new caster with 44mag SRH

[tcbnick]

Ok I guess I have been reading WAY to much. I've been reloading off and on for 30yrs and I know that I am a creature of habit, that means I have a pet load for every cal. and never change. So now I thought casting my own might keep me out of trouble. But after reading everything I can find, I'm getting info drunk. My ? is, with a SRH in 44 mag, loaded for all purpose shooting, (paper, cans, and even a whitetail) what mould to get? (I don't want TL), What lube? (to use with pan lubing), and can you use a push tru sizer then pan lube? Gas check or not,

As reading all the post here I can tell nobody wants to TELL somebody what to do. But if you would just tell me what I "Want and Need" then i can get started casting, and I know I will end up tring this or that but need a baseline. Thats why I'm asking for some help.
Thanks Nick

[runfiverun]

nick i'd go plain base, pan lube, then size.
a mold is hard for me to recommend as i don't know how much room there is in the front part of the cylinder on the srh.
there is a ruger group buy mold going on right now that might be what you need.

[Iron Mike Golf]

All purpose for a SRH, I'd look for a Lyman 429421 or RCBS 44-250-KT mold. Or get in on a group by for a .432 240-250 SWC. You'll likely want to size them down to .431. Slug your bore and throats to be sure about sizing.

[Larry Gibson]

tcbnick

As mentioned it will be hard to go wrong with a Lyman 429421 or RCBS 44-250-KT mold. I size mine at .430 and they shoot very well in the four .44s I own. In magnum cases with standard LP primers a good low end load is 5.5 gr of Bullseye, a good medium load use 9 - 10 gr Unique and a good magnum load use 21-22 gr 2400. Some, for a "general purpose load" like to use 18.5 - 19.5 gr 2400; kind of an in between medium and full throttle load.

Javelina makes for a real good pan lube beside being an excellent lube all around.

WWs + lead at 50/50 will do well for the low and medium loads. WWs + 2% tin will do nicely for the top end loads. #2 alloy or it's equivelent also does well as doe 1-16 tin - lead alloy.

All of these are proven loads that will shoot well (if you cast and load them right) in any .44 in good condition. May not be "the best" but they will shoot well enough to get you started. You can "tweak" the loads from there.

Larry Gibson

[btroj]

I use a 429421 clone from a Lee group buy. I believe NOE has some left in the vendor sales area from their version. Should work very well.

My SRH likes bullets sized .432. I get no leading with about any reasonable load.

I have lubed with many different lubes and found them pretty much all towk.no experience with LLA however.

Brad

[HammerMTB]

I have a SRH, and to tell you the truth, it's hard to go wrong with any choice, above or other.
I used to have a 240 SWC. I still have some of the boolits, and they shoot fine.
However, in an effort not to own and cast EVERY boolit ever to fall from a mold, I got rid of the 240 in favor of a 265RFGC. It was a TL, and tho that isn't a bad thing, I didn't need the GC. So I got in on a NOE group buy for the same 265RF, this time without the GC in 3 of the 4 cavities, and now a lube groove boolit. I like that one so much, the only other one I own now is a 310GC Lee. It is good for heavy use. It doesn't seem, in my use, to like light loads, so unless you need big knock-down power, there's no reason to use it.
But between the 265 and 310, there's prolly all the SRH molds I may ever need.
so, as you noticed, I don't "tell" what to do, but now you know what I do.... [smilie=p:

[tcbnick]

Thanks Guys
That is what I needed, someplace to get started
429421 I like that
slugs at 431
Javelina sounds ok to me
Bullseye already use it so I have it

[white eagle]

welcome tcbnick
the two molds that I have found that I really like for my 44 sbh are
a 320 gr from Accurate Molds
and a new one from Mp Molds its a 300-320 hp,fp mold
casts both and you can adjust the o/a because it has three crimp grooves
they are both g/c boolits so if you want a plain base these won't work for ya

[bigboredad]

In my experience the heavier bullets fly better in calibers that start with a 4. However there is always the exception The first one I ran into was the Lee 240 rn that thing is scary accurate. The other one is a older 240 keith with a gas check. But my favborite is a 335 from NOE it is basically a long flat nose that is amazing. I also prefer the recoil of the heavier pills it's much more of a push. If you want to get started with a rcbs drop me a pm and I'll work out a deal with you on that 240 keith gas check

[Blammer]

If I had to start all over and know what I know now, I would get the 429667 Lyman mould to start with.

