Good boolit for .41 Magnum?

[zxcvbob]

How about Lee TL410-210-SWC? Or is this a caliber I really should use j-bullets for? I just inherited my FIL's Ruger Blackhawk .41 (he died 5 years ago) and I want to shoot it. He always used factory ammo in it; I think Rem-UMC JSP's.

If I use cast boolits, do I use the same alloy as for my hot .45 Colt loads (mostly just WW's), or do I need something harder and tinnier, like linotype?

Now I gotta find some brass...

[Blammer]

same alloy for your 45 colt loads will be just fine.

[Guesser]

I use Lyman 410028, 410032, and 410610 for a gas checked bullet. They all work and all weigh within a few grains of each other, but they are all different styles.

[Heavy lead]

I use a NEI .411-220 a great Keith boolit that weighs in at 230 with wheel weights, also a myself designed WLNPB with a 80% meplat and .420 nose that weighs 255 I designed on Mountain Moulds website. I've also shot a lot of the Mihec plain base and gas check version of his 200 grain hollow point which also casts 230 with a solid nose.
All out of 3 657's.

[Larry Gibson]

I've been shooting the .41 Magnum in various S&Ws and Rugers since '75 and thoroughly enjoy the cartridge. I lament having traded off my M58 S&W but am quite pleased with my Ruger Bisley BH. I use the Lee TL 410-175-SWC and the TL410-210-SWC. I cast them of WWs + 2% tin and push them to 1200 fps with good accuracy. Leading gets to be a problem over that and accuracy goes. I mostly push them 900 - to around 1050 fps as my "light" load bullets. I cast the RCBS 41-210-SWC out of the same alloy and push it to 1400 fps with excellent accuracy and no leading. I also lament letting the Lyman 410610 GC mould go with the M58 but with .41 GCs getting hard to come by I've not got another such mould.

The .41 is an excellent cartridge for cast bullets so don't hesitate to get a mould and have at it:-)

Larry Gibson

[spqrzilla]

I've been shooting Lyman 410610 for many years with great results.

[deltaenterprizes]

Saeco has a nice 170 gr swc made for the 41 Action Express I like.

[quilbilly]

I have had good success with the Lee 210gr TL boolit in both my Blackhawk and my Contender. My load is moderate - 6.6 gr of Bullseye - giving me about 1000 FPS from the revolver and 1200 from the Contender. Keeping things simple, I am also just using the Lee Alox "moose snot" and have not had any sign of leading in either.

[watkibe]

I have been using that Lee boolit ever since Lee came out with the TL design. Before that, I used their SWCs, both in 210 gr and 240 gr. The 240 grainer is a hoot to shoot ! Anyway, I've had my Redhawk for over 20 years, and it mostly wore a scope back then. I could easily hit milk jugs at 100 yards, and groups at that distance were 3-4 inches. Remember, you can load true magnum loads with something like H110, and then load moderate "Special" level loads with Unique or similar too. Certain reloading writer "gurus" seem to think that they need a 41 Special gun and cartridge. I cast both types of loads from water dropped WW and they both work well.
My brother doesn't reload, and he has a 4 1/2" Blackhawk in 41 Mag. He's stuck shooting factory loads, and believe me, they are fire-breathers ! If you reload, you don't always have to endure that level of recoil and muzzle blast and report.
You're a lucky man, Bob, you have inherited a fine revolver in a fine chambering. Have fun and safe shooting to you !

[reloader28]

I make the 410610 Lyman for my uncle. I oven heat treat and gas check/lube them and send them off to him sized 411. I have no idea what he's shooting them out of or what his load is, but he loves them. He was going to use them on his elk this year, but he didnt get the chance.

[GLynn41]

if you are looking at commonly available boolits- -- the group buys here are great-- -- you can design your own at Mountain Mold -- and some of the mold makers here such as NOE have them in stock look at vendors-- Accurate Molds also has them in stock - you can get what you want -- as to .41 GC they are easy Blammer has lots of them in lots of sizes-- and Hornady .416 normally work well
I have a Mihia cramer style and it is great// solid about 225 gr and hp 198-- took a doe Sat morning with the hp version -- one of the really great things about this site is material is here as well as knowledge

[dakotashooter2]

Starline brass is about the most reasonably priced ($85/500 vs $120-$133/500) and is pretty good stuff. Order direct from starline and the shipping is free. When I started reloading I bought commercial cast and soon found out most were undersized, too hard and had too hard a lube. That situation has improved if you stay with the better suppliers.

