Crimping issues ONLY, .44 magnum

[FROGO207]

RE # 50. It depends.
Slipping through the throat of the chamber is good if the throat is larger than the barrel slugs, the ones that bother are the too small ones and the ones that are out of round. Both those distort the bullet on the way through and stop it from bumping up and fitting/sealing the barrel correctly.

 

[drband]

Picked up some large lead fishing wts. to slug the barrel & chambers. Maybe do it tomorrow afternoon.

Range trip today! Shot all my loads (Unique) with good accuracy (for me) for my first SA revolver experience. No jumped crimps! Loads ran from very light to medium (firm, but very comfortable recoil).

Will check the bore for leading before I slug the barrel & chambers.

I think I'll increase the crimp a bit in preparation for heavier loads next time.

All good & great fun so far!

 

[drband]

Slugging info on my SBH
bore=0.430
Chambers=0.431 (all the same)
Bullets(RMR hardcast LSWC)=0.431-0.4315
Looks good to go based on these measurements.
The bullets just hang in the forward end of the chambers and do not drop through freely.
No visible leading from my 50 rounds shot Saturday. The bore was dirty when I got the pistol but seemed like mostly powder residue. I cleaned it up and got a little lead out with a patch on an old brush and Remington 40x bore cleaner. It looks like a brand new bore now. Next trip I'll be able to tell if the little bit of lead I got out was from me or from the previous owner.

Oh, and I removed the scope. The pistol feels much better balanced to me now and should be much easier to shoot accurately (for me). I don't think the scope helped me any.

 

[Walkalong]

bore=0.430
Chambers=0.431 (all the same)
Bullets(RMR hardcast LSWC)=0.431-0.4315

Couldn't ask for better. Should shoot lead just fine.

 

[98Redline]

When you slugged your barrel, try to note if there is any area of the barrel where you feel more resistance than another when pushing the slug through.

All of my Rugers had a slight barrel constriction under the roll mark near the midpoint of the barrel and another constriction at the forcing cone, under the barrel threads.

What you may find is that your bore is actually a little bigger than the .430 you measured, but the constriction(s) are what is swaging your slug down. If this turns out to be the case, a session of firelapping may be in order.

 

[drband]

It really felt about the same from muzzle to forcing cone. Pretty tight all the way.

 

[ATLDave]

All of my Lee revolver die sets came with roll crimp FCD's. Maybe at some point in the past Lee made revolver-cartridge FCD's did not apply a roll crimp, but they sure seem to only make roll-crimp FCD's now. There is no choice to be made between a roll crimp and a FCD... it's going to be a roll crimp, the only question is whether you want it done concurrently with the seating or done separately.

 

[drband]

All of my Lee revolver die sets came with roll crimp FCD's. Maybe at some point in the past Lee made revolver-cartridge FCD's did not apply a roll crimp, but they sure seem to only make roll-crimp FCD's now. There is no choice to be made between a roll crimp and a FCD... it's going to be a roll crimp, the only question is whether you want it done concurrently with the seating or done separately.

I agree!

Just a FYI for folks: When I set mine up, I measured pre and post FCD and there was NO difference in the case or bullet diameters compared with the seating die crimp. In fact, the case with the bullet seated/no crimp from die 3 slips right through the carbide ring in the FCD. If I had dropped the press lever, it would have easily pushed the ram up to the crimper in the FCD from its own weight with no resistance from the carbide sizing ring. (I would assume this could vary with different projectiles, so I suggest measuring if you do use the FCD.)

So... I have chosen to seat only with die 3, and to apply the roll crimp with die 4 (FCD), allowing me to fine tune each separately without having to unlock either die from the turret.

I realize lots of folks use die 3 for both functions. I chose to use both die 3 & the FCD. Either way makes high quality ammo!