41 Mag and 215/gr LSWC Data Needed

[dredd]

Ref.
41 Remington Magnum
Ruger NMBH
215/gr LSWC

Does anyone know of any other Published Sources besides Hodgdon?
They list one load that uses AA#9, which I'll already be using to load the Hornady 210/gr XTP's.

Manuals in hand are Hornady, Lyman and Sierra. (No Help on this bullet)

I'm curious if there are other powder options for this particular bullet.
I am not opposed to purchasing another manual.

For those that will ask why this bullet?
I can get these Hi-Tek Coated for $0.132/ea delivered.

Thanks!
Dredd

 

[BBarn]

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook has loads for 210gr and 220gr cast bullets. Powders include Unique, #9, 2400, IMR4227, and H110.

 

[RKRCPA]

Hodgdon shows several powders including AA #9, #7, and #5 among many others. I've also used 8gr. of Unique and 18gr. of 2400 (reduce and work up to these) in the past.

 

[dobedo]

Ref.
41 Remington Magnum
Ruger NMBH
215/gr LSWC

Does anyone know of any other Published Sources besides Hodgdon?
They list one load that uses AA#9, which I'll already be using to load the Hornady 210/gr XTP's.

Manuals in hand are Hornady, Lyman and Sierra. (No Help on this bullet)

I'm curious if there are other powder options for this particular bullet.
I am not opposed to purchasing another manual.

For those that will ask why this bullet?
I can get these Hi-Tek Coated for $0.132/ea delivered.

Thanks!
Dredd

Here is a great site and the rounds are MFG standards.

Shooter's Reference Load Data for .41 Remington Magnum

shootersreference.com

 

[Charlie98]

I've been loading the 215grn cast .41 bullets over any number of powders for over 30 years... it's not hard. The 215grn cast bullet is fairly generic. FWIW, I just use jacketed data at starting levels and it's always worked well enough for me.

I have a .41 load data compilation (from Leverguns, I believe) that I can email you... PM me your email and I'll send it to you. It is a compilation of published data, but also has some handload data at the end... which you would use at your own risk, of course.

If you have a specific powder in mind, I'll bet I can help you on that... or most of us over in the .41MAG thread... also, I have QuickLoad, if there is, again, a specific powder, I can generate a set of loads for you based either on pressure or velocity specifically for your barrel length.

One of the problems with published .41 data is... they are loading it to Magnum velocities, using Magnum appropriate powders. Not everyone wants a handful of Magnum every shot...

 

[EricBu]

The 215 SWC is THE bullet for 41 Magnum today. You shouldn't have any problem finding load data for that across any number of powders. You can use LSWC data interchangeably for Hi-Tek coated SWC as well. I can't say that any load manual I've picked up in the last 30 years that had 41 Magnum load data, didn't have a 215 LSWC load listed. I myself use 15 grains of AA9 for that bullet. If you use Hodgdon's Online load data page, it will give you a lot of loads that may be missing from the 2023 published magazine. https://hodgdonreloading.com/rldc/ if you plug in 215 for the bullet weight, it lists loads with 12 different powders.

 

[dredd]

Thanks for all of the replies.

Hodgdon Online does have several 215 loads, but only one is for LSWC's.

Am I over thinking this? Is the data for the LFP interchangeable?
Seat to crimp groove of the LSWC and call it good?

Hodgdon does have a few powders that I'd like to use in order to spread out my consumables.
I don't want to burn through all of my #9
I only have 4 pounds right now and I use it for other cartridges as well.

 

[crstrode]

Am I over thinking this? Is the data for the LFP interchangeable?

Yes.

First task is to read the reloading manual. Not just the tables but also the general instructions and descriptions. After you read it the first time, try your best to understand. Don't reload until you get it. After you read and understand the manual, get another one from a different manufacturer and repeat the process.

Every reputable manual clearly and succinctly answers your question about interpolation (that's "reading between the lines").

The above advice is often reduced to the shorthand; RTFM

Caution: Taking advice from well experienced old folks (AKA Boomers) can sometimes be difficult for younger generations. Millennials, et al, (AKA Renters), may take umbrage at being schooled by those with actual experience and have survived their own mistakes.

 

[Charlie98]

Hodgdon Online does have several 215 loads, but only one is for LSWC's.

Am I over thinking this? Is the data for the LFP interchangeable?
Seat to crimp groove of the LSWC and call it good?

