Reloading 44 Rem Mag

Question
Sir,
I recently picked up the reloading hobby and ran into a little problem.I am using a Colt Anaconda. I just finished reloading a box of shells, using Hodgdon H110 powder with a 200 gr. XTP Hollowpoint projectile and a Win. WTP primer. According to the Hornady reloading data I used I am supposed to achive a muzzle velocity of 1450 fps. After I finished I noticed that the label on the powder manuf. bottle suggests a MAX. chargeof of 20.5 gr. using a 280 gr. bullet for a muzzle vel. of over 1700fps. I have a good understanding of firearms, due to my military background( ret. 18B WPN Sgt/5th SFGrp.)but this data conflict defies common sense. My question is, should I trust the Hornady data and use these rounds without having to worry about damage to my pistol/pers. injury? Is there data available that doesn't conflict with the powder manf. data? I do not wanna undercharge my ammo either, that would be a waste. Thank you for your time and help.
de oppresso liber.

Answer
There are loading manuals that are caliber specific that use all the loading data from various mfg (powder, bullet). The swing in data is truly astonishing. Everything from what components are used to altitude (both loaded at and fired at) to relative humidity and temperature effect pressures.

You are mixing apples and oranges, though. Hornady gives you data for THEIR projectiles. Hodgdon will give you data for various bullet weights ONLY, and because they don't have specifics, they cannot calculate in ogive, thickness of gilding material, etc. And there is an enormous difference between a 200 gr and 280 gr projectile.

If you are using ALL the components that Hornady says to, you should be able to trust their data with some caveats:

1) You should always start at the bottom end of the scale. If you are trying to get to maximum load, you should carefully work your way up from the bottom, making every check that is available to you to screen for excessive pressure.

2) Signs would be flattening of the cartridge heads against the breech shield of the revolver; primer cratering, primer flow, or perforated primers; split cases. If you have access to a chronograph (I would suggest it if you are working for maximum loads) velocity significantly over or significantly under what you expect may be a sign of excessive pressure (there will be some variation due to your actual bore size, etc.)

You should be aware that guns that catastrophically fail do so with handloads. It VERY seldom happens with factory ammunition any more because checks and measures have become some good.

I don't know what you are using the ammunition for, but for practice I would use something well within safe specs. If these are for hunting, once you get a good load you could stick with it but shoot those cartridges infrequently.

I've seen a few revolvers in my day sans their top straps and half their cylinders gone, the shooter standing with a "What just happened?" look on his face. Thankfully, very rarely does any serious injury result from this.

My experience is not the standard by which a data pool should be measured, but my reading indicates that my experience tracks with the larger data pool. When guns catastrophically fail, 99% of the time it is with handloads. Of those, in 95% of the cases the shooter was trying to achieve maximum velocity.

Work slowly, observe and be in turn with the characteristics of your gun, inspect carefully your fired brass, and you should be able to achieve your objective and stave off catastrophe a good long time, maybe perpetually.