Anyone Load For a Rossi 92 in 44 Mag?

[TenDriver]

With so many available powder / bullet combinations I figure I'd throw the question out and see if anyone had a recipe that worked particularly well for their rifle. Cast / jacketed / plated doesn't matter. I have 240 gr plated and H-XTPs on hand at the moment along with IMR-4227, 700X and TiteGroup.

 

[oldpapps]

TenDriver,

I haven't got a 92 in 44. I keep looking at them and wondering.
I saw your thread and had high hopes it would be filled with great incite.

I have seen complaints about fit&finish, the 'plastic' follower in the tube and references but no definitive data about bore diameter being large.

SAAMI has two standards for the 44 and rifles can be .432 bore size. This is a concern for me. For greater accuracy, a tight bullet to bore fit (.001 over bore) is desired. Jacketed bullets are normally .429, .4295 and .430. Cast bullets can be what ever I want to pay big bucks to mold makers to make. But, if this is the case and I don't know that it will be as only vague comments are made, will I end up with an entirely new 'caliber' of bullet to deal with? I just don't know.

If I'm going to end up with a non or semi compatible loading with my .44 revolvers, I would just as soon move on to a more rifle oriented cartridge over a big and powerful pistol cartridge. I hope someone chimes in with some good info, cause I don't have any.

 

[JoeDaddy]

I have one and it's become my favorite shooter. I made a few tweaks to it, such as replaced the safety with a ghost ring site, refinished the wood and changed out the extractor spring (if memory serves). This last really helped with the cycling, but has the effect of ejecting empties right on top of your head. I've learned to tilt the gun a bit before cycling because of this.

Now as to loads, I've tried just about everything from powder puff to semi-hot. I tend to find myself shooting mid-range or just below it the most. My usual, if there is such a beast is 9 grains unique with extreme plated rnfp 240 grain. This gives 1200 fps out of my 20" barrel with mild recoil. (I do have a leather recoil pad on mine as well) This load is fine for all my family members to shoot, and they too have become enamored with the rifle.

I shoot steel mostly with it and even the AR500 stuff gets dented with this round. It sure hits with authority. video here

If you have any other bullet/powder combo you want to try please post it. I've tried several and chronied them as well.

 

[JoeDaddy]

TenDriver,
I just re-read your initial post and noted the powders and bullets you have. I haven't tried any of those powders with 44 mag. Instead I've used 2400, unique and power pistol primarily. I've used cast lead from Dardas, MBC and lazercast, and xtps, in addition to the extreme plated bullets.

With the XTP's I've used 2400 at both 19 and 17 grains in the rifle. 19 grains gave 1625 fps and 17 grains gave 1475. The 19 grain load did have sticky extraction so I will only use that in my pistol. No issues with the 17 grain load.

Two other notes of potential interest. First is the chamber in mine appears to be a bit large, so heavy loads give sticky extraction sooner than I would expect. For example, most books give 20 or more grains of 2400 as a max load. My pistol shoots these without any issue, but there is definitely pressure signs in the rifle. Since it apprears to be a bit big in the chamber it feeds SWC just fine, surprisingly.

Another is the bore diameter. I slugged mine and found it to be .429. I can easily use the same rounds both in my Rossi and SW 29.

 

[oldpapps]

"I slugged mine and found it to be .429"
JoeDaddy

Thank you, there's one. Four or five more with similar results in size and I will be spending some cash.

 

[TenDriver]

Papps, if I get a chance I'll slug mine and see what it comes to. Like I told you in that message though, mine is an older one and might not represent new production.

 

[oldpapps]

Great, any input is better than none.

Thanks,

 

[fatcpa]

44 mag

I load a moderate load of 10 grains of Universal under a 240 grain Nosler jacketed soft point for my S&W 629 revolver. That load is really accurate out of my Rossi '92 at 50-100 yds.