44 mag bullet choices

[megasupermagnum]

My dad asked me to cast bullets for his handguns recently. I decided to start with his smith and Wesson in 44 mag. Its an old target model with 10 inch barrel and a weird adjustable front sight. When I described slugging the barrel, he said no way. To be honest, I don't see why you can't make great bullets without measuring out to the .0001". With a calipers his groove diameter is right around.429", and his throats are right around .432" (one was a little bigger at a touch over .433"). I see no reason bullets .430"-.432" wouldn't shoot well, please correct me if I'm wrong.

My grandpa gave me a handful of 44 molds, however, he is a target shooter, not much of a hunter. He casted a few years In the 70's or 80's, until he quit. I would rather have a mold around 265 grains SWC. The closest is a mold that with the alloy I'm using drops a 210 grain SWC HP. I'm thinking that might work well, a little light, but still more than enough for whitetail. The problem being I'm not very good with that mold. Maybe my standards are set too high, but out of about 50 casts, only 2 were what I would call perfect. A bunch were pretty good but had a bunch of flash at the hollow point. When I looked up the mold number, it came up as a Lee buckshot mold! Its not the old style pin hollow point, the pin stays in the mold. I've read that the pin could be colder than the mold causing problems, but with it being non-removable, how would I heat it? The mold was already too hot, maybe I could try turning the pot way down? The lead was around 700-750 degrees.

Another mold seemed like a SWC that someone drilled out the lube grooves. I'm not sure what they were going for, or how you would lube the bullet without powder coat (which as far as I know wasn't the fad in the 80's it is now). One very odd thing he gave me was a jacket swaging set. I can't find anything online about it, but it does work. Its a simple hand press, where you cast an undersize bullet (he gave me a mold that casts a cylinder slug that is adjustable for weight), then with the jackets you swage them into jacketed soft point's. He gave me a box of about 500 jackets of both 44 and 357, but I prefer a straight lead bullet, else I buy them.

The only other real choice is a SSK 429-310 NEI brand mold. I casted a bunch of those, and they cast nice. When I weighed them, they are a whopping 330 grains. These look to have 3 lube grooves and one crimp groove. When measuring, these average just a hair over .430". When I tried them in the cylinder throats, they were a very good fit. I'm thinking of shooting these as cast, and just pan lubing in some carnauba red. I figured these heavy bullets would be at the edge of being unstable. It turns out all S&W handguns have a 18.75:1 twist, and according to the Berger twist stability calculator should be plenty stable. The odd thing with these is the load data. I have an old Lyman book from 1994 that lists up to 325 grains, and velocities only go up to about 1000 fps, which is more than enough. This gun will be used for deer under 50 yards. On the Hodgdon website, they have loads that are approaching 1250 fps. That 1994 book already seemed to have max loads hotter than todays. I'm looking for a more moderate load, rather than one right on the cutting edge. I would prefer to use bluedot. According to that lyman manual, that gives a max load of 13 gr with Bluedot at 937 fps. I'll probably work all the way up to that incase its more accuate, but I'm thinking 12 grains in the 800 fps range would be ideal. Has anyone shot these huge SSK bullets with success?

[RedJackson]

You can't go wrong with the plain base Keith semi-wadcutter.

[waco]

Check out NOE molds. Just what you want.http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=37_212

[pworley1]

I have tried many bullet and powder combinations over the last 40 years, but the Lyman 429421 over 11grs. over Unique is hard to beat from a Blackhawk. I have not tried them from a S&W 29.

[Thumbcocker]

An Accurate 190 grn. full wadcutter, a NOE 429421, and an NOE 265 grn RNFP plain base Ranch Dg design with regular lube grooves should handle any situation you could want with a .44. If I had to limit it to one it would be a toss up between the 429421 and the
Ranch Dog.

[megasupermagnum]

Im sorry I wasn't clear, I do not want to buy a mold, I don't even own a 44. I'm simply asking how I could maximize the hollow point, and if a massive SSK style bullet is accurate

[Larry Gibson]

You don't mention the alloy you're using but to maximize the HP mould I suggest a 20-1 or 16-1 alloy. I prefer the 16-1 for velocities over 1300 fps in my 357, 41 and 44 magnums.



I've no experience with the SSK 310 gr bullet. Lyman CBH #4 lists a start load of 10.5 gr and a max load (895 fps) of 11.7 gr Blue Dot for use with a 300 gr cast. While I like Blue Dot under 240 - 255 gr cast in the 44 Magnum I think I'd be inclined to use a slower burning powder such as 2400, H110 or 4227 under a 300+ gr cast bullet, especially a 330 gr one.

Larry Gibson

[megasupermagnum]

I don't exactly know the alloy currently, but I was thinking just 20-1 or 16-1 as you said next time. I am just trying to use up the mix I have which is about 1/2 rotometals "recycled lead", part mystery alloy (probably linotype), and part industrial lead shot (which included a handful of steel shot that I skimmed out). You say 16-1 doesn't expand well at low velocities? That's good to know, I was thinking of keeping those close to 1100-1200 fps. As far as bluedot, if I run into problems, I'll keep those powders in mind. I'm definitely not looking for a max load with the SSK, and H110 is the only of those three I own. I think bluedot should work well, its never let me down before. I buy it by the 5 pound jug if that says anything about how much I like it. I guess there is nothing but to shoot the bullets to see which is more accurate.

