Roll crimp on a 44-40?

[ChasMack]

I just got a Uberti 1860 Henry in 44-40. I have never seen this round to touch or examine it. I was going to buy some Lee dies, which I have had good luck with in the past, but the seller said I did not need a roll crimp die for the 44-40. I use a roll crimp with my revolver loads in other calibers. Does the 44-40 need a roll crimp? I am assuming it would. Hopefully those with more knowledge can school me on the round. I suppose too I could get some RCBS, but again do I need to roll crimp the bullet?

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, you have to roll crimp for use in your Henry 1860 rifles tube magazine to prevent mag spring tension & recoil shoving the bullets back in the cases..

Yes, all brands of 44-40 seating dies should do a satisfactory roll crimp.

No, not all 44-40 bullet molds produce a bullet with a crimp grove on it though.

It was originally loaded with a case full of black powder, with the bullet base compressing the powder, then roll crimped over the ogive. So the original bullet designs did not have a crimp groove.

Bullets could not set back, because the full case of black powder gave them no place to go.

rc

 

[velocette]

Yes your .44-40 does need a roll crimp just like every other straight walled revolver cartridge. Yes I know that the .44 WCF (Winchester Center Fire) is a tapered cartridge, .44 caliber, 40 grains of gunpowder (black). It still needs a nice strong roll crimp to keep those big heavy lead bullets from migrating forward under recoil and tying up your revolver.
Enjoy that revolver!

Roger

 

[MW3840]

I wouldn't use too 'strong' of a roll crimp. My experience with the .44-40 has been a roll crimp just enough so my fingernail would not catch when run across the roll crimp. That tip came from writer Mike Venturino. More than that will result in the occasional buckled or crumpled case.

I also like the Redding dies the best, after having tried RCBS and Lee Dies. Not to disparage the other two dies, I have many of both that work well in other calibers.

 

[Henry45]

I just started loading this round myself. I'm using the RCBS 44-40 Cowboy dies. They seem to work well. To start, i'm using Trail Boss powder, but will be graduating to something else soon.

 

[45lcshooter]

Yes a roll crimp. Crimp it enough that you can see the crimp. Don't over crimp it, then you will be working your brass to much when you go to process it again, and won't get a lot of reloads out of it before the cases start to fail.

 

[Wil Terry]

ABSOLUTELY YOU MUST HAVE A ROLL CRIMP, and nothing does it better than the Lee 44-40 Factory Crimp Die.
I have four sets of 44-40 dies and the Lee FCD is mandatory with each die set.

 

[calaverasslim]

I have been reloading the 44-40/44 WCF for about 30 years or so. The neck of the case is thin and easily buckled. I would strongly recommend using the Lee factory crimp die on this round. Just a gentle crimp, like the man said, to run your thumb nail over it.

 

[Salmoneye]

I had this 'discussion' with a guy at another site not long back, only it was centered on different calibers...

He insisted that he did not need to crimp as he was not firing the cartridges in a revolver, so bullet 'creep' was not an issue...

He was unaware that with lever guns the issue is the exact opposite, and is called 'setback'...He went on and on about the 'inertia' of the bullet, never comprehending that inside a tube the cartridges get slammed together, thus compressing them...

Still not sure he understood after I showed him this pic with a .44 Mag round that had suffered slight setback after firing a few rounds with these in the mag tube...

Pretty sure the bullets are Sierra 240 JHP...Notice the severely deformed noses, and the slight setback on the right cartridge, even with what I considered a sufficient roll crimp: