrel your ruger is, but you should still have a little more velocity out of the CVA. Even with off the shelf pistol cartridges.

I shoot a 45 Colt using Federal 225gr HP. Out of my 5.5" Vaquero they are somewhere around 800FPS. But, out of my 20" barrel Marlin, they're closer to 1200 FPS. I realize that at some point, a longer barrel starts to have a negative effect, but couldn't tell you what that is. As ACE said, it depends on rate of powder burn and bullet weight.

Guessing your scope was a little off ?