Reloading 44 Magnum

[Bill Steele]

I just ordered .43 cast bullets from sns casting, they were the cheapest source I could find, and the quality is good.

The cheaper I load the more I shoot.

I buy mainly from SNS for lead bullets. Inkman turned me on to them, better quality control than MBC, same quick shipping, same pricing.

[bohoki]

just remember you dont have to load hot

load a few at 44 spl speed and the gun becomes fun

let the ammo factories supply your hot loads its safer that way

[glug]

Thanks for the tips on sns casting, I checked them out and it looks pretty comparable.

One thing I noticed is they don't give the BHN on their bullets like MBC does. My rough understanding is that for best accuracy the softer Brinell 12 bullets are better for light loads and the harder Brinell 18 is better for the magnums to reduce leading. I guess the downside to using BHN 18s for both would just be slightly worse accuracy in the light loads?

Which brings another question-- I'm still a bit fuzzy on the difference between 44 special and light 44 magnum loads. Is the only difference the case used? Can 44 special load data be used in 44 magnum cases or is that a bad idea?

[M27]

Thanks for the tips on sns casting, I checked them out and it looks pretty comparable.

One thing I noticed is they don't give the BHN on their bullets like MBC does. My rough understanding is that for best accuracy the softer Brinell 12 bullets are better for light loads and the harder Brinell 18 is better for the magnums to reduce leading. I guess the downside to using BHN 18s for both would just be slightly worse accuracy in the light loads?

Which brings another question-- I'm still a bit fuzzy on the difference between 44 special and light 44 magnum loads. Is the only difference the case used? Can 44 special load data be used in 44 magnum cases or is that a bad idea?

Someone check this for me but from my understanding you can not load 44 special in 44 mag. The increased case volume will cause incrteased case pressure.

[Cowboy T]

Oh, of course you can! I load .44 Specials in my Model 629 all the time! And you can most certainly use .44 Special data in .44 Magnum cases. What you shouldn't do is try going the other way--running .44 Magnum-type loads in .44 Special cases and then shooting these hot loads in a .44 Special-only gun (e. g. Charter Arms Bulldog). That is a recipe for a KABOOM. The reason for that is that .44 Special loads are right about 14,000 PSI. By contrast, .44 Magnum loads are well over twice that pressure, namely 34,000 PSI.

Now, for lead hardness. Since I cast my own "boolits", I can speak to this. Would you believe I use BHN 12 for my full-house Magnum loads with no lead-fouling or other problems? Yep, that's right. I know, the BHN charts say X, but this is apparently an example of lab theory not necessarily translating to the real world. For light loads like .44 Special (and .45 Colt, BTW) pressures, BHN 8 is excellent.

The key is several-fold:

1.) proper sizing for your gun's chamber,
2.) proper lube, meaning both quality and type of lube, and
3.) proper obturation of the bullet.

Sizing is the most important. If your cast bullet isn't sized properly for your chamber, you will get gas-cutting and thus lead-fouling. What you want is a just ever-so-slightly-snug fit in the chamber so that you can just push the bullet through with your finger. That's optimal.

Proper lube comes next, right behind proper sizing. That really hard blue wax lube that a lot of bullet houses put on? Doesn't do a doggone bit of good. The softer your lube, the better, and better to use too much than not enough. This is why the traditional NRA 50/50 mix remains popular. Liquid Alox also does a mighty fine job.

Proper obturation also matters. This will happen if your cast bullet is soft enough for the pressure you're running. That means the bullet gets squished/mashed tightly against the chamber and rifling as it travels toward the exit after the firing pin hits the primer. We like obturation because the rifling can engrave more deeply into the bullet and impart the spin that keeps it stable in flight. The harder your lead alloy, the less obturation you will have

With BHN 18, you won't get proper obturation until you start hitting pressures of about 35,000 PSI. I know this from experience. BHN 15 didn't start obturating until just shy of about 30,000 PSI. And now I use BHN 12 in such pressures.

So, to sum up, you want fat, soft, well-lubricated (no, I don't mean drunk, Smarty) cast bullets.

[Bill Steele]

Thanks for the tips on sns casting, I checked them out and it looks pretty comparable.

One thing I noticed is they don't give the BHN on their bullets like MBC does. My rough understanding is that for best accuracy the softer Brinell 12 bullets are better for light loads and the harder Brinell 18 is better for the magnums to reduce leading. I guess the downside to using BHN 18s for both would just be slightly worse accuracy in the light loads?

Which brings another question-- I'm still a bit fuzzy on the difference between 44 special and light 44 magnum loads. Is the only difference the case used? Can 44 special load data be used in 44 magnum cases or is that a bad idea?

In my experience, the hardness of the bullet is the least important factor when it comes to leading. Bullet fit is the most important factor. For the most part .430 will be what you are buying, at least initally. If you get a little lead, usually the first few inches of the barrel, just wrap some copper chore boy around a bore brush and a little solvent, usually takes care of it. If you really get some bad lead, pick up a Lewis Lead Removal kit in .44, then change bullet sizes.

