loading 44 magnum

[bdr2012]

I'm looking for tips and suggestion on loading my first batch of 44 magnum, in fact my first magnum round period.

I have been loading 9mm, 45ACP, and .223 for a while now, but i'm looking for tips and pointers on loading magnum rounds. Got some brass (thanks to a fellow MDShooter) and I'm working on case prep for now. Waiting on bullets so I'm just getting prepared.

I just went through the 250 cases checking length and they all seem to be within spec ( < 1.285 ). I plan to decap and full length resize them tonight.

Anything I need to pay particular attention to on these guys? I know they will obviously need crimping and I have the Lee factory crimp die.

Just thought I would through this out for the experts.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[Ab_Normal]

Assuming you are going for the magnum part of the 44 - make sure you use a heavy crimp in the cannelure and go with a slow burning powder and magnum primers.

When I say heavy, I mean just a whisker shy of making the case buckle. It will cut down on case life some but it is needed to keep the bullets in the cases when the other rounds are fired.

YMMV

 

[bdr2012]

Assuming you are going for the magnum part of the 44 - make sure you use a heavy crimp in the cannelure and go with a slow burning powder and magnum primers.

When I say heavy, I mean just a whisker shy of making the case buckle. It will cut down on case life some but it is needed to keep the bullets in the cases when the other rounds are fired.

YMMV

Makes sense man, thanks.

 

[j8064]

Actually I don't use a heavy heavy crimp in my .44 mag loads. Unless they're near max full power loads a medium crimp has always been satisfactory. Bullets with cannelures hold in place well. If you use plated bullets be mindful not to cut into the plating with the case mouth which could cause the plating to separate and leave a piece in the barrel.

An easy way to test for crimp creep in your loads is to build some rounds, load the cylinder, fire a couple and check the oal of the unfired rounds for any changes.

Here's a more formal test:
http://www.scopedin.com/wordpress/articles/equipment-tests/44-magnum-cartridge-crimp-creep/

 

[bdr2012]

I plan on using mostly LSWC's, but I may load a few plated.

I may end up buying a lead casting setup, but for now I'm just buying bullets.

Who has the best prices on lead semi wadcutters?

Thanks.

 

[j8064]

There are many suppliers with LSWC's. I've used the ,430/240 gr from Kings with good success:
http://www.betterbullets.com/documents/KSS_Pricing.pdf
http://www.betterbullets.info/HOME.ASPX

 

[bdr2012]

Thanks. You just saved me $10. I was about to place an order for 500 LSWC's at $67 shipped, which I thought was reasonable. Kings came in at $57 shipped.

It always pays to check around.

Thanks again.

 

[j8064]

We aim to please.

 

[Cowboy T]

I do a lot of .357M, near full power, with self-cast LRNFP's that have crimp grooves. My crimp is a medium to medium-heavy roll crimp. They're accurate as heck, a lot of fun to shoot, and I have no bullet creep or other OAL problems.

I also replicated my .357M power in .38 Spl +P+ cases (got lots of those). This too is a near full power 357M-style load. Again, medium to medium-heavy crimp is sufficient. This is probably the most accurate load I've shot.

You don't have to crimp the death out of the round to get good performance.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Every slow powder does not require a magnum primer. 2400, 4227, AA9 off top of my head are fine with std primer.

 

[bdr2012]

Every slow powder does not require a magnum primer. 2400, 4227, AA9 off top of my head are fine with std primer.

Good to know.

Thx.

 

[bdr2012]

A side question....

I assume I could trim a 44 mag case down to 44 spl length and load it as special??? Not that I need to do that, just thought about it while sorting cases.

Are the case thicknesses the same, or are mag cases a little thicker to handle the pressures?

 

[Cowboy T]

Sure, you can do that. But better, I think, to keep your .44 Mag case and just "download" it with a lighter, Special-ish level charge. For example, 6 to 7gr of Titegroup in a .44 Mag case, with a 200 to 250gr projectile is a nice, fun load to play with. Not too much kick, either, and way below max for .44 Mag.

Don't worry about case strength and pressure, BTW. The pressure isn't handled by the case. It's handled by your chamber. The case just seals against the chamber as a gasket, that's all.

 

[Dans390]

remember lead @ 1100fps or lots of bore cleaner

 

[bdr2012]

I don't think I'll be doing this, just curious if it could be done.

