I just picked up a S&W Model 29-2 44 Mag 6 inch, a true Dirty Harry piece.
I am looking at Lee's SWC 240gr and their RN 240gr molds. Should I go lighter, or heaver or what... I am wanting input from those of you who mold and shoot the 44 Mag. Only target shooting will be done, and that from the patio.
Thanks for your help !!
Bill
Last edited by Bill in Ky; 12-09-2014 at 10:48 PM.
I hope my wife doesn't sell my guns for what I told her I gave for them!
I would recommend the Lyman 429215, good plinker easy on the lead supply.
Would not be afraid to hunt with it either.
Last edited by Blammer; 12-10-2014 at 09:47 AM.
My favorite plinkin load in the 629 is the Lyman 429421 Keith Boolit over 8 gr. unique.Originally Posted by Bill in Ky
I've been very happy with the 429244 over either 22.5 grains of H110 or 10 grains of Unique, and I know, I know, a dozen or so people will say that a gas check is unnecessary for 44 mag, and it is for the most part, but I know that with the 429244 over H110 I can put 5 shots into a 1 inch group at 50 yards from my contender, so the gas checks certainly don't hurt.
Elmer Keith is a legend but Ray Thompson was no slouch.
I agree with Loudenboomer. 429421 over 8gr of Unique. I would not hot rod that revolver. Get a Blackhawk if you want to shoot full power loads. I would tend to baby your Smith. I do anyway.This load gives me 910 FPS out of my 5" 29-5.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
It kind of depends on what is important to you. If cost is important, I would go lighter to save lead. I have the Lee round nose mold you mention and it is one of my favorites for 44 special type loads. However the Lee 200-RF mold is lighter if you want to save lead and is also one I like. I like it for light power loads. If you are wanting something for full power, it is very hard to beat the Lyman 429421 as was mentioned. It is my favorite over a stout load of 2400.
I've messed with a few others, but I always come back to 429421 and 2400. It just seems to work.
Mine too!
You can't beat the load that Waco uses. That old Keith boolit has been around a loooong time for a good reason. My 4" 629 loves 16.5 grs. of 2400 and a 429421 sized to .430 and a std primer for 1050 fps ave. In my 9.5" Super R'hawk it goes 1200fps and is very accurate from both. Probably a little faster than 8grs of Unique but not much more. Either of the Lee boolits will work if you do your part.
Even though i have 4- 44mag boolet moulds, Saeco 420-200 gr tc, 944-200gr wc, 441-240gr swc and the RCBS 240 sil , my go to boolet for 99% of my shooting between 800 to 1,200 fps is with the Saeco #420-200gr tc.
The Smith thrives on around 250 gr and the 429421 is a good one. So is the RD 265 but don't shoot heavier then that on, inertia is not good for a S&W.
A 240 is OK. Don't be afraid of pressure, any safe book load will not harm the gun.
I used 2400 with the Keith and 296 with the RD.
The twist is 1 in 18-3/4" so it will not be as accurate with light boolits unless shot slow. Good for can loads.
Blammer, you really need to update that picture, we all know you have lots more than that now :P
I'll toss in my enthusiastic support for the RCBS 250-SWC (very similar to the Lyman 429421) over 8 grains of Unique.
That load is very accurate in my experience and will do 95% of what you want out of a 44 Mag. If you want magnum loads, you can use the same bullet and switch to a published load of H110 and cover the remaining 5% of what the 44 mag is good for.
1 gun
1 type of bullet
1 type of casing
2 powders
Everything you want out of a 44 mag. = DONE!
In my experience the 429421 is accurate over a wide range of velocities. For plinking loads 6.0 of 231 or 6.5 of red dot have been accurate in several guns. Lots of shots from a pound of powder. Don't double charge.
Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.
Yes, I use 7 gr of Unique for fun (very few times since I shoot long ranges and hunt but still a good fill in.) I have tested to 10 gr but never seen much change in accuracy. Where I did see a great improvement was making the boolits harder and harder until I reached 28 to 30 BHN. Better steerage at the cone.
But really, 7 to 8 gr is a lot of fun. 231 is great too.
I've got NOE's 429421 clone and like it, but my next mold is going to be a WFN - probably an LBT and probably a 260 grainer, although the 280 hasn't been ruled out.
Logic points:
1. I just did a penetration test of a 230 grain .45ACP LBT LFN with a .30" meplat at 830fps. It took 8-9 1 gallon jugs to stop them - about four feet of water.
2. The Keith with it's higher SD, greater weight, and smaller .27" meplat will have an even greater surplus of penetration.
3. I don't want to deal with a hollowpoint mold to increase diameter..
4. I don't plan to shoot handguns seriously beyond 100 yards, so the "blunt instrument" of a .34" nose is not an aerodynamic handicap.
5. Depending on the gun, my recoil threshold for the Keith is about 1200-1300 fps. Bigger nose should help when hitting at slower speeds.
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
I cast and shoot more different .44 boolits than any other caliber, but if I could keep only one .44 mold, it would be MP 429640. It just so happens that the group buy is about to close on that one:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ass-Mold/page4
I too, would agree that the "classic" .44 Magnum cast bullet is a "Kieth style" 240-250 gr SWC. I've loaded this bullet over light loads of Bullseye to hefty W296/H110 loads and a whole lot of Unique. This bullet is as accurate as I can shoot and it has but one drawback; it will not feed through my Puma (without using Special brass, or extraordinary measures). For my Puma (and often my other .44 Magnums) I use a Ranch Dog design round nose flat point in either 240 gr. or 265 gr., both accurate in my 5 .44s...
