Black powder in the 44 special

[catkiller45]

Do I need a special bullet for shooting either black powder or triple 7 in my 44 special. Should it be 2 or 3 f grade?

Do they make bullet molds for black powder with larger grooves for spg. I know nothing about it so please teach me. Thanks. Johnny

[sharps4590]

A larger groove is always a plus. My Lyman 429421 looks as if it would work fine. I would shoot Fffg. With T-7 I don't believe the groove size would matter as the lube is 99% for fouling control. T-7 fouls so lightly I'd think any bullet would work.

Yes sir, they make bullet molds that are generally intended for BP use but mostly for rifles.

[Walks]

Accurate Molds does make bullet molds with LARGE lube grooves for shooting Black Powder.
I used 3F for .44 & .45 handgun size cartridges in BP.

[Dan Cash]

A special bullet for use with black powder is not necessarily required. It will depend upon whether the bullet carries enough lube. If you find leading or excessive fouling with your existing bullet, go to the Accurate Mold web site and pick a bullet that pleases you and have him make the lube grooves to suit your fancy. The site owner can give you some good advice if you ask. I have a .454 mould from Accurate that is made for .45 auto and in black powder applications too.

[Castaway]

Obviously, the bigger the groove, the more lube it will carry, but with a pistol, you may find the bullets you have will work. The primary purpose of a black powder lube is to keep the fouling goopy. Black powder velocities are generally too low and the bullet will fit itself to the bore of the barrel where leading is rarely an issue. I shoot two bullets from my 45 Colt, both designed for smokeless. One carries enough lube to shoot a box of 50, the other will start to bind and I have to do a quick field cleaning to finish a box. One solution I sometimes use with the second bullet is to place a lubed wool wad under the bullet, the same as I use in my cap and ball revolvers.

[Springfield]

I do quite bit of BP shooting, mostly Cowboy Action matches. For pistols any bullet with a decent lube groove will probably work, but if it is a teeny thing like most regular LEE moulds have, it probably won't work. I used to use mostly custom made LEE moulds like those from www.biglube.com ,but have found I like my Accurate Molds better, as they are just much better quality and are easier to use for quantity casting.

[missionary5155]

And you can dip cast noses into heated BP lube at any time.

[greenjoytj]

Revolver or rifle?
A LEE 452-255-RF has 2 small capacity lube grooves and works well in my 5.5” revolvers but it does not work in my 24” rifle barrel. Hard crusty fouling builds up starting about 8” from the muzzle. I tried a Lyman mold it has a generous lube groove but also an annoying bevel base.
My old style Redding steel (not carbide) sizing die created such short necks ~217 thou long that the lube groove was barely contained within the tight portion of the case neck, I believe gas pressure was entered the lube groove upon firing and blasted the lube out of the groove. This Redding die/Lyman bullet combo worked in the revolver but not in the rifle barrel.
I've put the Redding die away never to be used again. I will just use my RCBS die, it creates a sized neck about 490 thou long.
I’ve ordered and have received mold #45-260F from Accurate Molds late last year but we haven’t had the weather to cast in yet, May is coming.

[Nobade]

The regular Keith bullet, #429421 I believe, works wonderfully in my Ruger 44 spl revolver powered by 3fg. Lube is usually either NASA or Gatofeo #1, lead is as soft as I can come up with at the time.

[Castaway]

Nothing has worked better for me than Gato Feo #1 in a cap and ball, cartridge revolver, or a 30” barrel in my black powder cartridge rifle.

[Argentino]

Do I need a special bullet for shooting either black powder or triple 7 in my 44 special. Should it be 2 or 3 f grade?

Do they make bullet molds for black powder with larger grooves for spg. I know nothing about it so please teach me. Thanks. Johnny

Not .44 Spl but I´ve been developing BP loads for its father, the .44 Russian. I always use pure lead and 3Fg. .

Although it might be preferable to use molds with big lube grooves, I´ve found that many other might work with BP, too; you just need to clean the bore more frequently. This cleaning frequency will not only depend on the amount and type of lube but also on how much residue your BP generates. Some of them burn much more cleaner than others.

IMHO, Lyman #429421 has a groove big enough to carry a decent amount of BP lube. I´m using 50/50 Vaseline and beeswax but plan to try some others as well.

RBs will also give excellent results, I´ve used 0.433" RBs sized down to 0.429". I just seat them "dry" then dip ´em in the BP lube before shooting. I´ve discovered there is an advantage when using these RBs on S&W NM#3s: they just tend to hit to the point of aim at 25 yards and even longer distances. When using heavier boolits like the Lyman, the POI is at least 1ft above the POA. YMMV.

Argie.