Hornady 44 Half Jacket Bullets

[bluetopper]

I came across an old box of "Hornady 44 cal. 240gr Pistol Bullets" (the box says).....like it's the only 44 bullets Hornady made at the time. They are lead SWC design with half jackets on them, but no mention of half jackets stated on the box. The box is old and corrosion on some of the lead on the bullets. Price listed on the box of 100 is $6.00...

Anybody seen any like this and I'm assuming they are fine for full charge 44 Magnum loadings?

 

[ReloaderFred]

They were common at one time, and I've shot a bunch of those in .38/.357. Now I make them by swaging them, since I've got a good supply of half jackets and cast the cores.

They're intended to be loaded near maximum, as a light load can possibly leave the jacket stuck in the bore. There's only friction holding the core inside the half jacket, so be sure to give it enough pressure for the whole thing to go downrange.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[rcmodel]

And most excellent bullets they were!!

I'm still pouting because Speer stopped making them without any fair warning so I could stock up with a lifetime supply!!

Too many dim-wits loading light mouse-fart loads and sticking half-jackets in barrels would be my guess as why they stopped making them so suddenly with no prior warning.

rc

 

[NCsmitty]

I shot a bunch of the Speer half jacket in my early days, and they did have a more substantial jacket than the Hornadys. IIRC, they had a 225gr hollow point and 240gr SWC swaged in 44 cal, and they worked well with heavy charges of 2400.


NCsmitty

 

[Lloyd Smale]

ive killed quite a few deer with them in 41s and 44s. They were probably my favorite bullet before i took up casting. Allways expanded well and held together for good penetration.