Another new cartridge... .429 DE, i.e. 440 Corbon copy

[Varminterror]

There are plenty of rounds out there already which aren’t available on Walmart shelves. Some fellas seem so afraid of handloading, it’s almost sad.

Plenty of rounds have been duplicated and renamed in firearms history. Whether due to copyright infringements or simple parallel optimization activities, it’s really not so complicated.

If a guy has a use for a hyper velocity handgun, then I’m glad someone is working in that space.

 

[Toprudder]

So it's the weak .45 acp (.429 DE) version of the .45 super (.440 corbon) - ha ha ha.

I don't trust these necked pistol rounds to feed after my experience with .400 corbon. They have a tendency to nosedive and jam into the feed ramp, especially on the non-tilting barrel of a Deagle - they are unreliable enough as it is. But then again, no one is going to actually carry it, so who cares if it's reliable? What the heck; it's all for fun here.

I had a DE pistol in 440 Corbon for awhile. The thing worked fine, but ejected the empties into my face, death grip and all.

I bought the 429 barrel to fit a DE 50. The interesting thing is that the 50 will eject to the right, but the 429 ejects more often to the left over my shoulder. Not sure exactly why, but I have my suspicions. It has, though, been very reliable feeding for me. The only problem I have noticed is that sometimes, when I let someone else shoot the gun (either 429 or 50 barrel) the slide will lock back when the mag is not empty, I am pretty sure it is because they are letting their thumb ride high and push the slide lock lever.

I saw this the other day as well. Kind of interesting. I also wondered about the advertised 1600 fps. (240 gr. bullet) of the .429DE as opposed to the advertised 1800 fps. from the .440CB.

Is one loaded to lower pressures? Or is the other just optimistic in their published velocities. Does anyone have any real-world velocity data from the .440CB?

I wish I had real world numbers for the 440 CB. I can tell you that I got up to 1550 fps with my 240gn 429 handloads, at just slightly less than max published load for 440 CB. (I could not find ANY published load data for 429DE, so I was referencing the 440CB data). Personally, I believe the published velocity numbers for the 440 CB are exaggerated. Both of the cartridges are based on the 50 AE, necked down to 44. However, the 440 CB is rated at 36k psi, while the 429 DE is rated at 46k psi. I don't possibly see how they could get the 440 CB published velocity numbers from a 6" barrel.

I think it will be another round you can't find in a couple of years.

That is my thought as well. If it does go away, then I may have something rare and interesting in a few years. And, I can still shoot it since I load my own. And, if I don't lose my brass, I can load them for about $0.35 a round.

 

[PapaG]

My understanding is in the late 90's Desert Eagle made about 1000 .440 Corbon guns/barrels. Evidently the barrels are worth a fortune today because of their ballistics and rarity... So you are probably correct about a 429 DE being a good investment!

P.S. When I was young I wasted all my extra cash on those cheap mil surplus weapons of the 80's and 90's much to the chagrin of my parents. Unfortunately today they aren't worth a thing... because I can't bare to part with them.... LOL!

All those milsurps I bought in the late fifties paid for a good share of my college tuition. Today they'd buy me a new truck and camper. No regrets.

 

[Trashyshoots]

Now if only someone would build a 1911 in 224 boz

 

[Toprudder]

Somebody informed me that Magnum Research has load data if you ask them for it. I did. They sent me this:



I suspect that is how the factory ammo is loaded.