I do like the idea of softening the powder charge and using standard large pistol primers to essentially make 44 specials with 44 mag cases. Right now I only have 50 - 44 spl cases but I have hundreds of 44 mag cases. I would just need to be sure and keep them separated and clearly marked.

 

[Cowboy T]

That's a good way to go. I do something similar with 5.0gr Bullseye and .357M. Those cases have lasted quite a while.

BTW, cast boolits do just fine at 1400 fps and even faster. I push my "hotter load" .357 Magnum cast boolits to 1300 fps routinely. Yet I still have a lead-free bore after shooting. The key is to match your bullet strength to the load pressure. Air-cooled WW lead will take up to about 14,000 PSI. Linotype will take a lot more, right around 27,000-28,000 PSI.

 

[bdr2012]

Cowboy or anyone, do you have a good starting load for the 240gr LSWC? I'm using H110 powder. I looked it up on the Hodgdon data site and it lists the following:

240 GR. NOS JHP Hodgdon H110 .429" 1.600" 23.0 1413

That's a starting load of 23.0gr of H110, hitting 1413 fps, but it's a NOS JHP, not lead semi-wc. I'm assuming the LSWC would be a different powder load.

suggestions?

 

[Cowboy T]

Depends on the strength of your boolit. Big time.

With that kind of load, you'll want to use--at a bare minimum--a 50/50 lead/linotype mix (BHN 15-16). My powder of choice for .357M (and soon will be for .44M) is ye olde traditional 2400, so I don't know any really good loads using H110. When you load it close to max, it's said to be great. But from what I've read, trying to down-load with H110 doesn't work very well. Apparently when Hodgdon says about this powder, "no wimps, please!", they ain't kiddin'.

Ideally, you'd be casting out of straight Linotype. That'll get you a BHN of about 21, which should withstand that kind of load pretty well.

If all you've got is straight WW, I've heard of folks drop-quenching the boolits right out of the mould straight into ice water. Supposed to get them to BHN 15-16 or so. But if you do that, you'd better not resize them, because otherwise you'll work-soften the alloy right where you need the boolit to be strong. You could heat-treat them in your oven after resizing to re-establish the hardness, if you want to go to that kind of work.

The other option, if WW is what's available, is to consider something like Titegroup in your .44 Magnums. I use it in .45 Colt a whole lot. Experience tells me that it's reasonably forgiving of being down-loaded if you don't get ridiculous. And you can make somewhat-warm Magnum loads with it, enough to make 'em fun. Try 8gr behind the 240gr boolit.

 

[nicholst55]

remember lead @ 1100fps or lots of bore cleaner

I routinely shoot cast bullets in my various revolvers at 1200+ FPS with zero leading. You need to match the diameter of the bullet to the chamber throats, and the hardness of your alloy to the pressure generated by the load.

Most commercial cast bullets are cast too hard (yes, too hard) for handgun loads. The bullets are too hard to obturate (bump up) to seal the bore, and suffer gas-cutting as a result. Gas-cutting causes leading. CB manufacturers make their bullets so hard because they resist deformation during handling and shipping. They have passed enough disinformation over the years that most everyone believes cast bullets absolutely must be harder than woodpecker lips. Not true.

Another problem with most commercial cast bullets is the low-quality lube used by the manufacturers. It's hard and waxy, because it stays in place during handling and shipping, and doesn't melt on hot days. If it accidentally does a good job of lubing the bore and preventing leading, great.

For more information on matching bullet hardness to load pressure and (much) more, go here:

http://www.lasc.us/ArticlesFryxell.htm

 

[Biggfoot44]

Cast bullets can be used at "plenty fast" velocities . The more you get above about 1,000 fps it becomes important for proper dimentions ( throat vs bore) of gun, proper sizing of bullet in reference to throats, proper design of bullets, good , suitable lube, and finally alloy. Alloy hardness has at least as much to do with pressure as with velocity per se. In The LEE loading manual there is extensive discussion of pressure vs alloy BN number.
In another thread I refered to the commercial swcs produced with the ubiquitous Magna Engineering molds ( and equipment generally). They are "ok" for general use, but have various compromises for commercial mass production. For specificall for high velocity/ high pressure loads consider using a bullet designed for it.
Not trying to start a bullet designer war, and yes there are other people who also designed good bullets. But Keith bullets of reasonably close to origional configuration, are great to high vels, and also just as suitable in moderate loads.