Some Help With .429” 240 Grain Bullets

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buck460XVR said:
Been loading 240 grainers in .44 mag a long time. I really doubt if you will see 1850FPS outta any of those guns. Biggest concern I have is that the bullet in your link, has no cannelure. To get those kind of velocities, a heavy crimp is needed for the slow burning powders(as in H110/W296). Hard to do without a cannelure to roll crimp into. Then there is bullet jump from the heavy recoiling loads, also why a cannelure is suggested.
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If the number’s real, perhaps they’re catering to lever action rifles as well?

Speculation on my part.

I’ll be calling Berry’s tomorrow to confirm.

Might try a few of their bullets for kicks, but I’m kinda leaning away from them.

Another bit of info I need - are tight crimps as necessary when rounds are fully chambered (lever action rifles, Desert Eagles) in the usual sense? I’m under the impression that the bullet being jammed into the leade precludes the need for a tight crimp, whereas revolvers need it to prevent the bullets from catastrophically sliding out while in the cylinder, and to compensate for pressure losses during the “jump” at the barrel / cylinder gap.

In light - recoiling semiautomatics, one worries more about bullet setback than excursion (jumping the crimp) as the magazine prevents the latter. To stretch the context further - bench shooters once favored lightly seated bullets + loose necks but tight chambers.
 
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The Glockodile said:
Need some help getting pointed in the right direction for .44 Magnum Bullets...

These are meant to be for warmer loads (23.5 to 24 grains of the powder below).

I have enough Starline Brass, CCI Large Pistol Magnum Primers, and Hodgdon’s H110 at hand - but for some reason I put off buying bullets.

My usual choice would have been Montana Gold - but they’re out (of EVERYTHING, it seems)... No idea whether I can push Berry’s Copper - Plated bullets the way I want to, they’re the only ones which seem widely available at the moment.

Any suggestions?
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I've got some Hornady 180 and 240 xtp sitting all alone if your interested.
 
Just got off the phone with Berry's (435.634.1682).

They do confirm the said Velocity of 1,850 f/s - and the implication that rifle use is possible.

I'll buy a few to try out, but it may take some time for me to actually post back with a report...
 
Walkalong said:
Too bad I don’t have my .44 Carbine any more.
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I have a Ruger M77/44 and the problem with it is not finding bullets that can be pushed hard enough, but finding bullets that will fit the magazine. Sierra 210gr. JHC are about the max. 245gr. "Keith" style bullets seated to the crimp groove won't even start in the mag. They work fine in my neighbors Rossi. That kind of supports the theory about lever-action carbines being part of the mix.
 
I really like them 240 gr Hornady XTP.
Loaded near MAX with Lil Gun, they are thumpers.


ETA: for use in rifles. Shot a couple in a 4.6" Super Blackhawks. They are LOUD, fire breathing dragons. Needing more length of barrel to burn that powder.
Rumors of flame cutting, in revolvers, I cannot substantiate.
 
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Jacketed .429 bullets seem to be about as rare as an honest politician these days. Graf's has had XTP's a time or two, and other than price, they are fine. I've had good luck pushing MBC BHN 18 Hi-Tek coated bullets pretty hard, they do OK. I've sent them at 1300 to 1400 out of a Ruger Blackhawk, IIRC, around 23.5, maybe 24 grains of H110. I've not cared for the Berry's at those velocities, just can't get the accuracy out of them. PS...I've had .429 JSP 240 grain bullets on backorder from Zero for over a year.
 
i assume this is for your new SRH. if you go with cast bullets, check your chamber throats with pin gauges. match the bullet size to the throat or go above 0.001. i got leading with my SRH with 0.430 hardcast. turns out i had enlarged throats 0.431. i ordered 0.432 sized bullets and leading much improved, still occasionally occurs. fortunately ordered that size as my next 44 mag,a smith, had 0.432 throats. 0.432 bullets still accurate and no leading with it.

don't sweat leading, it is easy to clear with choreboy and your bore will be just as shiny.
 
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These are two different loadings in 240 grains - Blazer Aluminum JHP, and Winchester (White Box - “Deer and Black Bear,” or so the box says) JSP.

