41 Mag Boolit Question

[Bardo]

I'm going to have Accurate molds make me a mold in the 250gr to 265gr. I was planning on getting a gas check but know I'm thinking plain base. I know gas checks aren't easy to get for 41 mag. I know some use the .416. So what should I get? Also I could get a check maker. I would also like some thought on different designs like LFN or SWC and different weights I want a heaver boolit that will shoot accurate. I plan to shoot full magnum loads with this boolit using WW +2% tin I have no problem heat treating if I need to. This won't be a hunting boolit more for hitting steel targets at a far distance. It will be shot out of Ruger revolvers SBH's.

Thanks, Bardo

[runfiverun]

a plainbase will get you along just fine.
if you are gonna push them super hard a gas check, and a treated alloy will make doing so easier.
anyways i'd look at something streamlined and in the 240-245 gr range.
look at some of 44 man's better targets and the boolits he uses, or better yet a p.m. to him if he don't see this.

[GARCIA]

Bardo:

I had Tom@Accurate molds do a 250gr LBT style LFNGC mold for my 41's.
I am extremly pleased with it. It will cut a single ragged hole when shot out of my Redhawk.
I am using the 416 gator gas checks that Blammer sells and they work a heck of a lot better than the Hornadys. Plus IMHO they are of a better quality and they are less expensive.

I have a discontinued Lyman 410459 mold that I got from a board member. It's a SWC design and it shoots great!!!

I also had another board member (Buckshot?) make me a size die at .411 diameter. This made a significant improvement.

If interested I could sell you a small quantity of both designs for you to try out.

Shoot me a PM if interested.

Tom

[Blammer]

I would get a gas checked round nose design, or a long nose with rounded top for long distance.

[GLynn41]

here on this board .41 cal gc are not a problem -thanks to blammer-- the Hornady's .416 do work fine- if want to go the gc route-- you can just try shooting them with out -- it has worked just fine when I decide to shoot that way

[Bardo]

Blammer never thought of gettting a round nose that should help the B.C. Ill have to look into that, but I have never cared for the looks of a round nose.

Garcia when you say you had Buckshot make you a die at .411 was there anything special about it? I currently size to .411 on a star.

Are people using this caliber for silhouette shooting? if so what do they use?

I appreciate all the input.

Bardo

[TomAM]

Bardo, there's no worries about using 416 gas checks on the 41. Both Hornadys and Gators are intended to be used for both 416 rifle and 41 mag, just the same as 45 gas checks are intended for both 458 rifle and 45 handgun. When sizing to .411" you are reducing the Hornady down from it's unsized diameter of .418". That's just the same as taking the .460" 45 down to .453".

[big dale]

I had a Blackhawk with a 4 5/8 inch barrel from the mid 60's to the late 70's and found a Lee 240 grain semi-wadcutter plain base mold at a gun show and that is what I fed it for lots of years. I never found a need for gas checks. They also made a round nose mold of the same weight. I don't know when they quit making them. Most of the time I used Herco to drive them about 1000 fps, but I did enjoy shooting much warmer loads also. I found heavy charges of 2400 would loosen screws and you had to watch the ejector rod or it would work a bit off so it was difficult to get to half cock. I always thought it was just Ruger's way of telling you that those loads were getting kind of warm if you didn't notice the increase in recoil or that long flame shooting out of the end of the barrel around dusk.

I still miss that gun.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[GARCIA]

Bardo, nothing special about the die other than LYMAN/RCBS not having one that size. Works well in that size in all three of my 41's.

Tom

[azrednek]

My experience may not apply to you because I was shooting a S&W. I didn't have any problems driving the Lee 240 hard. Like the previous poster (Big Dale) I used Herco for most my shooting but for the lack of a better term, floored it using 2400. Using commercial cast 255's driven hard with loads of 2400. Things started coming loose. Usually the rear sight, front screw would be the first and like Big Dales Ruger. My Model 57 was telling me whoa-down and check and tighten the rest of the screws.

After I used up the 255 store-bought bullets I never went back to hot rodding my 41. What got my attention was one of the range's safety guys asked me about my load after seeing the muzzle flash then seeing me check and tighten down the screws. The safety person isn't exactly what anybody could call a Johnny Come Lately. He had years in the gun business prior to his semi-retirement and part time job at the range. Very simply he said and I'm para-phasing "if you want it to shoot like a 44 Magnum buy one, you have a 41". A few months later I followed his advice after finding a deal on a 44 Super Blackhawk from a co-worker. My Ruger 44 can take heavier loads than my wrist.

Recently I've re-gained interest in my 41 mag Model 57. I got into one of Miha's group buys for 41 after having some what dismal results with a brand new Lyman 410610. My single cavity Lee 240 mold is apx 25 years old and doesn't have much life left in it. I had Miha's brass mold for almost a year and finally got around to using it. I cast up a variety of solid, HP and the five sided HP. Haven't decided the load yet but I will likely go back to apx 10.0grs of Herco and stay on this side of max. My first apx 12 lbs cast from Miha's mold was with Lyman #2. After I find the sweet spot with Herco I'll play around some with alloys.

My S&W 41mag just wont take the punishment a Blackhawk will. In the future any handgun hunting I do will likely be with hot loads in my Ruger.

[GLynn41]

a .41 Redhawk is also very tuff-- I used lots of herco --800x and 2400 and still some 2400 -but 296/h110 seems not to losen stuff --personal observation only

[Bardo]

Well I did it i just ordered this mold.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=41-250V-D.png

I also just ordered some gas checks from Blammer.

