Bullet cataloged wieght vs. real weight???

[seagiant]

Hi,
I just had a NEI mold rebored for a SSK 330gr.GC .429 bullet for my 44mag Contender. Now that I have the mold and have cast some with it the bullet with the lube and GC is close to weighing 349GRS with WW and alittle lino to sweeten the pot. Now do I use data for a 330gr. bullet or a 350gr. bullet??? Some would say this is to heavy for a 44mag and better for a 444,ect. Any help, opinions ,or insights on this would be greatly appreciated. I know I'm probably up against the wall with this weight bullet but would like to hear of anyones thoughts on this. Thanks!

[felix]

Heavier the boolit for a given size, the better. This would allow for a slower twist. Most 44 pistols have a 20 twist, and that is sufficient for your "new" boolit, for at least 300 yards at 1000 fps muzzle or so. Yes, you are over the limit for a 36(38?) twist, not because of weight, but because of length. So, if your 444 is older, trade it in for a newer one having a faster twist. I think the newer ones are at least 20 twist. Dick Casull's guns are at 22 twist. The NEW 44 winchester cowboy lever guns have a 26 twist, and even that would be sufficient for that boolit, especially at 1200 fps for 300 yards. ... felix

[swheeler]

BIGFISH: wow 349 gr 44 bullet! 350 gr data and work up, only YOU can tell how it will shoot in YOUR 44 mag. Good luck and let us know what it does.
Scooter

[seagiant]

Hi,
I'm sorry maybe I should of mentioned that my questions on this is for use in a 44mag cartridge and in a Contender pistol using surplus H110 from Bartlett's. Thanks!

[44man]

Seagiant, I see you weighed the boolit with lube and this is not a common practice. It is going to be lighter then you say it is. It also depends on your alloy as to what it weighs. If you make it harder, it will be lighter. I see you are making a quite hard one now so I think the weight of the lube is making it weigh more. I don't think the boolit is longer then what is called for when it weighs 330 grs. so your twist should be OK. Just start with data for the 350 gr. and work up slowly. Just don't exceed max for the 330 gr. weight. Remember high pressure is hard to determine in a straight wall case. You can be way over with no high pressure indications. Do not depend on flattened primers or sticky cases. Look for the most accurate load without loading for the fastest you can drive it.
I would be interested in what a boolit weighs with no lube.

[seagiant]

Hi 44Man,
Thanks for the info I went and reweighed everything and what I came up with is the bullet out of the mold with nothing on it is 342 grs. and with the gas check is 345grs. Like I said this is with ww and just a bit of lino thrown for the Gods in hopes of good mold fill out. I pretty much shoot paper and don't really have to get into the expanding properties like some of those that hunt.
I guess that what I really want to get into is did I go to far in weight with this bullet for using in a 44mag cartridge??? Some of the older cartridge manuals say this is to heavy and then I guess JD Jones came along,so I admit I'm still trying to figure this out??? However I did want to shoot a heavy boolit in the 44mag so I guess "mission accomplished!"

[beagle]

Use the "ready to shoot" weight. After all, you're looking for the formula (weight of powder) to boost a specific weight bullet from a cartridge.....not the theoretical weight of the bullet. Look on the Hodgdon site for some loads for heavy bullets and give it a try. Never know until you try. I'd say it will shoot all right.

When you really get into trouble, as felix says, is with Marlin's mickey mouse 1-38 twist in their rifles. I shoot 320 grain bullets in my SBHs all the time with no problems as to stability and accuracy.

NEI moulds are notorious for being over the designed weight. I have a .375 320 grain RN that ready to load weighs 353 grains. It's killed a couple of Eland but all I'm doing is punching paper and it don't complain./beagle

[seagiant]

Hi Beagle,
Thanks for the come back on this. I checked Hodgdon's data on the H110 and they do list a load for a 350 gr. bullet in there. That was some what comforting and gives me a place to start! I just thought it would be nice to plink with a heavy bullet where you shoot at something at 150 yds. and have that second of lapse time before something down range blows up!!!

[44man]

Beagle is right in that the total weight is something to think of. However all load data is geared to the extra weight of the lube, but listed for the boolit weight without the lube. In other words, the LBT 320 gr. will weigh more when lubed but load data is for 320 grs. In actual practice though, the lube weight means very little and will not effect anything. He is also right about the NEI molds throwing heavier boolits. The one I had for the .44 had such tiny grease grooves they were useless. It was also over weight. I had to send it back because it was out of round. They re-cherried it and that about done away with the grooves when run through the lube sizer. I gave it away.
I think you will find the heavy boolit will shoot just fine. In my experience, the .44 likes them.

[seagiant]

Hi,
I want to thank everyone for helping me out with this. I'm alot less ignorant than when I started and I have'nt even got out of the house yet! I'm now looking for a barrel for my Contender and then I can go to the range and put all this to use. I've been reloading for 25 yrs. and casting almost as long but it never fails to amaze me when everything comes together and you think "Yea,I made that bullet!!!" Thanks again!





So?.... How's you're digestion now?

Angel Eyes

[beagle]

seagiant...Those bigun's do throw a lot of dust and mud downrange.

Use to be when we had town dumps and not sanitary fills we could usually plink to our heart's content. It was fun to line up a bunch of old refrigerators and run penetration tests with the big bullets.

That's not to mention the sport of rat shooting.

Alas, all of that's gone./beagle

[44man]

Beagle, we used to shoot at junk cars. Amazing what a hard cast will do to an engine block. Some made it into the piston. Sure was fun shooting through fenders and such to see the damage done to the engine.

[StarMetal]

44man

When I was in high school a bunch of us went to our in the woods shooting spot. There was an old abandoned 48 or 49 DeSota, remember those?? hahahah
Anyways we had a 22 rimfire, a 30-06 , 22 mag, 30-30, and a 222 Rem. The interesting round to me and my friend was the lowly 22 rimfire. I shot directly at the drivers door. As long as I didn't hit any of the window or door mechanisms the bullet went through both doors! This was with a hollow point. The bullet would also go through both sides of the rear of the roof where the metal part separates the rear side windows from the rear back window. We shot, from the side, through the wheel with the 06. Again another hunting load, a 150 gr soft point. This went through the wheel, cut the coil spring in two places (cut in two that is) and went in the side of the block making an entrance hole bigger then a grapefruit and on into the cylinder and piston. That same day we shot a "fish plate", which is the iron plate they put under a railroad rail to spike it to the ties. They are about, oh, 15 inches long and a foot wide and about 3/4 inch thick in the thicker spots. We shot at it with all those rifles mentioned except the rimfires. The one that put the biggest hole through it was the 50 gr softpoint 222 Rem. The 06 just put a 30 cal hole through it. We also had a 7x57 mauser and it put a caliber hole through it, and the 30-30 didn't go through it. It dented the backside pretty good though.

Joe