It would be my do all boolit.

[RobS]

As for pan lubing: Look into White Label Lubes or LARS as they are often call around the forum.

Their 50/50 beeswax alox would work well as would their BAC lube. Great people to work with and a fair price for boolit lube.

http://www.lsstuff.com/lube/

[fredj338]

All purpose for a SRH, I'd look for a Lyman 429421 or RCBS 44-250-KT mold. You'll likely want to size them down to .431. Slug your bore and throats to be sure about sizing.
My choice, I have both. Nothing fancy but they work.

[EDK]

LYMAN 429421 is THE BOOLIT for 44 magnums. Also the NOE plain base of RANCH DOG 432 265 and LYMAN 429667 are excellent.

If you want something exotic, contact OLD WEST BULLET MOLDS for their clone of 429352...Blammer did the group buy and it is a great boolit; MIHEC has a pending mould of a 44 caliber hollow base full wad-cutter...I'm in on that one too! A full wadcutter 44 makes some impressive holes in targets...not a long range round, but good for most pistol shooting.

I melt boolit lube in a double boiler and dip the boolits, then run them through a sizer. LEE and Buckshot make excellent press mounted sizers. They ain't a STAR, but they work for a lower volum shooter.

Start low on your loads. The SRH is a beast and will take loads that none but the brave would enjoy, but your wrists may protest. Carpal tunnel ain't no fun.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[JPinMI]

I've been lurking here for the past week or so trying to understand the best mould to get for the 44mag in both the Super Blackhawk and Marlin 1897 with ballard rifling. So tcbnick's thread caught my attention, we are both looking for a general purpose mould to get started. His comment of "info drunk" is shared by me. Moulds aren't cheap, and I'd like to purchase once and be happy with it. For a premium mould it sounds like the NOE is probably the favorite of most who post here. I am leaning towards a GC style only because it seems little bother to crimp it on, and I have had leading problems before with commercial cast boolits in my Marlin.

My impressions so far lead me to believe that sizing might be more critical for accuracy than the mould itself. Is this statement correct? Is the only way to determine the best sizer die dimension slugging the barrel and cylinder chamber? Or can a close enough measurement be done with calipers?

Your further comments are very much appreciated, I've learned a lot from all of you, thank you.

[Larry Gibson]

JPinMI

To narrow down the info overload; you will be hard pressed to go with Lyman's 429421 or the RCBS 44-250-KT. Both are plain base and will give excellent results in either revolver or rifle. Since you load for both I suggest, with PB'd cast bullets working up top end loads for the rifle not exceeding revolver data. Then accept that load for the revolver, they most often will shoot very, very well.

For a GC'ed bullet I find Lyman's 429244 or 429460HP to both be excellent performers in single shots, revolvers and rifles. Here you can develop the accurate magnum level load for the revolver and it will most often be quite accurate in the rifle.

If any of those moulds don't work out for your needs you will have little trouble selling them on this forum and getting something else. Those are all tried and true .44 Magnum moulds.

Fit is "king" but I've shot a lot of .429, .430 and .431 sized bullets through a couple single shots, numerous revolvers and several rifles with little difference being found, especially with the GC'd bullets. Suggest .430 as a starting point and you can tweak from there if it doesn't work. Also suggest a good commercial lube to start with such as Javelina (my 1st choice), Lars 2500+ or BAC.

I suggest 2400 for the PB'd bullets and H110 for the GC'd bullets.

Larry Gibson

[looseprojectile]

I have been casting and loading for the .44 magnum since the late fifties. I have loaded all manner of loads for the .44 mag. I have four .44 moulds. Never had a favorite load till now.
296 and H110 have been used for the most powerful loads. These two powders don't work well in loads that fit your criteria of an all around load. [don't work well in less than full case loads].
I have recently, as in the last couple of years returned to using Alliant 2400.
Get yourself the Ranch Dog 265 432 mould. With this mould you can use a push through sizer or size and lube in a sizer lubricator. Both methods work well.
I have reverted to using Lee Liquid Alox as it works and is fast and effective in my rifle and the Super Blackhawk. Hard to teach an old dog a new trick but I have caught on and so can you.
I feel that the gas check is necessary in the rifle at the higher velocity and they don't hurt any when shot in the handgun.
If you want to try my load which probably would go all the way through two elk just PM me and I will relate what works for me.

