Got A Flat Top .44 Special

[MakeMineA10mm]

Upon going back and re-reading a couple articles on the 44 Spl., I noted that the 8.0grs of Power Pistol with the 250gr Keith bullet (RCBS, Lyman, H&G, etc.) is under 15,500psi and gives about 1000fps. Quite an impressive load. Definitely one of those "THE LOAD" combinations which have been identified in several calibers, IMO.

95%+ of the time, I will be shooting 6.0grs of W231 with a 225gr RNFP, which is almost identical to a 45ACP load's power. It will be the range, small game, self-defense (with a HP added) load. The other 5% or less, I will have some of my 267gr Hvy. Keith SWCs loaded with an 1100-1200fps load, probably 2400 or AA#9.

I think the point of the information is just to know with some certainty what the limits are with these pistols. It's good to know exactly where you are at and that you are within the boundaries...

[Wolfgang]

Thanks for that information. I may have to seek out some Power Pistol and give that a try. Hopefully I will be able to locate some but getting powders is still a little hit and miss around here. I would agree that it is good to know the limits and I for one like to have a little "fudge factor" so I tend not to push them too much. I have to say that so far in handling the flat top I am really liking the size of the gun. I am day dreaming of warmer weather and long walks around the woods with it as a traveling companion. For right now I have to be content in assembling different loads to try and making the gun mine (different grips/trigger job) We just got smacked in the chops again with another winter storm and today our high temperature was 11 degrees.

[doc1876]

There are some really good loads with IMR4227, until then, take a primed case, stick it in paraffin wax, & go to the basement!! Use care, it can penetrate a car door

[Wolfgang]

doc1876,

I was actually going to take a look at 4227. I have about half of can of the old IMR 4227 in the metal can as well as about two pounds of the newer H4227. I was using the newer stuff in my 1873 SAA 45 colt clone made by Uberti and found a load with the H4227 that it it liked a lot. Got any pet loads using 200-250gr. bullets that you care to share? I have another 44 caliber mould, Lyman 429215, coming along with two more in 357 caliber that I will have to add to the already too many that I have now! Sometimes I have to wonder if my hobby is shooting or casting the bullets to shoot! Chicken and egg sort of thing I guess and since I enjoy doing both I guess it doesn't matter. When my shop is finished, read this coming spring, I will have an area set up dedicated to nothing but casting. Hopefully my FFL will be here as well so that I can get the gunsmithing business up and running legitimately. I already have more on my plate than I care to having just retired but it keeps me busy at least!

[doc1876]

my Ruger flattop loves 13g to 20 g. 20 is hard on the hand but both Hold less than 4 inches off hand at 30 feet

[MakeMineA10mm]

I'll second the 4227. I've used it a lot in 44 Mag, but not in Special so far. It's a "gentle" powder, because you can't get enough in a 44 magnum case to make an overload. I think there are some loads listed in Pearce's articles.

Those wax loads can be powerful. My mentor taught me to drill out a 357 primer pocket to take a 209 primer and then we pressed the case mouth into a sheet of 3/16"-1/4" thick beeswax. We filled soda cans with water and shot them. We always got pretty wet...

[Nueces]

Say, MMa10MM, for one's shop trick library, would you please tell how you prepare cases for use with the 209?

[MakeMineA10mm]

Say, MMa10MM, for one's shop trick library, would you please tell how you prepare cases for use with the 209?

Sure, Nueces! You're asking me to go back a-ways, like a couple-three decades...

- First, clean, size, and deprime your cases.
- Next, we chucked the case in the lathe with 3-jaw chuck.
- The hard part, as I remember was finding a close drill diameter. I think it was metric or a letter bit. (Mic a 209 to find the diameter. It's really close to 6mm, IIRC.)
- We put the drill in the lathe and just bored straight through the old primer pocket and flashhole (makes a straight tunnel through the case head).
- I seem to recall, we used some sandpaper or a stone to both clean up the hole and widen it a couple thousandths.
- Last, do a new set-up with a 5/16" bit and cut a small shelf just deep enough to give the flange on the primer base a place to catch. (This is what sets the seating depth for the primer. It has to be just right so no high primers and not too deep, or you'll get light primer hits.). We occasionally had primers which just wouldn't fit right.

We also had some mis-fires until we increased tension on the hammer spring. (We shot S&Ws.)

We only did a few dozen cases. Bored the hole first, then cleaned it up and slightly enlarged it. We did these two operations on all the cases. Then, switch to the 5/16" and do that operation on all the cases. Of course, they must never be loaded with regular loads again. After we used these over a summer, we crushed them shut with pliers and threw them in the recycle bucket.

[Nueces]

Sure, Nueces! You're asking me to go back a-ways, like a couple-three decades...

Thank you, Sir! That's quite straightforward and I'm set up for it. Sure would be nice to have a 209 pocket uniformer.

[MakeMineA10mm]

No problem! One other thing -- Make sure the hole ends up a couple thousandths smaller than the primer. That friction keeps the primers from falling out the back of the case, just as the small shelf for the flange keeps it from going too deep.

[Thumbcocker]

Big + 1 on 8.0 of Power pistol and an Elmer boolit. I just got an accurate molds 190 grn. button nose wadcutter that really likes red dot. More testing to do this summer.