Which SWC mold for the .44 Magnum?

[jayjay1]

Hello guys,
I´m searching for an accurate lead bullet, shot out of a S&W 629 6,5".

Want to use it for precision paper punching in competition.
A SWC-design would be prefered, for clean round holes in the discs.


Which one is the way to go?

[6bg6ga]

I believe that decision is one that your going to have to make on your own. Any SWC design will cut a clean hole for you. I'm a believer in a accurate load is one that is worked up for that particular gun. In my opinion there is no best load out of a reloading magazine because I've had a 50/50 luck with the so called accurate loads that are published in reloading manuals.

[Maximumbob54]

I've found the Miha molds in HP to be very accurate. I'm assuming it's because the HP allows the center of mass to be farther back but you still have a long heavy bullet. Either way, they work in my 6" 629-5.

[Lead Fred]

We have one 44 mould, works in the hand cannons and the 1971 Winnie

[Petrol & Powder]

I use the RCBS 44-250-K and find it to be an outstanding bullet. I purchased that mold on advice from others on this forum and they steered me in the right direction. That may be one of the best all around bullets for the 44 Special & 44 Magnum. Some folks like the older RCBS 44-250-KT design which is a little more true to pure "Keith" form but that mold is out of production so you have to find an old one.
You'll get lots of advice on this topic but I would strongly suggest you research the RCBS 250 gr SWC or one of the many clones. That design is accurate, useful in a wide variety of applications and very well proven.

By the way, I avoid full power magnum loads and generally load 44 magnum cases to duplicate the "Skeeter" 44 Special loads. Using a 44 Magnum casing, 8.1 grains of Unique and the RCBS 44-250-K bullet cast from 20:1 alloy gives me excellent results in my S&W 629 with a 4" barrel.
That load will handle 90%+ of everything a 44 is called upon to perform and it doesn't beat up the shooter or the gun. It is also far more accurate than I am.

[Char-Gar]

The old Lyman 429421 is the old Keith design and is as good as any and better than most. There are a number of slight variations and clones out there and most will work just fine.

The 44 Magnum is a round that just wants to please and it is easy to find an accurate load. For punching holes in paper, there is no sense in full snort magnum loads. 6.5 grains of Bulleye, or 8 grains of Unique will give you good accuracy, moderate recoil and still be a field capable load. For powder puff loads on paper, Keith recommend his bullets and 5 grains of Bullseye and it works very well.

Avoid rock hard or water dropped alloys. ACWW or softer will do just fine for this work. In a Smith and Wesson size your bullets .430 with any decent bullet lube.

[randyrat]

Mihec's (#503 ?)- 432-256 Brass ... It may be the last 44 mold you will ever buy because you won't need another one. It makes the best boolits you can imagine for the Forty Four. Just simply amazing.
Plain base Keith

[lightman]

Its hard to go wrong with any of Elmer Keiths designs. Most companys offer molds in the 240-250 weight range that will do what you want.

[44man]

Any of those shown will work, however I did different while looking for accuracy. I tested all my alloys and as I made the boolits harder, accuracy started to improve until I was shooting 50 yard groups smaller then at 25, using Unique and 231. The boolits really started to shine at 28 BHN.
I did not see a huge difference from 7 gr of Unique to 10 gr. Just grabbing a load of, say, 8 gr will be good enough.
I figured the hard boolits guide through the cone better.

[jayjay1]

Ok, thanks so far.

As I understand it right, all of you recommend a boolit round about the old EK design.

Well, yes, if possible I won´t use gas checks.
Yes, I will shoot .44 Magnum and .44 Special with it.
But no, I don´t like HP-molds so much, because of the extra work.


28 BHN is extremly tough I suppose?

[gray wolf]

here are some targets shot with 2 different bullets. One of them is the Lyman 429421
The other is a mold from Tom.

9.4 grains of Unique,

HS6

and I believe Long shot

[Hannibal]

The old Lyman 429421 is the old Keith design and is as good as any and better than most. There are a number of slight variations and clones out there and most will work just fine.

The 44 Magnum is a round that just wants to please and it is easy to find an accurate load. For punching holes in paper, there is no sense in full snort magnum loads. 6.5 grains of Bulleye, or 8 grains of Unique will give you good accuracy, moderate recoil and still be a field capable load. For powder puff loads on paper, Keith recommend his bullets and 5 grains of Bullseye and it works very well.

Avoid rock hard or water dropped alloys. ACWW or softer will do just fine for this work. In a Smith and Wesson size your bullets .430 with any decent bullet lube.

+1. No sense in writing the same thing twice. I find this to be spot-on.

[hogstad7]

I use NOE429421. Weighs 262gr coww. I am going to develop a precision load for paper soon. Just finished developing another load for my 357max. So many projects...

