CAUTION ! NEW INFO- Bluedot and 44 mag problems

larr

larr

New member
has anyone had problems with this combo? i loaded a few rounds using 180 gr sierras and 18.2 grs.of bluedot,cci 350 primers. after firing 3 rounds i knew something wasn't right,i could barely turn the cyl. had a hard time removing the brass. this load is one step up from the min. charge according to the sierra manual. i pulled the unfired rounds and checked the charge just to make sure it was right which it was. i never had this happen before with other powders. had the same thing happened with another load the same day,240 gr sierras,15.5 grs. bluedot, cci 350 primers.
 
I was told by the folks from alliant powder that they had been experiencing pressure problems with blue dot in magnum pistol cartridges and not to use it.
I was going to use it in a 41 mag and a friend advised me of a warning sent out by alliant powders is why I contacted them.
 
thanks for the info. go figure,this combo shot the best 3 shot group out of all the combos i tried.
laugh.gif

i was going to try the minimum load and see what happens but i believe i will leave it alone.
 
It might be your light for caliber bullets. I know Alliant released an update saying to not use BlueDot in 125gr. .357 loads anymore but it fine for everything above. I use it in my 180gr. .357 loads without any issue.

CB
 
Originally Posted By: 204DudeI don't think you are supposed to use a magnum primer with Blue Dot but I could be wrong.


i was wondering that too, i used the primers that the sierra manual said to use which are the cci 350's
 
i looked at my other reload manuals and found out that sierra's min. charge is higher then all the other reload manuals max.charge
scared.gif
i called sierra and explained what happened to me and about the loads that were in the other manuals and he said that aliant bought out Hercules and the new powder must be hotter. he said that there manual was written before the buy out of Hercules and that might be the problem. if anyone uses blue dot for 44mag and bought this newer powder please check the latest edition of other manuals before loading any.
 
My pet load is 13.5 gr Blue Dot, 240 gr HP/XTP's (or SWCer's), w/ cci 300. I haven't bought any Blue Dot in several years though. My Super Red Hawk loves them. I guess I'll have to find a different load when the Blue Dot runs out.
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: LuckyBMy pet load is 13.5 gr Blue Dot, 240 gr HP/XTP's (or SWCer's), w/ cci 300. I haven't bought any Blue Dot in several years though. My Super Red Hawk loves them. I guess I'll have to find a different load when the Blue Dot runs out.
frown.gif



the new hornady manual has the correct load data for the new bluedot. all you should have to do is rework your load up from the new data.
 
Back in the day when I shot IHMSA (look THAT up you young whipper snappers!) I used 14 grains of Bluedot with a cast 250 grain Keith bullet for my chicken pig and turkey loads. Worked fine. Did not beat me to death either. Good shooting load that was. Still got jugs of it on my shelves. Good stuff.
 
Not to run a different direction but we used unique in are 44mags with hornady 180gr and 200gr bullets and the accuracy was unbelivable super accurate.
 
i tried unique and didn't have much luck. I'm worried that someone is going to use sierra's load data with the new bluedot and get seriously hurt.the new bluedot's max load in the hornady,speer manuals is below the min. load in the sierra manual. there load data was for the old bluedot.
 
I talked to, I think, a man bnamed Greg from alliant and he was the one who advised me NOT to use blue dot in magnum pistols loads. I switched to win 296 in my 41 mag and got some nice groups so I am happy.
 
If you look at the Alliant website they have the warning about blue dot. They gave no real explanation when I read it, they just said don't use it.
 
This has been out since Aug 2008 but nothing mentioned about 44mag.


"Alliant Powder periodically reviews and tests their published reloading data to verify that our recommended recipes have not changed over time.

During the latest review Alliant Powder discovered that Alliant Powder's Blue Dot® should not be used in the following applications:

Blue Dot® should NOT be used in the 357 Magnum load using the 125 grain projectile (Blue Dot® recipes with heavier bullet weights as specified in Alliant Powders Reloading Guide are acceptable for use).
Blue Dot® should NOT be used in the 41 Magnum cartridge (all bullet weights).
Use of Blue Dot® in the above cases may cause a high pressure situation that could cause property damage and serious personal injury.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause and appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter."


Nothing about 44mag issues. It is a very vague warning and created a lot of speculation. Was it the load data? Powder? What?
 
Last edited:
Alliant and the other powder manufacturers do a good job at homogenizing powders from lot to lot. Every now and then, things happen. Things can even happen that do not show up through established, reliable QC procedures. I noticed the change in Blue Dot last fall with a batch of 2oz tungsten 10ga. loads. This was at the end of a contract run when we had to change powder lots. In order to get the pressure back up to where it needed to be, we increased the charge weight about 2 grains (seems to be the opposite of what is happening in handgun cartridges). The unfortunate thing is that this increased the velocity by 150fps; this put us 100fps past what the contract established. We ended up calling half the gunshops on the east coast to find enough of the older lot numbers of Blue Dot.

Normally, for a contract we can use SMP or ADI powders. We are not big enough to buy directly from Alliant, although I have heard they are releasing drums again. Blue Dot is such a perfect fit in this application we decided to go canister and pay the higher prices.
John
 
the hornady and speer manuals are up to date on the new bluedot,sierra published its manual before aliant bought out hercules and still shows loads for the old bluedot. i am lucky that i shot my loads in a super blackhawk. my main concern is someone else using sierras data to load there 44 mags with this new hotter bluedot.
 
Back
Top