Making .44 mag brass from .308

[wmitty]

Anyone remember an article in Handloader from 60's/early 70's about cutting down rifle brass and reaming it to allow use in a .44? I'd like to find a copy if it's still available. I'm tired of waiting on Starline...

[armednfree]

That was 45 Winchester Magnum and 44 AMP I believe

[wmitty]

Found it - May/June of '77 by Wayne Blackwell.

[runfiverun]

if you don't mind head spacing on the case mouth it can/could be done.
you'll have to modify your load data some though as I doubt the two have the same case capacity.

[Daddyfixit]

I remember making 44 auto mag w/308 & 30-06 brass.
I bought some brass from this guy a while ago, looks like he still has some once fired cases.
http://shop.kensbrass.com/44-Remington-Magnum-Brass-Cases-50-pack-44MgMxBr50.htm

[GoodOlBoy]

yeah that's my recollection is that it was 44 automag, not 44 mag. But I dunno for certain.

GoodOlBoy

[PbHurler]

44 mag is rimmed, 44 automag is rimless. The 308 brass would be used to produce the 44 automag "type" brass.

110660

[Firebricker]

The article is .44 Mag from 30/06 and it does work I did one case to try it awhile back. FB

[dale2242]

I have a set of RCBS dies to make 44 Auto Mag brass.
Only one company made brass for the 44 AMP as I recall.
I don`t think any factory is available now.....dale

[Piedmont]

Pbhurler has it. Just like making .44 cases from .45 ACP you leave a vestigial rim for headspacing.

[wwmartin]

Star Line makes 44 AMP brass and is taking backorders. WW

[Tatume]

Midway has Remington primed 44 Rem Mag brass for $39 per 100.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1601286906/remington-reloading-brass-44-remington-magnum-primed?cm_vc=ProductFinding

[EDG]

Yes there was an article on that conversion. To make it headspace he took a punch and pushed the rim forward 4 places to get it thick enough to headspace. All in all more of a stunt than anything practical. I have tried to form .308 brass to .450 head size for several rounds. You can do it but you better need it bad because it is a lot of work. There is no good reason for it with the .44 mag.

[DeputyDog25]

I just bought 300 pcs @ $19.00 per hundred here: http://eastcoastarsenal.com/product/44-mag-brass-once-fired/

[Reg]

Best to stay with a factory type of brass for your 44 but in a pinch you can reform 45 ACP brass that will work for milder .44 loads, they even headspace up properly. Can only be used for mild, NOT magnum loads , Had a bit of trouble using them in a Smith M-29 but they worked perfectly in two different single action types and were the best load yet in a single shot Martini. They will not feed through a lever repeater because of the shortened length.
If interested, look up the thread by 454PB

[Hardcast416taylor]

I recall reading that article back then about making .44 Auto-Mag rounds from Mil.Surp .308 brass so you can use them in your Auto-Mag/AMT pistol. There was also an article or more on making ACP .45 brass from rifle cases years before the .44 article. For the price of brass the question arises "Why put so much time and effort into making cases (that might work okay) that can be bought and are ready to load and shoot? Being able to make them is an admirable thing, but what is your time doing this task worth?Robert

[Leadmelter]

Making 44 AMP brass from the 308 family of brass is a real chore and is best done when there is about 10 feet of snow on the ground and you are going out of your mind. Very tedious process. Best to wait for a run of Starline and buy a bunch.
I use the old brass that I formed when I want to shoot and not pick it up in the field. The Starline is much more uniform.
I shoot the 357 AMP, 41 JMP and 44 AMP.
Patience.
Leadmelter
MI

[dale2242]

Good to hear that Starline is making the 44 Auto Mag brass.
Thanks....dale

[Kraschenbirn]

As I was reading this thread, I recalled an old Shooting Times(?) article about modifying an S&W M29 to accept M25-style 'full moon' clips that involved forming 'rimless' .44 Mag cases from .308 brass. Author was building a gun for bowling pin matches and was attempting to obtain the 'knock-down' of full-house .44 loads with the rapid reload of an M25.

Bill

[jonk]

I know you can make .45 ACP out of anything with an 06 sized case head. Reaming is of course required, and load development to reflect the far thicker case walls and reduced powder capacity. Blow by due to the thick case walls is to be expected. But it can be done; and I see no reason why not for the auto mag as well.

[JohnH]

My 30 Herrett barrel taught me one thing, I don't like making brass, and the 30 Herrett is easy make to make.

[wmitty]

runfiverun

Can the case mouth be extended to force the head of the cartridge against the recoil shield to obtain headspace? If this is not how it's done , could you explain the correct method? I don't intend to ream cases to get correct case wall thickness; looks to me like turning the outside of the case with a .429" bullet seated and checking to see if the case will enter the chamber of the cylinder will allow going with the thickest possible necks.

[earthquake]

I used to make 44 AMP brass all the time, you need a set of RCBS forming dies, you will also need a extended shell holder.
The first die is a "Trim" die that you run a 06 or 308 based case in and use a hack saw to cut it off, make sure to use fired brass or the case will spin when you try to cut it, while the case is still in the trim die take the reamer included with the form dies and ream the inside of the case, this is so it will not bulge when you seat a bullet in the case [another reason to use fired brass], for the next step you will need a case trimmer to trim the cases to the correct OAL.
After all that load as you normally would, there were two manufactures of 44 AMP ammo originally, Norma and Aguila of Mexico, Norma ammo should not be shot because it is a bit to powerful and its worth a lot nowadays, Aguila was ok but its pretty dirty. I just sold 6 boxes of Norma ammo and 3 boxes of Aguila on Gunbroker awhile back and I made a couple of house payments with what I got, I have about a 1000 home made case so I did not need the factory stuff. I have two 44 Automag pistols I got when my brother passed away and I want to get them back in shape to shoot, they were left in the original boxes and the foam died leaving black spots all over them that wont come off. Has any body here done any cast boolet loads in a 44 AMP? I would like to work up a 300 cast load for them, nothing too hot.

Casey

[paul edward]

This might require a lot of body diameter reduction. Nominal base diameter for the .44 Mag is .457 versus .470 for the .30/06.

You may also need to ream the necks as the .30/06 brass will be thicker.

The real question is why?