[KAYDADOG]

I've currently been loading the following two designs for my S&W 629 6"Competitor model and very pleased with results. Since I can now make any custom size 44/cal aluminum gas check I tend to just cast the gas check version, additional cost of less than $0.01 per gas check is not even a factor.

If I decide to load reduced loads I would probable use the non gas check design but that defeats the fun of shooting a Magnum Load.

Shooting the S&W 500 Magnum with a 10" barrel with 440/Gr gas check bullets is totally a whole different experience. I also shoot the Desert Eagle in 50/AE 6" barrel and 440/Corbon with a 10" barrel. The semi-auto Desert Eagle is very tame compared to the S&W 500. All I can say is you better have a very strong grip or you may be picking up the S&W 500 off the ground, it does have a very solid kick. Shooting 50/rounds your arms will feel what it can deliver.

44/cal bullet and load information used. H110 is highly recommended for Magnum loads.

44 MAGNUM 240-GR SWC-BB	SAECO TWO CAVITY #440 MOULD	0.430 SIZING DIE
44 MAGNUM 240-GR TC-GC	SAECO TWO CAVITY #424 MOULD	0.430 SIZING DIE

Loading data used Hodgdon H110

23.0 TO 24.0 GRAINS

[Frank V]

I use two the old Lyman 429421 & the RCBS 44-250-K.
Both are great moulds & without the extra expense & time of a GC.

[white eagle]

Mihec's (#503 ?)- 432-256 Brass ... It may be the last 44 mold you will ever buy because you won't need another one. It makes the best boolits you can imagine for the Forty Four. Just simply amazing.
Plain base Keith

I agree one of the best I have used
sent mine to Erik to have a couple cav's. with H.P's

[Mal Paso]

NOE's #503 Clone. Elmer's redesign of the 429421 after the advent of the 44 Magnum. 2 4 and 5 cavity aluminum and brass also Hollowpoint.

I have the 5 cavity aluminum molds. I had trouble with tinning on my brass #503s.

NOE is American Made and the quality is right up there with the famous European Import.

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...2se1bou6duk613

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not a fan of gas checks for revolver bullets but that's a personal decision.
KAYDADOG is using gas checks but he is also running 23-24 grs of H110 ! There's nothing wrong with H110 and it is an excellent powder for magnum loads but there's no need to push a 240-260 grain 44 caliber bullet that fast just to punch holes in paper.
At 900-1000 fps a 250 grain 44 caliber, soft lead bullet will handle a lot tasks and it will handle those tasks amazingly well. There's nothing weak about a 250 grain 44 bullet travelling at 900 fps. That may not be magnum territory but it's far from the lower limit as well.

I occasionally load & shoot magnum cartridges and H110 is very well suited for those applications. The vast majority of my shooting is with loads well below magnum velocities and even when run well below maximum velocity the .44 caliber 250 grain LSWC is an extremely formidable round. At those reduced (but still very functional) velocities; H110 is decidedly not a good powder. There's nothing wrong with H110 for magnum applications. I like Unique because it is a bit more bulky and gives good results in that huge case at moderate pressures. There are other powders that will work equally as well at those non-magnum velocities.
Having a magnum revolver gives you the option of shooting magnum loads but it does not create a mandate to shoot magnum loads. There is tremendous benefit in utilizing a strong revolver to shoot less than maximum pressure cartridges.

One of the best threads on this forum is titled 75,000 wadcutters in a model 27 !

The race to achieve the highest possible velocity is one I choose not to participate in. I occasionally shoot full magnum loads and I shoot them just fine; but see little need to do it 100% of the time.

[murf205]

The old Lyman 429421 is the old Keith design and is as good as any and better than most. There are a number of slight variations and clones out there and most will work just fine.

The 44 Magnum is a round that just wants to please and it is easy to find an accurate load. For punching holes in paper, there is no sense in full snort magnum loads. 6.5 grains of Bulleye, or 8 grains of Unique will give you good accuracy, moderate recoil and still be a field capable load. For powder puff loads on paper, Keith recommend his bullets and 5 grains of Bullseye and it works very well.

Avoid rock hard or water dropped alloys. ACWW or softer will do just fine for this work. In a Smith and Wesson size your bullets .430 with any decent bullet lube.

Char-Gar is spot on with the advice on Keith style boolits. Every .44 I have ever owned shot them as well or better than anything I stuffed in them. My favorite is a Lyman 429421 @ 250 grs with 16.5 grs of 2400 with std CCI primers. My Ruger SRH, a 629 S&W, a new model 24 S&W and a 80 yr old Hand Ejector 44 all love this boolit. The old Hand Ejector gets fed a milder load of 6.5 grs of Unique. Elmer got it right. You wont need a gas check.

[jayjay1]

here are some targets shot with 2 different bullets. One of them is the Lyman 429421
The other is a mold from Tom.

Hey gray wolf,
at what distance have those been shot?

The groups are looking all pretty much the same, not?