[leadman]

I shoot the Saeco 220 gr Truncated Cone gas checked. Very accurate and a little flatter trajectory than the flat nose bullets.

[theperfessor]

Lee used to offer a 240 gr SWC in .41. Its basically their 195 gr SWC with the body extended by one more grease groove increment. If you ever see one for sale at a reasonable price you might think about buying it. Its a traditional grease groove style not a tumble lube style bullet. I've never tried loading this to the max, preferring to stay at .44 Special levels, but even at 850 - 900 ft/s it smacks over the steel plates with authority.

And of course the Lyman 410459 is a nice 220 gr SWC, its been out of production for quite a while but every so often you can find one for sale, or a modern copy of it in a group buy.

[runfiverun]

i also have the 410610 i shoot it unchecked with 5 grs titegroup for stuff.
or with 2400 for other stuff with the g/c.
i also have a little button nosed wadcutter mold that likes 8 grs of unique.
the bisley hunter is super accurate with all three loads, and my old worn out blackhawk was slated to go in and become a 44 special till that wadcutter mold come along.

[beagle]

The 410459 Keith style is tops in my book for the .41 Mag./beagle

[AZ-Stew]

Lyman 410459 (or equivalent, the Saeco 411 is a variant of the 410459) over 18gr 2400 for a hot load, or over 6.7gr IMR7625 for a sedate, 900 fps practice load you can shoot all day without beating up yourself or the gun. Both loads use a STANDARD LP primer. 7625 fills the case better than Unique and in my experience, gives better accuracy. YMMV.

Regards,

Sstew

[zxcvbob]

Lyman 410459 (or equivalent, the Saeco 417 is a variant of the 410459) over 18gr 2400 for a hot loadAre you sure that's not supposed to be 16 grains? QuickLOAD says 18.0 gives over 50000 psi (and a 10% compressed load) with that boolit. 17.0 --> 42700 psi, which is well over SAAMI specs but within CIP so it should be fine in a Ruger.

I'll probably start out using Power Pistol or maybe Herco.

[AZ-Stew]

Are you sure that's not supposed to be 16 grains? QuickLOAD says 18.0 gives over 50000 psi (and a 10% compressed load) with that boolit. 17.0 --> 42700 psi, which is well over SAAMI specs but within CIP so it should be fine in a Ruger.

I'll probably start out using Power Pistol or maybe Herco.

This is why I don't trust computer software for determining powder charges.

According to the Alliant Powder web site load data (http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipePrint.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=210&shellid=31&bulletid=44&bdid=134), the max charge is 19 grains with a J-bullet. I used to use this load years ago before I quit shooting j-pistol bullets. Cast boolits might or might not produce less pressure, depending on a number of variables. Theoretically, the J-bullet should produce higher pressures due to the force required for the rifling to engrave the jacket.

Regards,

Stew

[zxcvbob]

Got my Lee TL210 mold a couple of days ago, and cast a few boolits with it over the weekend. Soft lead, because that's what was in the lead pot already, so I'm not going to load them too hot to start with. Maybe 9 grains of Universal.

I measured the boolits and they are .414", which sounds kind of big. But I loaded a couple of test ctgs and they chambered just fine. I looked at Midway for a .411 sizer, but all I can find are .410's. So I think I'm going to just shoot these as-cast and see how it goes. (they are awfully tight in the brass, but when I pulled them the microbands still looked good; they weren't smeared or sheared off. (I didn't think to measure them again. D'oh)

[Lloyd Smale]

410610 and the lbt 250lfngc have been my favorites for years. Ive taken deer and boar with both

[zxcvbob]

So do I need to scrub the barrel real good with JB paste before I start shooting cast boolits? Chester shot nothing but factory ammo with j-bullets in it. Also the barrel looks a little dark.

The soft bullets I cast 2 weeks ago are kind of wrinkled, but I'm keeping most of them; threw the really bad ones back in the melter. I will load these gently. I cleaned the mold with brake cleaner to get the oil out that I must have missed when I cleaned the mold with toothpaste.

I added a pound of magnum shot to the 15 or so pounds of soft lead in the furnace, then added just a little solder. I cast about 150 boolits and they are filled out perfectly. I dropped them into a pan of snow to cool them (doesn't quench near as well as water, but it was more satisfying to kill the snow) I can still mark these a little with my thumbnail but they are harder than that first batch.