Tinkering on my .44

I got a used Ruger 77/44 a while ago, and it hasn't been working too well so far, but had that glimer of promise that you wonder is the light at the end of the tunnel, or the train light coming.. I found a bump in the casting where the scope mounts, and fixed that. No wonder it wouldn't shoot well with the mount shooting loose all the time. Then the trigger, better now, and that magazine release that required a gorilla with strong nails to operate. Little by little, here, and there, not too much here, and not too much there these things come together, and are a great way to get to know our guns better, and spend some enjoyable time uf we look at it from the right perspective. The magazine on these rotary magazine Rugers are short too, but I think it will work fine with the 200 gr rn I have, and the Lyman 429215's that are ready to go. Hmm, wonder if Lee makes a .44 version of that 358-158 RFN that works so well........ something more to check out.

Well, Sunday ramblings, and wishing you all are having a pleasant day too.

Chuck

Chuck: I keep saying that Rugers and Marlins are "generic guns" By that I mean,,, they are all there, they just need some TLC to bring out their true character, and make up for the hand work they can't have and still make a price point..

Also as you gain familarity wiith the gun your affinity for that gun goes up too,,, It's a mechanical thing and you can't get around it. Just the way it is.

With .44's the recommended over all length is 1.595 and virtually all .44's will swallow this length round, and most will go to 1.650 with no trouble. However most of the good bullets are SWC's and they are out at 1.670+ when seated and crimped in the groove. They work in Revolvers just fine but not in "Most rifles".

Simple mods to the leverguns open them up to where you can feed them 340 gr boolits with no problems. Your magazine limits your OAL.

However good news,,, as Mihec makes a mould that is suitable for your application but is still a big boolit. Check his website.

Also you can always use boolits like Lyman 429640 which is made specifically for leverguns, and keeps the OAL within your application's limits.

Much can be done by the enthusiast.

Randy

The rifle is functioning quite smoothly now. I took some of the pressure off the magazine retaining spring, and worked on getting the magazine to install, and remove smoothly,smoothed up the trigger, and worked on some rough spots. It sure is a fun gun, and very pleasant to shoot now. I have cast boollits including the 200 gr rnfp, and the Lyman 429215 that function just fine in magnum cases. The Lyman 429421 and siimilar RCBS 240-250 grain SWC boolits work fine in .44 Special cases. I was having so much fun with the thing I didn't take the group shooting to seriously, but it was nice to explode an apple on a tree next to the 100 yard target butt on the first shot at that range. Maybe it's a fluke, but it felt good anyway. Lee needs to make a .44 version of that nice 358-158 RNFP boolit for this gun. Now I will do some serious load work, and get a deer load ready if I am able to get out this year. I got one of the 357 mag rifles too, and that is also a blast to shoot, and I expect will make a great "walkabout" rifle.

There has been a used one at the last two gun shows. Near new.

I already have three .44 magnums but the guy dangling the carrot seems to be willing to negotiate some. That rifle is one of the few that gets my attention.

Lee makes a great 265 grain RNFP gas check boolit that has a short nose but you have to buy a six cavity from Ranch Dog to get it. I have the old two cavity mould. Loads in the rotary magazine of the Ruger auto. Shoots way better than I can hold.

Life is good

I do not have a 77/44. But I went through all the minor tweaks mentioned to get my 77/22H shooting very well. I do not know the specifics of the rotary magazine on the 77/44 , but I would relate that with judicious filing in the Hornet rotary Magazine I took the cartridge OAL length from the published 1.7 to 1.8 with the magazine still working correctly on the Hornet. This let me get away from the short stubbly class of pills to the more pointed bullets, 40 v-max, and, gain a little more powder capacity. FWIW.

BvT