Yes. There will be some differences in COL with a FP bullet vs a SWC, but rule of thumb is to seat to the crimp groove. Start at the bottom of the data and work your way up... easy peasy. Very often, FP bullets seat nearly the same in the case as the SWC's do, but produce a shorter COL because the bullet itself is shorter... but the case fill is nearly the same (with the same weight bullet.)

 

[P Flados]

Using "start load" data for a different bullet of the same weight is generally Ok as long as your seating depth does not increase by much (preferably none).

Give us your barrel length, bullet length, desired AOL and powders that you want to use, and you will get much more specific recommendations.

 

[OS/N]

If its cast and not gas checked you will likely want to stay below 1000fps. Size to your throat also if a revolver but not too much larger than the barrel. Using a heavy for caliber cast bullet helps keep the fps down and reduce leading but keeps the energy up.

Starting 15% below same weight jacketed and work up until you get the groups you want is what I may do. Check your seating depth though - that can effect pressure as much or more than the weight.

You can push cast faster than jacketed at the same pressure but you will likely need a GC and moly lube in magnum loads - I do anyway.

 

[243winxb]

https://stevespages.com/page8a.htm. Using 220 gr starting loads may work for lead? Many powders listed.

 

[Charlie98]

Size to your throat also if a revolver but not too much larger than the barrel.

That's actually a good point... and particularly with a Ruger revolver, which can have mismatched... or undersized... cylinder throats. Further, Rugers can also have a 'torque bulge' in the barrel, just aft the forcing cone, which can swage a cast bullet down... causing issues with leading and/or accuracy.

 

[King Medallion]

How can you tell if you have a torque bulge?

 

[Charlie98]

How can you tell if you have a torque bulge?

In my last Ruger, you could actually see it... but the easy way is to run a tight patch down the (clean) bore... the bulge will be right at the front of the frame where the barrel threads into it.... you can feel the patch hit a restriction... then pop out the other end.

 

[Show Me]

Yes.

First task is to read the reloading manual. Not just the tables but also the general instructions and descriptions. After you read it the first time, try your best to understand. Don't reload until you get it. After you read and understand the manual, get another one from a different manufacturer and repeat the process.

Every reputable manual clearly and succinctly answers your question about interpolation (that's "reading between the lines").

The above advice is often reduced to the shorthand; RTFM

Caution: Taking advice from well experienced old folks (AKA Boomers) can sometimes be difficult for younger generations. Millennials, et al, (AKA Renters), may take umbrage at being schooled by those with actual experience and have survived their own mistakes.

Amen, God's honest truth. Lyman cast hand book and old or new Lee book if studied and comprehended would answer each question. You have the best answer and comment for the last two weeks.

Don't forget all the u tubers out there.

 

[41 Mag]

Am I over thinking this? Is the data for the LFP interchangeable?
Seat to crimp groove of the LSWC and call it good?

Yes to a point. When I started casting I found out real quick that most of the bullets I was buying mold for weren't in manuals. I used other bullets for reference and loaded according to weight and profiles, and started low and worked up.

With the 41, I size to .410 and roll on. I have found real issues loading cast other than when I have pushed the limits of my alloys. I mostly run AA-9 or 296 powder, but I'm using a full size Redhawk. My loads are used mainly for hunting and are usually in the 1250 - 1350'ish FPS range. I only have two bullet molds out of about a dozen that use GC's, and I rarely use those.

Most of the powders in the AA-9 range will work well like 2400, or 296. I know there are newer ones as well, but those are my staples.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

Yes.

First task is to read the reloading manual. Not just the tables but also the general instructions and descriptions. After you read it the first time, try your best to understand. Don't reload until you get it. After you read and understand the manual, get another one from a different manufacturer and repeat the process.

Every reputable manual clearly and succinctly answers your question about interpolation (that's "reading between the lines").

The above advice is often reduced to the shorthand; RTFM

Caution: Taking advice from well experienced old folks (AKA Boomers) can sometimes be difficult for younger generations. Millennials, et al, (AKA Renters), may take umbrage at being schooled by those with actual experience and have survived their own mistakes.

Can I "like" this more than once?

I keep seeing folks asking for data that is easily available - with more than a 30-second search of one internet site.

This hobby is too potentially dangerous to be spoon-feeding data to a person who won't take the time to read and understand what they are dealing with.

