With 38gr Goex FFFG and a 200gr Big Lube boolit I'm getting 1300fps out of a 20" barrel on my short rifle.
Printable View
With 38gr Goex FFFG and a 200gr Big Lube boolit I'm getting 1300fps out of a 20" barrel on my short rifle.
Also, make sure that you wash your brass within a day of shooting, or it will corrode. I use warm water with a drop or two of dish soap. Soak it for awhile, then rinse and dry. I tumble the brass for at least a half hour before loading it.[/QUOTE]
I deprime and drop all my BP brass into vinegar based Windex right after I extract them from the chamber in non tournament conditions. Otherwise right after the shoot before I leave the range. It's become habit and works well for me. Never use amonia based Windex. It eats brass!
Go back in the archives as there is a very good thread on loading the 44-40 with minimum fouling. Black Powders are not all alike either. Today you have GOEX, Swiss and others. GOEX has two types of powders and Grafs had a powder they called Schuetzen powder. The Grafs shoots very well in my 25 muzzle loader. It does not have the fouling of GOEX but also does not have quite the oomph. Still it is plenty adequate for squirrels. Swiss is generally a great powder. I liked 777 for a substitute. Pyrodex is not bad but requires more thorough cleaning than BP. A chemist on a BP site explained that it has a very corrosive by product. Everything ahs been pretty well covered except that a long tube permits more packing for a BP cartridge. Some tap the sides of the case a bit to get the powder to settle.
Good luck on your shooting.
DEP
While purists consider it heresy, a wee pinch, about 1-2 grains, of a bulky flake smokeless such as Red Dot, Green Dot, PB, SR7625 or 700X dropped in first, before filling the case with black and compressing, HUGELY reduces fouling and eases cleaning. Use a .22 Short case as a dip measure.
Have never had to do duplex loads with B/P in the little 44-40 cases much less any other B/P cartridge. It adds another step and consideration that’s just not necessary,like a card wad simply not necessary in 44-40 WCF to get accurate clean burning loads
Thank You Randy! Amen.
http://arsenalmolds.com/index.php?ro...product_id=130
432-180 fn ought to be nice with bp plinking, large grove for lube and plenty bp. Also possible with a smaller diameter.
Just my two cents worth, but I got my hands on some olde eynsford powder. If you can find it, give it a try. Shoots great with no fouling to speak of in my 92 clone. Same results in my Pietta saa.
I did a bit of pressure testing some black powder loads a while back and here are the results. I could have done more but it can be a never ending chore!
Attachment 255305
Also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAAT0PMTGCU
100 Yards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd498S1UFL8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS_yb0ZBxCo
Heelerau,
Here is some pure lead information
A while back John Kort dissected some original black powder cartridges. He replaced the dead primers, re-assembled them for testing. He shot them into jugs of water and below is a photo of the results.
Attachment 255309
As you can see, it expands just like a hollow point. I have discovered that bullets expand more in water rather ballistics gel but not much. John send me a few pure lead bullets he hand cast to his specs. I loaded them per his specs and tested them in gel with almost exacting results.
Attachment 255310
And compared to modern hollow points
Attachment 255311
Further information to anyone...
What I don't really have documented is the velocity needed....or rather...the "impact" velocity needed for expansion. I have tested some in the past. Seems common sense but many fail to understand that a hollow point is designed to expand at a certain velocity. Once the bullet slows below that velocity it will not expand which also allows the bullet to penetrate further than when it expands. The expansion acts like a parachute.
Winchester's Super-X Jacked Soft Point flattens enough on impact to act much like a hollow point. Ironically the soft poing flattens, an increase in meplat, which the wide meplat with a hard cast lead bullet is much desired by very thick skinned hunters and the 45-70.
Attachment 255312
Attachment 255313
Attachment 255314
Unfortunately, Winchester's lack of original velocity prohibits such performance and is in much ways, the reason for the unpopularity in the 44-40 cartridges.
Ballistics Gel Testing of the pure lead bullet. Visit the youtube page for other tests as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nkgd5Eq6tM
I know I know, I am rambling!!!
Here is a video I made for jacketed hollow point bullet expansion. Velocity vs expansion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7cjtyVi2gY