New reloader starting 44MAG; some questions

[A strange person]

The 1894 hasn't come in yet, but I am ordering the dies and bullets and stuff tonight. Let's say my 1894 can handle .430 bullets just fine. If that is the case, is there any reason I should not use .431 bullets? I have never loaded cast bullets before.

 

[Sam1911]

No, you'll be fine. The difference of 0.001" is not something to concern yourself with.

The only time that might be an issue is if you were to get bad leading because your bore is over-sized. That's not terribly likely as modern bores are usually very consistent, but if it was the case, the more bore-filling your slugs are, the less blow-by and leading you'd be likely to get.

Now, you are planning to drive a lead bullet pretty fast, IMHO. Might want to ask Brad (or whomever you're buying from) for his reccomendations on hardness for that speed. A lot of folks using cast bullets at velocities over ~1,500 use copper gas checks, but some combinations of bullet, gun, and lube seem to get along ok up closer to the 1,700-1,800 range.

To do the calculating yourself, read Brad's page on hardness and pressure: http://www.missouribullet.com/technical.php

 

[Shaky]

One thing to keep in mind when you order your boolits: the "true" Keith style swc's will yield an overall length of 1.71", which will almost certainly be too long for your Marlin (unless it has been modified). Make sure you order boolits that will give a oal of 1.6 or less (nose length of</= .315") to ensure it'll digest them.

 

[A strange person]

I'm just going to go with the .431's then. Thanks for all your help guys.

I'm not going to be shooting them fast. The fast loads will be XTP's and a 200 grain JSP if I can find one.

 

[Sam1911]

Oh, whoops! Just re-read your previous posts. At 1,000 you're golden.

 

[A strange person]

No one ever called me golden before. I'm flattered.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

And Brad from Midway is a contributing member here

I'm sure you meant Brad from Missouri Bullets...

 

[Sam1911]

Oh good grief! Yeah. That was a slip! I'll go back and fix that.

 

[ssyoumans]

24.0gr of 296 using 240gr XTP's gets me 1771fps out of my 2009 Marlin 1894. Great accuracy. Hodgdon lists this as max (although it looks like Hornady lists a little hotter, 24.8).
10.3 gr of Unique with the MBC 240gr Smasher runs 1402 fps. I don't use the factory crimp die. Firm roll crimp is much better with these loads, especially with any 296 loads.

 

[zxcvbob]

If you're just starting out, don't use Lil'gun, 296, or H110. Save those for later when you know what you are doing and know what to expect. There are plenty of other good powders than will get you to almost the same power levels without the dangers of undercharging or poor ignition etc. 2400 is a good one. I really like Herco with heavy cast bullets, but you don't hear much about that one anymore. Power Pistol should be good but I haven't gotten around to trying it (there's an unopened pound on my powder shelf.) Blue Dot can be very good if you find a load your gun likes, but there are as many bad loads as good for some reason, so put that one in your "try it later" list too. Red Dot is excellent for low power loads with lead bullets and might be good for your 1000 fps load. It gets unpleasant if you load it too high.

 

[Eb1]

I have some 255 grain Beartooth GC bullets that I tried from my SBH. I couldn't get them to shoot very well. Must be made for rifles, but I tell you what. That meplat on the bullet is so big. I think I could cut a ribeye on it. Geez.
I hope to get them shooting good. I could send you five if you wanted to try them out of your rifle. Just PM me.

 

[A strange person]

I have not opened my can of H110 yet, and after hearing what you all have to say about, I may not for a while. I'm glad I got it though, because I will want to really get the most performance possible out of the .44MAG at some point. Maybe when I get a more accurate (more expensive) scale, for safety's sake. I tend to stay away from max loads in general, though.

2400 powder has been mentioned often, but I cannot find any loads with it on Hodgdon's site. Where could I find some?

I'm going to use trailboss powder for my cast load. I have plenty of it left over from when I was trying to make Townsend Whelen's "grouse" load for my .308. It worked pretty well.

 

[ssyoumans]

2400 powder has been mentioned often, but I cannot find any loads with it on Hodgdon's site. Where could I find some?

2400 is made by Alliant, not Hodgdon.

Google Alliant 2004 reloading guide PDF

It has a lot more data than the current limited data Alliant publishes now.

 

[A strange person]

Thanks ssyoumans. One can never have enough reloading manuals in his favorites folder.

 

[Eb1]

ASP, look here http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/default.aspx

That is max data listed. So you will want to back off 10% for your starting loads. ASP, another thing about TB in your .44 Magnum is that it shoots dirty. It shoots good, but you will think you are shooting black powder. LOL There will be a nice smoke trail. Maybe why they name it Trail Boss.
I load 7.3 grains under a Missouri Cast Bullet Company 240 grain LSWC, and it is very accurate at 25 yards, and it has very little recoil out of the 5 1/2" Ruger SBH.

It has been mentioned to me to save the 2400 for the jacketed bullets. I am starting to listen to that advice. Seems with the same 240 grain bullet I use with Trail Boss doesn't do so well with 2400. If you are wanting a little more boom for your lead bullets up to around 1350 fps. I would suggest IMR 4227. It works great for me. Others might disagree, but I can only speak from my experiences. I like IMR 4227 with lead.

 

[A strange person]

I never noticed any smoke when I was was using TB in my .308.

 

[zxcvbob]

I've found that all powders work best when loaded towards the upper end of their range (not necessarily right at the max, except for 296.) So I pick the powder that will top out at the performance level I'm seeking. This also is an economical way to select powder.

With cast bullets, Herco really is a good one, and Unique is right behind it. I haven't tried it with j-bullets.

 

[Eb1]

Comparing .308 rifle to a .44 Magnum with a cylinder. Apples to Oranges.

Also were you using cast bullets with your .308? You see lube seems to smoke when you shoot cast bullets, and you can especially see it when you are not loading full power loads, but hey. You probably know more about Trail Boss and .44 Magnum that I do. Seems here lately everybody wants in on the act.

But then again you may have one of those rare .308 revolvers that are floating around.:banghead:

 

[Sam1911]

I shoot a flippin' HEAP of Trail Boss through a .44 revolver. May I comment?


I don't find it to be a dirty powder at all. I often put 500-1,000 rds through the gun without any cleaning. (Something I was never able to do with Herco or Blue Dot, which left chunks and crumbs in every crevice of the gun within 100 rds.)

It is somewhat smoky with cast bullets -- but everything seems to be. I run cast bullet loads in various guns over TiteGroup, W231, Clays, American Select, Herco, Blue Dot, H110, ... and probably some I'm forgetting. They all smoke ... well, maybe not the H110 loads. They're going too fast to smoke!

 

[A strange person]

I thought about using cast bullets in my .308, but never got around to it. They wouldn't have really been good for anything anyway, except squirrel hunting. That's what I like about the big slow calibers; both the "mild" and "wild" loads will put anything from squirrels to deer on the dinner table. You're just changing the recoil and muzzle blast mostly. The survivalist in me craves that kind of versatility.