What I still need to figure out is how to cast those hollow points well. I've never tried casting hollow points before, so any tips to keep the pin warm (the pin is not removable)?

[Leadmelter]

Ruger SBH SSK 310 bullet (Original 1983?). Cast 320 grs alloy unknown.
Larry Kelly Load 19.5 grs . He used this load on several safaris. Note: Heavy recoil, wear a glove.
Leadmelter
MI

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got 4 favorite bullets for the 44s. All are gas checked so if you don't want to deal with gas checks this isn't doing you any good. I own probably a dozen various 44s and have probably owned north of 30 of them through the years and these 4 bullets have proven to be accurate in about all of them. First and my favorite of all is the rcbs 240 swcgc the other three in no order are the 429215 lyman the 429244 lyman and the lbt 280 lfngc. I probably own at least 50 44 molds and these 4 have proven to me that they have that magic quality that makes them shoot well in everything. Ive killed deer, bear and pigs with all of them in 44 mags and specials and they don't come up lacking in that dept either.

[jcren]

Not experienced with that hp mold, but flash usually indicates either a poor fit (check for lead spec on mold surface, light through closed mold, etc) or too hot on the mold. An overheated mold will keep the lead liquid long enough to find every little gap, cooling the mold on a damp towel when you start seeing this will set or freeze the pour before it seeps into those flaws. Hp pins are famous for sticking, but that isn't your issue.

[mdi]

The Lman 429421 is the "classic" 44. bullet, for both the Special and Magnum. I have use thousands of them in my .44s but I discovered Ranch Dog's design for a RNFP, in both 240 and 265 grain weights to be an exceptional bullet. In my 5, .44 Magnums the bullet is accurate and the design with the micro groove lends itself to liquid/dip lubes quite well. I have driven this bullet to Magnum velocities (mid to near max loads of WC 820) in my 20" Puma and my Ruger SBH. I believe it was originally designed as a hunting bullet for Marlin rifles, but it has worked very well for my revolvers, my Puma lever gun and my Contender... https://www.google.com/search?q=ranc...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[rugersworld]

Just buy some Oregon trail 300gr hard cast FPGC load with H110, 4227, or similar and call it good. Save you lots of time since you are not a caster and do not want to buy any appropriate molds.

[megasupermagnum]

What? I am a bullet caster, and I own 8 .44 molds. How is a hard cast 300 grain appropriate, but a 330 grain soft cast SSK not?

[gwpercle]

Casting hollow points can be tricky. The fixed pin hollow point doesn't make things any easier.
The prime reason Lee discontinued the HP moulds is they were a pain to cast with. No magic formula, make sure the top and sprue plate are flush , sprue plate screw properly tightened down , the blocks close completely...a tiny spec of lead will cause the finning/flashing at the seam.
Heat up the blocks and keep casting until some decent one are made. They don't have to be totally perfect , being picky myself I've learned that minor irregularity is acceptable except for the base.
Repeatedly filling the mould with hot metal is the only way I know to get it up to temperature. Old school but it will work.
If the boolits are perfect except for a fin/flash .... I use my fingernail or pocket knife to remove the majority it and then run it through the lube sizer...that takes it right off. With the HP pin you will probably need to cast on the hot side , just at the frosty level is where I cast them at.
I know nothing about the heavy weight boolits and can't help you there . The 215 grain SWC HP should get the job done.
I've noticed the Lee HP moulds are now listed as RARE and vintage , one on Ebay sold for $40.00 !
Good luck,
Gary

[megasupermagnum]

Thanks, that helps a bunch. Next time I'll cast with a known alloy, 20-1 specifically. I'll just cast as many in a row as I can manage and not worry what they look like until the end. I really like the looks of the SSK and they cast nice, but I still think I would prefer to use the hollow point. I plan on keeping velocity down around 1100-1200 fps. That should be a nice moderate load that will work well on deer.

[S.B.]

Lyman 429421 has been a good one for me for over 40 years in all my .44s.
Steve

[Baryngyl]

What I still need to figure out is how to cast those hollow points well. I've never tried casting hollow points before, so any tips to keep the pin warm (the pin is not removable)?

I have read/heard of people using a propane torch to heat the pin some, I have not yet needed to try that though so can not tell how it works from personal experience.

Thanks, that helps a bunch. Next time I'll cast with a known alloy, 20-1 specifically. I'll just cast as many in a row as I can manage and not worry what they look like until the end. I really like the looks of the SSK and they cast nice, but I still think I would prefer to use the hollow point. I plan on keeping velocity down around 1100-1200 fps. That should be a nice moderate load that will work well on deer.

Do not take time to look at them while casting it lets your mold / hollowpoint pin cool down, cast fast and hard till the pot runs low, then while waiting for the next batch of ingots to melt and reach temp is when I look over what I have cast.



Michael Grace

[Shuz]

I have found that the M-P Mold method of hollow point moulds are the easiest to cast with because the pins are captured in one mould block half, and thus retain heat much better than the Lyman or even the NOE methods. M-P's 433-300HP in 4C is a dream to cast with.

[youngmman]

The H&G 503 (Keith 255 grain) or the LBT 250 WFN. The killing power of the LBT is awesome.