Personally, I don't like to "cheap out" when reloading for my Magnums. I use a powder charge for how it performs, not how many charges I can get out of a pound and I'll choose bullet weights by how my guns shoot them and how they will react on the target, not by how much lead I have on hand. Kinda like using El Cheapo unleaded regular in my 400 HP Corvette.
My Anchor is holding fast!
The .44 mag. is one of those calibers for which original specs of chambers were pretty specific, and more importantly, on the tighter side of manufacturing tolerances. Thus, they're typically very good to excellent shooters, no matter whether you're shooting jacketed or cast. The selection of moulds for cast bullets is therefore similarly pretty good, and generally, their diameters are pretty close to what we need for them to shoot at least pretty accurately. Measuring chamber throats and barrel groove diameters isn't something every shooter always does, so this is doubly fortuitous, I think. Therefore, most cast boolits do pretty darn well in the .44 if we but expend the simple and joyous effort to work up loads that our particular guns want, and we'll get very good to excellent results. This may require trying different powders and varying charges to find the "sweet spot" where our particular guns like that particular powder, and voila', we've got a sho' 'nuff "target load" that often works on game as well as our paper targets and targets of opportunity.
However, there are some "classic" moulds that have proven themselves across the board in many different guns, and there can be no doubt that chief among these is the old Elmer Keith designed SWC, and its near clones, as made by Lyman, RCBS and most other mould makers. Many shooters try this one first, and never go to anything else because the boolit and loads do so well that they feel no reason to go further. For these good and rational folks, the story ends there.
However, many of us are inveterate experimenters, and some are always trying to get that little bit "extra," and these are the folks who experiment with all sorts of bullet designs. The RNFP type bullet feeds better in lever action and other carbines, and in these guns, they make a lot of sense. Add to this the fact that with a good flat on the meplat, and they perform very well o"towfer" of sorts. The very broad flat meplats of the LBT and similar type boolits has become a modern legend in their effectiveness on game and destruction of their tissues and organs, and many have become very fond of these. Fitted properly to your chamber throats and barrel grooves, and they shoot very well also, and that's their version of the "twofer." Another set of shooters likes to be stingy with their boolit metal supply, a growing consideration, and like lighter boolits so they can "stretch" their shooting by taking smaller dips into the pot per bullet. This also makes sense, though I've never been able to tell much difference in recoil, or at least enough to be very significant. The Lee 200 gr. RNFP and similar designs, also slides into single action cylinders like water fowing downhill, and that's a nice feature at the range or afield, and my old Scots heritage keeps me appreciative of the economy while still finding it effective on all game in my southeastern area of the country. Not a bad combo, there, either!
In short, I don't really believe there IS any "best bullet" in the .44 mag. You just have to try the ones that look like they'll suit your needs, and see how they work in your gun, and trying most of them will very likely produce a fine working load that suits your purpose exceedingly well. Therefore, just pick one that you think you like right now, and as time goes on and the will strikes you, try some others to see what they'll do in your gun and your hand. This is just the way all shooting works. There really IS no "best of" for ANY gun, UNLESS you try a number of bullets and loads and let your GUN show YOU what IT wants. Hope this makes sense, and maybe liberates you from our modern tendency to pigeon hole everything in our world into "good, better and best." In shooting, there's really no such thing, excepting maybe for brief moments. Something always comes along that's touted as being "better," and sometimes the even actually DO produce better results in our guns, or someone else's. This isn't what most people want to hear, but it's just the way it is in reality, so pick whatever turns you on, and give it a good workout. In shooting, there really are no "shortcuts." We ALWAYS have to test and prove our loads, and that's probably the way it'll always be until we start shooting ray guns and dispense with the simple, glorious pleasures of shooting boolits and bullets.
Short answer to your question, though, if it was me (which it ain't), is I'd pick the 245-250 gr. Keith bullet, and most likely, I'd be awfully happy with it and the results it gives me. In this day of powder shortages, I'd start with 2400 for my top loads, since it's always given excellent performance pretty much across the board, and something like Unique for a somewhat milder offering that'll sip at your powder supply more sparingly, and probably do pretty much anything you can reasonably ask of a .44 to do as well. Just test incremental loads in your gun and find the "sweet spot" with each powder, and I'd bet money you'll be happy. The second mould I'd purchase (and shame on you if you only get one) is probably the Lee 200 gr. RNFP. It's more economical, even the 6-cav. moulds (they're FAR superior to their 2-cav's) are very reasonably priced, and as stated, it sips at your lead supply rather than gulping it. A nice load with a faster powder like Bullseye, Tightgroup, etc. is about as cheap as you can effectively shoot a .44, and if you can get WW's at a resonable price, is actually cheaper to shoot right now that .22 RF's! Now ain't THAT a surprise!
Main thing is though, just get whatever mould you think you're likely to like, and get on with the casting (learn to cast them well) and shooting, and it'll be a revelation what you can really achieve with your pistol. Good luck and good shooting.
I shoot a Lee 210 rf out of my blackhawk very accurate fun load 7.5 gr unique
Hit em'hard
hit em'often
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