44 mag lead loading question

[TxWolf]

About to start loading some 240gr lead bullets for light target and plates. My question is about the OAL. Manuals state a 1.600 OAL but if I load to what I think is a crimp groove the OAL will be about 1.660ish. Then I can crimp as needed I think.
If I did this correctly the second pic at 1.600 will be crimping into the lead band. Asking for help on how to seat and crimp this bullet. Will be trying Unique or W231. Have other powders but from why I’ve read on this forum I think I can get what I’m wanting with either of these. If y’all don’t mind let me know how you load these type of bullets for light target loads. Hope I posted the pics correct and they show up. Have the arrows drawn so you can see where I’m talking about on these bullets.
Bought some lead bullets yesterday that aren’t lined so I will be doing the powder coating thing later and have questions about that. My wife work for a powder coating manufacturer also.
Thanks to all in advance for any info given.

 

[wankerjake]

Crimp to the groove

 

[Obturation]

Longer OAL means greater case capacity, that lowers pressure , which is safe. No harm in going longer as long as they fit in the chamber.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Yes, just crimp to the crimp groove. No worries. Your going longer not shorter. Load one dummy and chamber if to make sure the bullet isn't sticking out of the chamber where it can keep the cylinder from turning by hitting the forcing cone of the barrel.
You shouldn't have a problem with that either, but wanted you to know about it.

When your dealing with light to medium loads you can move the bullet in or out a little with no problems with pressure. It will change a little but stay well within the limits.

If you move it out to far you may want to add a couple tenths of powder to your load so you don't go under minimum pressure.

Unique powder for sure. 231 is a ball powder that doesn't light up as easy as Unique does. In the large 44-45 case that usually takes 240gr bullets that could be problem.

 

[TxWolf]

That’s what I was thinking. Thanks guys. I appreciate it. Will start with 8.0 grains of Unique and go from there. Any additional information is welcome and appreciated. Will post a pick when I get some loaded. Thinking a pretty good crimp will be ok

 

[.38 Special]

Yep. Just crimp in the groove. OAL isn't terribly critical in a revolver cartridge. It just needs to fit. Theoretically you could create a dangerous load by seating a bullet very deeply into the case, but I've never actually seen a bullet with a crimping groove that badly placed.

Unique is a fine powder for your application. Ten grains of it behind a 240 SWC is a more-or-less standard light-to-medium load.

I really like 231 and have burned quite a bit of it, but never found a satisfactory .44 load with it. Light loads of 5.5 to 7.5 grains were innacurate and gave very inconsistent velocities, while warmer loads got warmer than I wanted in a hurry. If you try it and have success with it, please let us know.

 

[TxWolf]

I will. I’m shooting these loads from a 29-2 S&W 8 3/8 bbl. Have been working with 9.2 and 9.5 grains of 231 and a 240gr Speer JHP. Both were pretty decent (9.2 somewhat more accurate) for plates at 20 yards.
Just playing around trying to get a light to medium load. Have some 300gr XTP’s I loaded years ago that are a full throttle load I worked up to take camping on the mogollon rim when I lived in Az. I will have more questions in the future I’m sure.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Is that a Chihuahua in your avatar? Good thing wolves don't have their disposition. Talk about an animal that needs anger management.

 

[TxWolf]

Lol. No he is a Puggle. That’s a cross between a Pug and Beagle. His name is Harley and he has a perfect disposition. He loves everyone and everything except armadillos. Someone kicked him out by our house we lived in the country 12 years ago. He was about a year old when we took him in and we could not have found a better dog for us if we had looked all over the country. Me and him are buddies.

 

[TxWolf]

Sorry about all the extra pics. My bad.

 

[TxWolf]

:/. Can the last two posts be deleted? At least all the pics.

 

[TxWolf]

Maybe I got em out. Still trying to learn how to use the forum stuff. A newbie to all this and not technologically inclined.

 

[TxWolf]

Ok. Here are 3 pics of my dummy. It’s 1.655 OAL. Seems like quite a bit of crimp but it looks like some I have seen in this forum. Ended up turning the die in about 3/8 of a round after touching the case mouth. OAL I’ve case was 1.273. A couple thou less than book trim to.

 

[Rod47]

Usually the dimension listed in a reloading manual is the maximum cartridge length. Not the same for every bullet.

 

[Frulk]

I have that manual. Good condensed resource of a lot of .44 Mag info. Crimp looks good to me. 8 grains of Unique under 240 grains of cast lead makes a solid thump when you pull the trigger. I’ve made and shot a lot of those myself.

Nice pic of your pup. You can tell a lot about a man based on how he treats animals. We’ve never met but I already like you.

 

[Riomouse911]

I load 10 gr Unique, just a bit more oomph without the wrist-twisting recoil of a full house load.

You can't go wrong with Unique, anything between 8 to 10 in a magnum case will usually shoot more accurately than the shooter can. (7.0-7.5 gr Unique under a 240 SWC in a .44 Spl. cartridge case is even more light-kicking fun.)

Stay safe.

 

[TxWolf]

Does that look like to much crimp or does it look ok?

 

[Frulk]

Crimp looks fine to me.

 

[TxWolf]

Crimp looks fine to me

Thanks for the reply. Didn’t see your previous post until after I had asked about the crimp. I appreciate your input.

 

[Frulk]

That’s a nice roll crimp. Are you crimping in a separate step? What die are you using?

 

[Riomouse911]

Mine look the same, it looks like you’re doing just fine .

Stay safe.

 

[TxWolf]

That’s a nice roll crimp. Are you crimping in a separate step? What die are you using?

Yes I crimped after seating the bullet. Using an RCBS die with the SWC seating stem. Thanks for asking about the process. That was another question I have. I have almost always crimped after seating. Do y’all or is it 6 of one and half a dozen of the other to do both in the same step as opposed to separate ops?

 

[Obturation]

Yes I crimped after seating the bullet. Using an RCBS die with the SWC seating stem. Thanks for asking about the process. That was another question I have. I have almost always crimped after seating. Do y’all or is it 6 of one and half a dozen of the other to do both in the same step as opposed to separate ops?

I always crimp in a separate step, let's you fine tune things a bit. You can do it in one step but there is a margin of error that occurs. For now, i'd do 2 steps. Looks good.

 

[adcoch1]

Depends on the cartridge, I crimp when seating and get them to look like yours. Never had any crimp jump either, even with healthy loads of h110.

 

[Frulk]

Same as you and Obturation. Separate step on a T7 Redding Turret using a Lee Factory Crimp Die.