S&w 29-3

[buckeyeken]

Thinking about running lead boolist in my 29-3 new to cast but not to reloading any help from you guys would help looks like I need to run them at .431 not into casting yet could anyone point me in the direction of boolits ?

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I have one of these and have been using a semi wad nose shape (H&G 503), a 250 grain. Anything similar like the RCBS will also work well. Saeco and Lee also have the same general design available. Roundnosed bullets of the same weight class also do well. .430 may be a tad small and I would suggest .431 or .432 to be on the safe side. A full wadcutter is also good for target work, but weights for those are usually much less than the "Keith style" design or the RN's.LLS

[williamwaco]

I have been loading those since the 1950's. I have always sized .430 and I have never found a cast bullet they will not shoot well.

Use what you have until you see something you really, really want.

If you are really new to casting and have no equipment, start with a two cavity Lee mold. They are so cheap I consider them disposable.

This one works very well for me:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/194309/lee-2-cavity-bullet-mold-tl430-240-swc-44-special-44-remington-magnum-44-40-wcf-430-diameter-240-grain-tumble-lube-semi-wadcutter


and it will get you started in casting with an absolute minimum of expense.


In case you don't like it...(he, he)




.

[44man]

Buy quality boolits from Cast Precision, Beartooth, etc. Don't fool with bulk, bevel base stuff. Use 240 to 265 gr boolits. 250 is ideal.
You should slug the bore and the throats to pick the right diameter boolit. 5 grooves make it difficult but it can be measured. You need a good mike that reads to ten thousandths.
Your fine gun can actually out shoot jacketed if done right.

[azrednek]

My 4 inch Model 29 shoots .429 and .430 equally well. Group size opens up with .431. My Ruger and Rossi lever action prefer .431. I size the majority of my 44 castings at .430 and all of the commercial cast I've shot in any of my 44's has been sized at .430 as well. To the best of my knowledge there are only two ways to determine the best size. Try the different sizes and see which one shoots best or measure the size of the bore and cylinder mouths. There is plenty of good info in this group and net as well for help slugging and measuring the bore size. You don't want to assume .431 will be the most accurate because it is the largest.

Some revolvers simply wont shoot cast well. If your 29's barrel is a perfect .431 but the cylinder's mouths are .429 it will never shoot cast well unless you have the cylinder's mouths opened up. As long as my Model 29 shoots lead reasonably accurate I'm not going to worry about bore and cylinder size. If I had a 6 inch Model 29 like your's and if my eyes focus on the front sight. I'd expect excellent shot to shot accuracy slinging lead. With age and failing eyesight I can only expect so much from a 4 inch barrel.

If you are going to be shooting store-bought boolits look for a supplier that is willing to size at 429, 430 and 431. See which size shoots best. If you can't get satisfactory results then you will have to slug and measure the bore and all 6 cylinder mouths.

The previous suggestion of avoiding bevel base is wise. I have and still do shoot some store-bought bevel base 44's but they are loaded using 44 Special data. The bevel based are fine if loaded mild.

Below is one of many suppliers willing to size to youe specifications.

http://www.mattsbullets.com/

[ColColt]

The throats in mine checked out as .432" and I had to have a custom die made to size them. It's worked out great as I get no leading and the top two performers in this caliber for mine are the ol' standby 429421 and a mold from Accurate Molds that ields a 260 gr large meplat boolit that gives superb accuracy. This is a great caliber to reload for...and especially for lead boolits. Try Unique, Universal and of course 2400. These are the best powders(for me) in 44 Magnum-HS-6 is another great one.

[azrednek]

Try Unique, Universal and of course 2400. These are the best powders(for me) in 44 Magnum-HS-6 is another great one.

I like HERCO in my medium 44 Mag loads (41M & 45 Colt also) which is about 90% of my big bore handgun shooting. It is hard if not impossible though to beat 2400 in hot loads.

[williamwaco]

I like HERCO in my medium 44 Mag loads (41M & 45 Colt also) which is about 90% of my big bore handgun shooting. It is hard if not impossible though to beat 2400 in hot loads.




DITTO Plus One to every word.

[shotman]

I would stay at 430 max if you are useing a GC if not then would use some at different size to see what works . I size at 429 with check and 430 with the wadcutter
tore the legs off croney with 430 GCs just my 2 pennies

[pmer]

Here is a link to the classic Keith boolit. Accurate Molds makes the good stuff and he is pretty quick. I have a couple brass molds from him and they are top notch. There are more vendors here that are just as good too.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-250K-D.png

Spend some time here, ask lots of questions and welcome to the site.