Now I would like some reload data for a 250gr boolit. Something that has been accurate for you. Velocity is second.

I have several reloading manuals but the hodgdon is the only one that shows boolits that heavy.

I have theses magnum powders 296, H110(i know they are the same) Lil gun, H4227, 2400, Accurate 9.

Thanks, Bardo

[big dale]

Bardo: That is one beautiful boolit! This talk about the 41 Mag has renued my interest to the point where yesterday while at a gun show I found that I was looking for another Redhawk in 41 with a 5.5 inch barrel. Looks like I may have to consider finding a Redhawk in 41 to be a project. They must not have made many of them or for very long. I seem to have a thing about Ruger revolvers.

I guess that I forgot to mention that in 1987 while I was living in the Austin area I bought one at a gun show and between me and my housemate we put a couple of thousand rounds thru it in a couple of months and then his mom and dad came to visit for a week and George put about a thousand rounds thru it in that week. We belonged to both a bowling pin shooting club and a metallic silouete club and he had a blast with that gun. They had just moved to the mountains of New Mexico and they kept seeing black bears raiding trash cans as they were taking their morning walks. They felt kind of undergunned with only Mary's 380 with them on their morning walks...so when they got in the suv to drive back to New Mexico I just handed George the 41 that was in it's Bianchi holster and said he needed it more than I did.

I noticed no mention of Blue Dot as a powder. My Super Blackhawk and another Redhawk in 44 mag just loved blue dot with heavy boolits. I just started low and worked up .5 grain at a time till the groups started getting bigger again. I usualy find that the groups keep shrinking as I go up till they then start getting bigger again so It is telling me where to stop.

The 41 does fine on the metal rams, but the 44 makes a little louder noise when the boolits hit the steel. At least that is how it worked with my Super Blackhawk.

Muddy River Sam has been supplying my boolit metal for quite a while now. I am a very happy customer. I think we should support guys that do a great job with more purchases from others that hang out on this board.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale

[Wally]

I have a .41 Magnum and use a Freechex .44 Gal gas check maker that works just fine on the Lyman .41 Cal 220 SWC-GC bullet. Turns out that the GC shank on it is oversized so a .44 Cal GC will fit on it. It will also work on the Lee 210 grain SWC-TL, as it has a bevel base.

[Bardo]

Ya this website will cost you money. It peaked my intrest a few weeks ago to get a little 32 H&R mag. so i found a little single six 4 5/8 with adjustable sight on gunbroker and $450 later had its in my hands. But what a fun gun- where has that been my whole life.

I didn't mention Bluedot because it has never metered well for me. in fact i just gave a pound of it away a few months ago. But i should have mentioned SR4756 i have had good luck with that in the 210gr-220gr range.

Bardo

[Bardo]

My mold just showed up. That is less then 3 days. I ordered it sunday night. Now hopefully my gas checks show up soon from blammer.

[GLynn41]

BTW Ranchdog has his .41 6 cav on special --

[Bardo]

Well here it is. The boolit is .012" from being flush with the face of the cylinder.

Bardo

37797

[GARCIA]

Bardo, that is the exact same mold that I had Tom make for me.

It shoots really good!

Tom

[Combat Diver]

I also have Ranch Dogs TL411-255-RF (without gas check), his current one has a gas check TLC411-255-RF.
http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_5_27
I had casted some with striaght wheel weights yesterday for a weight of 262 grains along with some Lyman .355 92 gr LRN.

http://i48.servimg.com/u/f48/16/48/54/01/cast_b10.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=792&u=16485401)

I've had the mold for nearly two years but this was the first time casting with it (thanks to a 27 month Afghan deployment). Will shoot them out my Smith 58, TC Contender and Marlin 1894.


CD

[GLynn41]

with a gc those bullets might push 270 gr--- Ranch dog is really tempting me

[Combat Diver]

Finally loaded up those boolits. Settled on a load of 18.7 gr of Win 296 and found out that I need a new battery in my chrony. :(

http://i48.servimg.com/u/f48/16/48/54/01/pb280210.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=795&u=16485401)
http://i48.servimg.com/u/f48/16/48/54/01/pb290210.jpg (http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=796&u=16485401)

CD

[OuchHot!]

Like Big Dale, I had found long ago that blue dot was useful in the .41m at full power. I had some poor ignition at very cold temps (-20F and down) and cured that with magnum primers. Then a few years back, I saw a note in Handloader magazine that the powder mfg. disavows use of blue dot in the .41. Does anyone know the skinny on that?

[Combat Diver]

I just checked Alliant reloading 2005 manual and it shows Blue Dot with 41 loads. It also states that magnum pistol as a secondary use after magnum shotgun use.

Ranch Dog shows 13.4 gr (91% case density) Blue Dot with his TL 411-255 RF for 1481 fps.


CD

[big dale]

One reason I like 41 and 44s so much is that you don't have to run them with max loads unless you want to. Most of the time I use loads that go in the neighborhood of 900 to one thousand fps and I don't have to worry much about max pressures. When going for Max loads, I watch the powder lot number and work up again when I get a new lot number. Since I first saw that warning...ESPECIALLY WITH BLUE DOT. I just opened my last 5 pound cardboard keg of Blue Dot that I purchased in the late 80's...so I will have to do that again when I get a jug of the new stuff made by the new powder company. I suspect that would be a good way to approach it when the powder is not being made by the same company any more. Thinking about this makes me remember that I have not used a pound of 4227 for hot loads in 41 or 44s for some time and I should pick up a pound of it next time I see some.

Have fun with this stuff.

Big Dale