You can load .44spl loads in your .44RM cases, there is no difference between these loads and light .44RM loads except the length of the case. Oviously the OAL will be different than the book, just crimp in the cannelure (roughly 1.6"). The longer .44RM case will keep your cylinders cleaner.

If you really get into lighter target loads with W231/HP38, you will find that magnum primers will give you more consistent velocities than standard primers. I am splitting hairs here, something for down the road.

Good luck, have fun.

[stilly]

I just found out that LILgun is for 44 mag and it seems like it gives better velocity that H110. I wonder if the sound is bigger too...

[glug]

Thanks for the info guys, this has been a very helpful thread.

It sounds like there are a lot of factors involved and for starters I don't need to stress too much about the hardness until I see how things work in my particular gun. I will probably just pick up some .430 LSWC bullets from sns and start off with light loads and see how it goes from there.

If you have any good tips on how to identify and deal with leading problems I'd appreciate it. I've read somewhere you can just shoot a bunch of jacketed bullets after a lead shooting session and that will get most of the lead out... I have no idea how true that is.

[Bill Steele]

Thanks for the info guys, this has been a very helpful thread.

It sounds like there are a lot of factors involved and for starters I don't need to stress too much about the hardness until I see how things work in my particular gun. I will probably just pick up some .430 LSWC bullets from sns and start off with light loads and see how it goes from there.

If you have any good tips on how to identify and deal with leading problems I'd appreciate it. I've read somewhere you can just shoot a bunch of jacketed bullets after a lead shooting session and that will get most of the lead out... I have no idea how true that is.

Well, you will get a lot different opinions on this one. I am very familiar with how much lead I might expect for a given load and gun I am shooting it in, soooo... I generally shoot a couple cylinders (or a magazine) of jacketed through my gun after shooting lead and it does clean out most if not all the lead.

On the other hand, this can be a risky proposition for a newcomer. Lead in the barrel will raise pressures and in extreme cases bulge a barrel or worse, so it is not for the person just starting out shooting your own lead loads, at least in my opinion.

Anytime I am shooting a new lead bullet or load for a known bullet, in a gun I have not shot it before, I keep a very close eye on leading. I will shoot one and check out the bore. If I see no leading, I will shoot a cylinder/magazine and check again. Then maybe a check at 50, etc.

If you take this kind of approach, you will get a feel how a given gun shoots a given load/bullet and how much leading you will get. When I first started shooting lead in my Glocks I took this approach and found my Glocks don't lead any more than my standard rifling barrels, at least the one's I own. Everytime I get a new gun or try a new bullet/load, I go through the same process. Keep notes and you will be ahead of 99% of the guys who consider themselves veteran reloaders, in no time at all.

Good luck, have fun.

[glug]

Do you think this would be a good investment? http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=2...S-LEAD-REMOVER

I have really never dealt with leading at all before and want to make sure I don't get any dangerous build up while I am working up my loads.

[sirgrumps]

Do you think this would be a good investment? http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=2...S-LEAD-REMOVER

I have really never dealt with leading at all before and want to make sure I don't get any dangerous build up while I am working up my loads.

best lead remover for revolvers on the market

[Bill Steele]

Do you think this would be a good investment? http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=2...S-LEAD-REMOVER

I have really never dealt with leading at all before and want to make sure I don't get any dangerous build up while I am working up my loads.

I have them for all my calibers that I shoot lead. Having said that, I use them pretty infrequently and usually only when I have a boo boo load wise.

Copper Chore Boy, just cut a chunk off a pad and wrap it around your bore brush, that will do 95% of your lead removal jobs.

[stilly]

Do you think this would be a good investment? http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=2...S-LEAD-REMOVER

I have really never dealt with leading at all before and want to make sure I don't get any dangerous build up while I am working up my loads.

I am an internet expert with 4 months and 500 rounds under my belt but they are 44 mag so that must translate to thousands of smaller rounds..

I have NEVER heard of that product. What is wrong with a decent brush and patch/jag with the lead cleaner?

[Cowboy T]

I am an internet expert with 4 months and 500 rounds under my belt but they are 44 mag so that must translate to thousands of smaller rounds..

LOL! Ok, I kinda needed that.

I have NEVER heard of that product. What is wrong with a decent brush and patch/jag with the lead cleaner?

If you're referring to the liquid lead cleaner, then nothing at all. It'll work. It'll just take a lot longer to scrub out the lead. Ask me how I know....

So, I made a sort of "homemade" Lewis Lead Remover. I took a brass jag, wrapped some Chore Boy around it, and gradually tapped it down the barrel. Once I got it started, I used an oak dowel to drive the jag all the way through, using reasonably gentle taps of the hammer. When it exited out the other end, it took a whole lot of lead-fouling out with it. Afterwards, some Hoppe's #9 with a couple of patches resulted in a nice 'n' shiny bore.