Life is good

[MtGun44]

429421 is an excellent choice. RCBS 44-250-K is more consistently good (from individual
example to example) than the Lymans, but I have some really excellent 429421s, they
are just a bit more variable over the last 5-6 decades. I have a H7G 503 mold which
is the same design (maybe more authentic to Elmer than many of &he 429421 variants)
and a MP clone of the 503 that are both just wonderful examples, so don't overlook these
too. There are some good LBT designs out there too, but I tend to be a bit old-school,
and while I have had good results with the LBTs, I tend to favor the Keith designs. If
it ain't broke . . . . . .

Javalina is a good example of the NRA 50-50 lube which is a fine, reliable starting point.
LBT's soft blue is another excellent lube.

Size to throat diam or throat diam +.001 or even +.002. Mr. Target will tell you which
is the best choice.

No need for GCs in any revolver, IME. Air cooled wwt alloy will give you reliable performance
with the above designs and lube if fitted as said, and if your throats are groove diam or
a bit larger than groove diam. If throats are smaller than groove diam, there may be
problems.

Don't fall for the old wive's tale that hard boolits are required. Let the target tell you
what you need, and I'll bet that you'll find that plain old air cooled wheel weights will do
every thing you need - maybe with a dash of tin added to help mold fill out. Too hard
and too small is a common disaster recipe.

I would suggest 7-8 gr Unique for a light plinker and 10 gr for an accurate medium power
load that will be fine for much hunting, too. For max loads about 20-21 gr of 2400 is very
good, as Elmer said. The SRH is a super strong gun, so you can use some heavy charges
of Win296/H110 with good effect, too, if you feel the "need for speed".

My favorite .44 load is 429421/503/44-250-K over 10.0 Unique, non-mag primer. This is my
all purpose load, and it is very accurate in all my .44 mags, so this is why I keep this load
around at all time. Other loads are for specific purposes, like hunting larger game or
letting beginners try out a mild .44 mag load.

Bill

[tcbnick]

Boy, how time flies. Since I first posted I got the RCBS mould and loved it with no problems at all, shoots great. So after almost 2 mounths I went and jumped into one of the group buys. for a HP mould. Well I got to go sweep the floors (she dos'nt understand why I NEEED two 44 moulds)
Thanks for everything
Nick

[Thumbcocker]

I have had good luck with 429421 in several .44's over a wide range of velocities once I got a mould that threw .433 boolits. For lube beeswax and lithium grease has been good to me in everything. One pound beeswax one stick of Wally world lithium grease. Can pan lube with it if needed. For a "do everything load", the closest I could reccomend would be 10 grains of Unique. Accurate enough to target shoot with and enough punch to take a white tail. Mt.gun .44 knows where of he speaks. There are better plinker loads and better huntng loads but 10 of unique will cover a lot of ground.

[Whistler]

The Lee 310gn is my do-it-all in the SRH. It can take down anything that walks on four legs or go "ding" when hit and is scary accurate. I use 19-21gn of Vihtavuori N110. Above 20gn is definitely "Ruger ONLY"!

[NHlever]

I think you will be very happy with the RCBS mold. I like the Lyman 429421, but found the nose is shorter on the RCBS shape, and so it works well in a larger variety of guns like the lever actions. My go to load for hunting right now is the Lyman 4429244 sized to fit the gun over a heavy dose of H-110. It has shot well in all the guns I've tried it in, and packs lots of punch.

[JPinMI]

Thank you all for your input, I am still learning.

A couple more basic questions. First is mould material. Is there any advantages to iron, aluminum or brass? I haven't detected much of a preference from any posting to the threads I've read so far.
Second is, the number of cavities in the mould. M. Venturino stated in a recent magazine artical that he had difficulties getting quality boolits to drop from moulds of 4 or more cavities, and likes them best with 3 as that maximises his casting time while giving him the quality he is looking for.

[Blammer]

Time to drink up!

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/44list-1.jpg

[Blammer]

no real advantages to any type of material for the mould, all will cast good boolits.

M. Vent is a rookie when it comes to casting. :) It's just his personal preference for the number of cavities he likes. i personally like 4,5,6 and 8 and 10C moulds best. :)