1. The Blazer Aluminum load burns CLEAN. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but the case barely has any carbon on it - inside and out. It does heat the cylinder up considerably, causing “cylinder cramp.”

2. The Winchester load is FILTHY. Soot everywhere. It also recoils a very slight bit more. Doesn’t seem to heat the cylinder up as much.

I read that this Winchester load allegedly uses H110 - from your experience, is this how the powder behaves? It makes me wonder what the Blazer load uses.
 
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GeoDudeFlorida said:
I have a Ruger M77/44 and the problem with it is not finding bullets that can be pushed hard enough, but finding bullets that will fit the magazine. Sierra 210gr. JHC are about the max.
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I have never loaded anything less than 240 grainers for my 77/44 and never had an issue with loaded cartridges fitting in the mag. Tried Speer's 270 gr Deep Curls for a while, but came to the conclusion that the difference between them and 240s for deer was not worth the extra cost. Right now, my preferred bullet is Nosler 240 gr JSPs over H110.
 
buck460XVR said:
I have never loaded anything less than 240 grainers for my 77/44 and never had an issue with loaded cartridges fitting in the mag. Tried Speer's 270 gr Deep Curls for a while, but came to the conclusion that the difference between them and 240s for deer was not worth the extra cost. Right now, my preferred bullet is Nosler 240 gr JSPs over H110.
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Load up some of these - 245gr. Hensley & Gibbs 503 Elmer Keith original design - and let me know how it goes. Maybe my magazine is defective but those won't even clear the feed lips.
upload_2022-5-5_9-5-16.png

Yes, the jacketed Sierra's will fit but for the Speer 270gr. DC I have to crimp above the cannelure. Like I say, maybe my magazine's defective or your seating deeper.

Glad it works for you, maybe if I try seating to same OAL they'll fit mine. I'd like to be able to use that Stateline 245gr. H&G 503 in the carbine.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Load up some of these - 245gr. Hensley & Gibbs 503 Elmer Keith original design - and let me know how it goes. Maybe my magazine is defective but those won't even clear the feed lips.
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The instructions/directions pamphlet that came with my 77/44 recommended against the use of lead bullets. Their claim was "poor accuracy". Thus, my lil' Ruger has never seen lead. I also load for a coupla 629s and a Marlin carbine, so I like to stick with loads that work well in all. 240 gr jacketed fit that bill well. I have three mags for my 77/44 and the 270s, crimped at the cannelure, fit just fine in all three. Now that was many a moon ago, so maybe something has changed since.
 
buck460XVR said:
The instructions/directions pamphlet that came with my 77/44 recommended against the use of lead bullets. Their claim was "poor accuracy". Thus, my lil' Ruger has never seen lead. I also load for a coupla 629s and a Marlin carbine, so I like to stick with loads that work well in all. 240 gr jacketed fit that bill well. I have three mags for my 77/44 and the 270s, crimped at the cannelure, fit just fine in all three. Now that was many a moon ago, so maybe something has changed since.
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Hmmm.. .thanks for the follow-up! Mine's pretty old, too - don't recall when I got it but it was NIB, probably before Y2K - so maybe I just got a bum mag. Ruger says "no lead"? Hah! that's just not right (of Ruger, I mean). The old 200gr. LRNFP is about perfect for that little carbine with 8gr. of Unique. Last time I bought Meisner's lubed with Blue Carnauba but I've tried the ACME coated - the "lipsticks" :rofl: - and they're good, too. I used to really like the Valiant with their Clear-over-Red Carnauba wax lube. Flat base, sized to .431", NO leading, and I pushed them HARD with IMR 4227. Sure do miss them folks.

I only have one magazine, never needed another, never emptied the one I have except out back playing around with cans and bottles. The 210gr. Sierra's are usually one shot droppers. The Sierra 240gr. fit but don't feed well, the Sierra 300gr. JSP's and Speer 270gr. DC crimped at the cannelure definitely don't fit my magazine, though. I can cram them in but it's tight and they won't feed. Hang up on the feed lips. The 245gr. Keith won't even go in... Mine's the stainless "all-weather" but that won't make any difference in the magazine.

My other .44Mag's a 1979-ish RSBH 7-1/2".
 
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