44 sizer

[Kirk Miller]

This has probably been covered many times but I cannot seem to find a definite answer to my question.

My S&W 624 44 spl. requires a boolit of .432. At present My brass inventory is mostly Winchester. With the standard expander plug in the Hornady die set, the boolits are sized down by the brass. With the few PMC and Rem. pieces I have, this does not happen.

So, should i go with the M die and if so which one. Or should I be looking at the rcbs and or hornady cowboy die sets. Another possibility that occurred to me is that of stocking up on Remington brass. Obviously that is the last resort due to the expense. However, if thats the only way, that's what I'll do.

Thank you for any advice ya'll send my way.
Kirk

[Wayne Smith]

You definitely need an expander die. Either the RCBS or the Lyman M die will work fine.

[GBertolet]

I had the same problem. My S&W 29 44 mag has .433 cylinder throats. I mostly shoot 44 spl WC loads out of the 29. I was fortunate to find a mold that casts that large. I called the die mfg, RCBS and was told the biggest expander die they had for the 44, was the cowboy at .4285. My original expander was .4275. The factory expanders are designed for .429 - .430 jacketed bullets. Not quite big enough for cast .433 bullets. You could contact Hornady and ask them about custom sizes. Often the manufactures will give you free parts. I chose to make my own expander out of drill rod. It came out at .4315, which I think is about right for my purpose. If you choose to pursue the M expander die, you should contact Lyman customer service, and ask them about the size of the expander plug. Maybe they will make a custom size for you if necessiary. Good luck with your endeavor!

[462]

Get the standard .44 caliber Lyman M-die, and have Buckshot make an expander to your specifications.

Unfortunately, the cast boolit hobby isn't always as inexpensive as we'd like it to be. Nonetheless, solutions to our occasional problems are available.

[wv109323]

I have the same problem. RCBS told me that they would make me a custom size expanding die for $26.95 plus 4.50 shipping. You may want to consider this option.

[Kirk Miller]

Thanks again to all of you. That is exactly the information that I needed. It never fails to amaze me; the wealth of knowledge on this board.

Kirk

[Piedmont]

If you have a die set you already have, in essence, an M die as die #2 or a powder through die on a progressive press that does the same thing.

A couple of thoughts. You could make your bullet hard enough that your brass doesn't size it down. You could make your powder charge high enough to exceed the strength of whatever alloy you are using and bump the base band of that puppy right back where it was and beyond before it ever leaves the case. That is what Elmer Keith always did. His .44 likely had cylinder throats as big as yours. For some odd reason he sized to .429 and relied on obturation. You could size to .432 and rely on obturating your base band--a better idea than Elmer's to my way of thinking.

[TCFAN]

462 gave you very good advice. That is what I did to make my marlin 44 mag shoot with .433 boolits. Buckshot makes a good product.....Terry