Undersized Cast Boolit...Can it still be used?

[Southern Shooter]

I have a Ruger Blackhawk Flattop .44 Magnum. The cylinder throats are measuring for .430 bullets. I have a lot of 500 hard cast SWC that only measure .429, though. I hate not to use these boolits. Even though they measure under the size this gun truly should have fired through it, is there a load that would allow these boolits to be fired without leading up the gun? Something like a light load recipe? The powder available is Green Dot and Unique.


Thank you

[DougGuy]

If they weren't hard, they would obturate under magnum pressures and you'd be okay with that.

Neither one of those powders are recommended for magnum levels, both are too fast for max loads in the .44

Sell or trade them? Remelt?

[longbow]

Not a handgun shooter here but have shot lots of undersize 429421's through a .44 mag. Marlin. The groove diameter is 0.4315" and boolits cast at 0.429" so significantly undersize. Leading was not much of an issue except at max. load levels. I have since corrected this situation by buying moulds that cast 0.433"/0.434"+.

I suspect that at moderate load levels either Green Dot or Unique would be okay. If you aren't pushing them hard then leading shouldn't be a big issue. I'd load a few and try and see.

Throats are 0.430" but what does your barrel groove diameter slug at? If tighter then you may be okay.

Are they lubed? If so then you are stuck. If not then they may be candidates for powder coating which should take up that clearance nicely.

I'd try a few and if they work okay great! If not then sell or trade... or melt down and re-cast in a larger mould then size to suit.

There used to be an outfit that sold thin wax that you could press over each case mouth to punch out a disc then seat your boolit. That would probably work for what you want with light loads and those boolits if they lead. If not available then dental wax should be a good substitute.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Longbow

[clum553946]

Alliant's reloading center suggests 7.0 gr of Unique or Green Dot under a 240gr lswc. Might want to try loading 15-20 rounds or so & see if they work out for you. Velocity is around 900 fps. You could also go a little lighter.

[Tatume]

If you have them, load them and shoot them. If they shoot well enough to satisfy your personal standard, continue shooting them. If not, then trade them, sell them, or whatever. The point is, the only way to know if they are satisfactory is to load a batch and shoot them. I would shoot at least 10 five-shot groups or five ten-shot groups to make the determination.

[Cowboy_Dan]

You could always melt them and cut in some more pure lead so as to shoot a less expensive alloy. They are probably hardball, 50/50 that with pure and you basically have wheel weights with added tin.

[454PB]

I'd try loading up 50 or so, sometimes things work better than expected.

[shooterg]

Powder coat ?

[Southern Shooter]

Thank you everybody. The powder coating might be a possibility to try. Guess it would increase the diameter some. My brother does powder coating. But, even if I don't do the powder coating it wouldn't hurt to load up 50 or so and give it a try.

[yondering]

If they aren't lubed, powder coating is a great option to add an extra thousandths or two. If they're already lubed though, it really isn't worth the effort; you'll need to spend more time and effort removing every trace of that lube than you would just casting another 500 bullets.

If they are lubed, you could try plain base gas checks from soda can material. Size them to .430 or .431", you'll still have undersized front driving bands but the base will be correctly sized, which is more important.

[44man]

If they are lubed, you could try plain base gas checks from soda can material. Size them to .430 or .431", you'll still have undersized front driving bands but the base will be correctly sized, which is more important.
Not a good idea, the check will open the brass and ruin any tension on the boolit.
Most important thing for the gun would be to know the groove size. It just might be .429".

[Southern Shooter]

True. I do need to check the groove size. I have not do so, yet. Thanks.

[runfiverun]

meh... load 20 and go to the range.
try about 8.5-9grs of the unique.

[yondering]

Not a good idea, the check will open the brass and ruin any tension on the boolit.

Not unless the brass is badly work hardened or barely sized enough to hold the bullet. If the brass is sized correctly, it works fine.

[wv109323]

It is true that the boolits should be .430 for the throats. But the bore could be .428" and the bullets still be accurate.
I have a Marlin 94 Rifle in .44 Mag. My cast boolits at .4305" will not stabilize. But I have some hard cast commercial boolits at .429" that will stabilize and shoot around 3/4" at 50 yards. The bore IIRC is .4305".
Try a few.

[44man]

Not unless the brass is badly work hardened or barely sized enough to hold the bullet. If the brass is sized correctly, it works fine.

I have been shooting the .44 since 1956 but got serious in 1980 with IHMSA. I started to solve problems that made me miss. Found the dies that work, got case tension even, found the right primer and on and on.
One thing I found is brand new brass is the worst EVER with tension all over the place. After so many loadings it got better and my best groups have been with brass dated to back then with over 40 loadings. 1-5/16" at 200 yards.
I blew it bad when I uses a size die larger then the boolit. I grabbed my .431" Lee for my .430" boolit since I use it to remove excess lube only. But it did not size the check enough.
Being anal, I went to a .432" die to see. WOW, what a mess.
I will never use a die larger then the boolit anymore.
I have lapped Lee dies from factory of .430" to .434" in steps. Did it to try to get a stupid Marlin to shoot and bought/made molds to fit. Sold the beautiful, nice rifle because of the twist. The pencil pusher that figured it needs the pencil stuck you know where.
This is a .430" boolit with a .430" groove and .4324" throats at 200 yards. 22 BHN, 330 gr. Ogive to fit cone to clock the cylinder. 1980 brass.

[44man]

When a check opens brass before the boolit enters, your tension is shot. I don't know about aluminum since I don't think it is strong enough to halt boolit skid, might crack when it hits rifling.
I will never consider it GC material.
What is a GAS check, skid stop! Keeps rifling marks on a boolit at rifling size to prevent leakage. I call it a "skid stop."

[yondering]

44man, maybe you should learn what plain base gas checks are before commenting on them.