 

[Charlie98]

When I started casting I found out real quick that most of the bullets I was buying mold for weren't in manuals.

With the 41, I size to .410 and roll on.

This hobby is too potentially dangerous to be spoon-feeding data to a person who won't take the time to read and understand what they are dealing with.

We .41 shooters are pretty lucky... all of our firearms take the nominal .410" bullet, so that helps when selecting a cast bullet, too. It's true that many of the cast bullet profiles are not in published manuals... big bullet makers don't make .41 cast bullets, usually, let alone ANY cast bullets, so very often you are on you own... relying often on powder manufacturers, or other data sources like Lyman.

As far as the OP, I don't think he needs to be spoon fed... the .41 is a new cartridge to him, and his pistol is also an unknown. The natural inclination is to search for information, and, sometimes, the best place to ask is on a forum where other people have gone through the very same thing. His previous references may have only been with factory bullets using factory data... so caution dictates... the OP is smart enough to know that.

 

[OS/N]

That's actually a good point... and particularly with a Ruger revolver, which can have mismatched... or undersized... cylinder throats. Further, Rugers can also have a 'torque bulge' in the barrel, just aft the forcing cone, which can swage a cast bullet down... causing issues with leading and/or accuracy.

Most or all of the newer revolvers I've checked are that way. The NV I picked up a few months ago was good though with 451 barrel groove & 451.5 throats. Bullets sized 451 slide through cyl and 452 don't - perfect.

I did have to lap/polish the barrel to clean up a few machining burs at both ends which helps groups and reduces leading issues. I don't recall a compression bump at the thread - if it had one it was small and came out on lapping with the burrs. I'm thinking the factory may have cleaned the bore up before they did the forcing cone and muzzle crown or the barrel threads are cut by turning instead of threaded with a die. It is stainless steel also so that may require a different threading process than carbon to prevent galling.

The forcing cone was properly cut which not many companies do today. I'm not sure if its cut at 11 deg or the ruger std 5 but it looks fine and I didn't have to recut it. Looks like an 11 which is what you want for cast - isn't deep enough to be a 5.

 

[Charlie98]

I did have to lap/polish the barrel to clean up a few machining burs at both ends which helps groups and reduces leading issues.

I've sent a few of my Ruger cylinders off to be reamed, and it seemed to help... but the last 2 pistols in particular, including a wonderful Flattop .44SPC... had a serious torque bulge. Yes, this is just my experience.

 

[luzyfuerza]

Because manufacturer data is pretty thin, I've always been on the lookout for .41 mag data that has been published in other sources. Here are a couple that you might want to look up:

Brian Pearce published these loads in Handloader magazine (Feb-Mar 2003 issue). They aren't max loads, but they were his favorites.



He returned ten years later and published a more extensive list of his favorite loads for his Blackhawk (Handloader #285, Aug-Sept 2013).




THR's own @1911Tuner wrote some enthusiastic prose about his favorite .41 magnum loads here:

.41 Mag Association

Where's my .41 T-shirt and hat?

www.thehighroad.org

And lastly, my loads in .41 magnum have mostly used Unique. In a 6" model 57 and a 3-screw BH, Unique loads between 8.4 and 8.8 grains under a 215-grain LSWC grouped best (six shots under 1" at 50 feet). At 8.4 grains, speeds were 1117 fps (in the 57) and 1098 fps (in the BH).


@dredd , I hope this data helps!

 

[dredd]

Because manufacturer data is pretty thin, I've always been on the lookout for .41 mag data that has been published in other sources. Here are a couple that you might want to look up:

Brian Pearce published these loads in Handloader magazine (Feb-Mar 2003 issue). They aren't max loads, but they were his favorites.

View attachment 1193489

He returned ten years later and published a more extensive list of his favorite loads for his Blackhawk (Handloader #285, Aug-Sept 2013).

View attachment 1193490


THR's own @1911Tuner wrote some enthusiastic prose about his favorite .41 magnum loads here:

.41 Mag Association

Where's my .41 T-shirt and hat?

www.thehighroad.org

And lastly, my loads in .41 magnum have mostly used Unique. In a 6" model 57 and a 3-screw BH, Unique loads between 8.4 and 8.8 grains under a 215-grain LSWC grouped best (six shots under 1" at 50 feet). At 8.4 grains, speeds were 1117 fps (in the 57) and 1098 fps (in the BH).


@dredd , I hope this data helps!

Thank you!