Heavy lead in the .41 magnum.

[littlejack]

Hey fellas and ladies:
I won a NEI 275 411 mold on fleabay a couple of days ago. It is a truncated cone SSK design, and is stated to drop boolits at 285 grains with ww alloy. I will probably receive it the last of the week or so.
I have shot the LaserCast 255 grain design with good results, but nothing as heavy as this NEI boolit.
Has anyone here shot any heavier/longer boolits in their .41 magnums? Just wanting to get ideas as to what is coming.
Any thoughts or experience?
Jack

[x101airborne]

I shot some 270 grainers in front of a stout load of 2400. Sure made that blackhawk bark AND bite. Made me remember why I got rid of my blackhawk in 44 mag with a 4 5/8's barrel.

[GLynn41]

I have a mold i got from Mr Jones himself-- cast hard up to 19 gr 296 bullet weight is275
cast from wheel weights around 17-18 gr 296 bullet weight is about 286 gr

they shot well in an 8.3/8 .41 Smith I had and a 6" DWA killed one deer and some ground hogs
made good size holes and of course they dig deep- plenty accurate

[GARCIA]

Heaviest I have run is a 255gr one out of my Redhawk Hunter.
Did everything I wanted it to. Will admit it is a handful in a smaller/lighter gun.
Run them through a pair of Marlin lever guns with real good results also.

Tom

[littlejack]

Thanks for the replies.
One of the reasons that I like the .41, is that with standard weight slugs loaded full house, the recoil is still very manageable. I
suspect that these heavy slugs will definitely change that situation. I just gotta try them though, just for the fun of it.
Any thoughts on boolit stability with that long of a slug?
Jack

[GLynn41]

they seemed ok in my S&w and DWA I can speak no further

[littlejack]

These will be shot in my model 57 w/ 6" barrel. That should help some. I just got a tracking number on the shipping.
The molds should be here about Monday. I'm itchen to start casting these boolits.
I have a couple jugs of 2400, but I really like the H110 for heavy slugs. There may be to much boolit in the case to use the H110 though. I may HAVE to use the 2400 to get good speeds to stabilize these logs.

[dmize]

I shoot one of the Ranch Dogs that I think comes out right around 260. That and a full case of H110 is about all I want in my 5 1/2 Bisley.

[littlejack]

That Ranch Dog boolit looks like a good one, but I just can't stand that tumble lubing thing.
There is a mold that I am keeping my eye open for, that I think would be a very good heavy slug. This will be my little secret until I find it though. Chuckle, chuckle.
Jack

[fourarmed]

I am using a 280gr GC boolit cast from an LBT mold in my 10" Dan Wesson for silhouette. I load enough H-110 to get about 1200 fps. The bullet groups well out to 200m, although for some reason I have to make a rather large windage adjustment going to that load from the 410459 load I use for chickens and pigs. I also used a commercially cast boolit that weighed about 270, and shot very well.

[littlejack]

That 1200 fps for that weight boolit, is packin the mail for sure. Either your eyes are very good (young????), or you are using a scope for that 200 yard range? Good shootin for sure.
Jack

[dmize]

The only problem it gave me was in my Bisley the front sight was
too short.

[littlejack]

dmize, that is understandable with the slower velocity.

[GLynn41]

speed 18 gr of H110 1180 IN A 6'' dwa--1302 IN THE 8 3/8''

[Groo]

Groo here
The SSK was designed as a heavy for the 411JDJ [got one] a 444 necked to 41.
Was also used in the 41mag, and said to work well in the 405 win.
That is about the heaviest bullet I would use in the 41mag and I would use it at hunting load pressures.
Here's a hint--- Use a 90% loading [100% is full to the base] of AA1680 work up if needed.
Will not be as fast as H110/296 but shoots well and pressure seems mild.
As always , us at your own risk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[littlejack]

I received the NEI mold Saturday. This is my first NEI mold, and I have to say, it is very nice. Some NIT-WIT used a metal hammer/object on the sprue plate to knock it open. I cannot believe some people. It looks as though it was done just a few times though.
I cast up about 100 +/- on Sunday. These weighed more than I expected, with an average of about 298 grains. I thought my alloy would have weighed out heavier than that. I may have to mix up another batch to be harder and lighter.
I still have to look around and find some H-110 powder here local. Things are still a little tight when it comes to reloading components. They are starting to lighten up some though compared to a couple months ago.
Jack

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Littlejack.. I would think the NEI was listed using Lyman #2 or staight linetype as the mix.
The caliber .41 magnum hums nicely with 205-265 grainers.. especially in DW's with thier extra long cylinders. Lots of room in there to seat out to the first grease groove and get another good dose of slower powder in there for long barrels.
I did not see what revolver you are using.. gonna go look again.
There it was in the middle . I would be very kind to the S&W 57. Have one. Started out as a 6inch and I bought a 4 inch barrel for it to carry about. Model 57's are going to last you many years with what I think of as 90% max loads.
I would not think of shooting my M57 with my max loads for a RBH, Bisley or DW. First the cylinders are a might thinner but that is not the issue. The barrel is lighter contour but that is not the issue.. The frame is the issue. The M57 was designed for a steady dose of light weight 170 - 210 grainers. The average shooter is going to propel maybe 4 boxes of these down range a year. Then he takes his safe queen home smiling. Most of us do this in one afternoon weekly.
So now you take a 280 grainer and stuff it with a case full of something and you are putting strains on that nice pretty frame it will not tolerate for long time service. Silly-wets showed that the S&W frame is suseptable to high stress problems.
So anyway... I do not think a few rounds will cause you any grief. First sign of extraction issues I would back off.
If you really want to see the potential of the caliber.41 magnum get a DW. The RBH are stout but not as finely accurate as a DW. Then there is the caliber.414 Supermag if you want to really slam that 290 grainer downrange with authority from a revolver.
Mike in Peru

[littlejack]

Hey Mike, good to hear from you.
I bought this model 57 in 1972. A friend of mine was a deputy sheriff, and bought it for me. The price was 212.50 American. What a buy.
My go to load for decades was the Lyman 410459 with 8 grains of Unique. I even took two deer with this load. Both about 50 yards. Anyway, I shot thousands of these plinkin loads. In 2000, I noticed the groups opening up, so I sent it back to Smith & Wesson. They replaced nine parts (nothing major), and recut the forcing cone. It shot better, but it didn't seem top shoot as well as it did when it was new. OR, was it that my eyes were 30 years older?
Thank you for the information on the S&W frames. I knew that they were not up to constant beating that the Rugers were.
These heavy loads will be just for my own R&D, and there will not be a constant diet of them in the old girl. BUT,
i'm sure going to have fun launching some of these heavies down her barrel.
Regards
Jack

[Combat Diver]

I've got one of the RD's TL-411-255 RF (non gaschecked) With Wheelweights they weigh about 265-270grs. I shoot mine out of a 4" M58, 6.5" Blackhawk, 14" TC Contender and a 20" Marlin 1894S. Carried the Smith and RD bullet in Oct and Feb in Alaska behind a near max load of W296. Here's RD's load data.

http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/bin/...oadnotes01.pdf


CD

[littlejack]

CD:
I was looking for the RD mold that you have for a long time. It looked to be about the best weight for heavy boolits in the .41 magnum cartridge (in my opinion). I have little hope of finding one now that RD has stopped. Maybe there will be a used one come up for sale somewhere. Thanks for the RD load data. It is always nice to have/get more load data in ones references to look back on.
Jack