Lyman Devastator in SBH

[NSP64]

Anyone shoot this boolit in their Ruger SBH? I was looking at getting the mold, but was unsure if it would shoot good in the slow twist of the SBH. If you do shoot it @ apprx. what velocity? Also, what size does yours drop ?

[Glen]

It shoots very well in my Ruger SBH. As I recall, it's running about 1350 fps. I don't remember what it drops from the blocks at, but I size them down to .430".

[44man]

Anyone shoot this boolit in their Ruger SBH? I was looking at getting the mold, but was unsure if it would shoot good in the slow twist of the SBH. If you do shoot it @ apprx. what velocity? Also, what size does yours drop ?
The twist is not slow, it is about ideal for a wide range of boolits. I just don't like the real short boolits.

[Larry Gibson]

Concur with 44man

The twist is not "slow" in the Ruger 44s. I've shot numerous of them over the years with PB cast bullets from 180 to 320 gr. All bullets shot very well. The lighter weight ones lose accuracy at higher velocity because of the PB (beveled or flat), not because of the bullet weight. If you doubt this then test some Lyman GC'd 429215s against any PB'd 215 gr bullet. The lighter PB'd bullets will lose accuracy, usually around 1300 fps for me but the GC'd bullet can be driven as fast as safely possible with excellent accuracy.

The Ruger SBH twist is also fine for the "heavies" up through 320 gr. Maybe more but I've not shot any heavier bullets. The older Ruger rifles (not sure about the new ones) had slow tists of 38" if I recall correctly. That was a lot better with lighter weight bullets. The PB and bevel based bullets were still restricted by their bases, not by the rate of spin.

Larry Gibson

[buck1]

it shoots very well.

[fredj338]

A cup point modified version is my go to hunting bullet. On good days, it will stay inside 3" @ 100yds, benched, from my RBHB w/ 2x scope.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272.jpg

[leftiye]

I modified the hollow point on my devastator also. I don't want explosive expansion, just a modicum of expansion to make a nice hole while I still get good penetration. Boolits are heat treated, the noses annealed, and I use lyman moly spray on them (I plan to try adding moly powder to my next batch of Lar's C-red when I add 1/6th of bull plate lube to it). My boolit weighs out at about 278 grains fully dressed, and believe it or not for that weight of boolit in a .44 mag., 4227 (20 to 21 grains)performs as well pressure/velocity wise as anything does (H110, and Lil' Gun are the other powders that come close). I shoot for about 1300 to1400 fps as this will give me enough downrange velocity to get some expansion out to a respectable distance. This is my "do it all" .44 load. Might do well on an Elk, everything else is also toast.

I'd be interested in knowing what loads Glen andFred are using.

[NSP64]

I ordered a Devastator mold for my .44 and .45! It is on the UPS truck out for delivery.

Leftiye, Thanks for the load info, my can of 4227 grew some rust. So I may have to get some more. I was going to get a can of 2400 but may get 4227 instead. It might get me more umpf out of my 10.5" SBH.

How did you mod your HP pin? could you post a pic? I was thinking my .44 pin would get moded but leave the .45 alone.

[leftiye]

My pin looks just about like fred's. I took the wooden handle off of the pin and chucked the pin in my lathe.

I was surprised about the weight of the finished projectile, and it really limits the number of choices as to best powder. 2400 wouldn't get it with a boolit this heavy. If it were a 445 though, we could go to 680, 1680, and maybe Re7. 5477 is in the right speed range, but data almost doesn't exist for high pressure loads (maybe too bulky?).