Just loaded 150rds of .44 WCF on single stage press

[Sixgun Symphony]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c215/Sixgun_Symphony44-40/44-40WCF001JPG.jpg

That was alot of work. I am tempted to buy a Lee turrent press, but I don't know if their powder measure that mounts on the powder through expander die is going to work with blackpowder and pyrodex. I am also liking the drop tube on my Lyman 55 black powder measure.

These cartridges were made with the cast Lyman #427666 bullets over 33gr Pyrodex P in Winchester .44-40 brass and CCI large pistol primer. :grin:

[Sixgun Symphony]

BW, that is a Colt Sheriff's Model chambered in .44-40 that I placed in front of the boxes for the picture.

[blindeye]

I don't know anything about Lee products and haven't loaded Blackpowder in 44/40's. But I did get real tired of loading smokeless 44/40's on a Rockchucker. After the third session, gave Dillion a call. New shellplate and powder thru expander for my old RL450b. Never looked back. Sooo much easier, producing a loaded round with each stroke of the handle. Easily tripled my old rate of production, taking my time to do things right. No need to rush. Even swapped out the Rockchucker for a pair of Lyman TMag's so I can leave my most used dies set up all the time in them. Just avoiding screwing dies in and out all the time is hard to appreciate until you don't have to do it anymore. I'm not a reloading speed demon, just like to avoid unnecessary work. More time shooting, less time loading. Same quality.

[Hang Fire]

I really like the .44-40 cartridge loaded with 2F BP. It is underated by many people, but is accurate with a punch.

[cajun shooter]

I have been using a Lee Turret to load my 44-40's for SASS since I had to sell my 550 for economic reasons.
I am using my black powder measures on it with some parts from Dillon.
All you need is the 450 powder die and the adapter sold by Dillon along with the correct powder funnel.
They are both in the Blue Press magazine. This allows you to use your BP measures on any press that takes the standard 7/8 x14 thread size.
I have mine set up on the second stage and I did reverse the handle so that it would clear the Lee primer set up. This primer set up works but makes me want my Dillon back.
The cost is about $30 IIRC.

[Springfield]

I load all my 44-40 BP rounds with my Dillon 550, using the Dillon powder measure. No problems so far in 6 years.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I have been using a Lee Powder measure on a Turret for years to load all my BP Cartridges for years work great.

Sam :D

[Sixgun Symphony]

What about using a drop tube?

[Springfield]

Don't need a drop tube for regular 44-40 rounds.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I clean my brass after I remove the used primers in a Thumbler tumbler with water, Dawn, Lemi shine and SS media.

Then I prime them by hand while watching tv.

Then I load the powder into the cases with a hand made brass and aluminum bp powder dispenser then then I check the 50 cases in the loading block with a strong flashlight to ensure uniformity of levels etc.

Then I place the powder filled case into my Lee Classic Turret press and I insert the overpowder wad. Then the boolit and I seat the boolit.

Crank the handle and give the boolit a decent crimp.

Remove the completed round and insert a newly powdered casing and repeat.

It is faster than a single stage press but not as fast as some of the above posted replies to your posting.

[byronw999]

If you have the $$ you might want to skip the Turret and go directly to a progressive if you shoot a lot...

I used a Lee Turret for prob 5 years and got REAL tired of having to pull the lever 5 times to get just 1 loaded round (I always do a final resize on 44-40s, that way they ALWAYS fit the gun, hence 5 pulls).

I finally moved the whole operation to my Hornady LNL and now its just 2 pulls per round. I still use the Turret for a final resize..

Sure makes reloading a lot faster!