Need help picking a 44 mag mold

[Hal H]

I need guidance in picking a mold to cast bullets for a Freedom Arms M83 44 mag. The cly throat measures .430+, the forcing cone measure .4314 +-(it's hard to measure a taper), the barrels bore dia. is .430 and between the groves measures .423 +- as close as I can measure.

I would like to find something that will work for target shooting, starting at 25 yds and working my way out to 100 yds.

I have a stack of linotype bars that I was hoping to use.

It's been years since I cast and I have some Hensley & Gibbs molds in .32, .357 , and .45 but no .44.

Thanks for any help.

Hal

[bobthenailer]

No need to use straight linotype for bullets in the 44 mag ! straight WW or a alloy of WW and no more than 25% to 50% lino will be hard enough.
RCBS 240gr gc SIL bullet, weight with Linotype alloy with WW around 255gr

[Hal H]

Bob

Thanks for the reply.

Hal

[GRUMPA]

Hal, if it were me I would ask for some different types of 44 boolits in the boolit exchange area of this site located here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?49-The-Boolit-Exchange

If you can size and lube them so much the better, that way you can get a real good idea of what type works best for your needs.

ME??? what I own isn't all that fussy with what it digests, from 240gr all the way up to 310gr they work just fine for me. As far as lead is concerned I've always used WW with 1% tin for all my pistol boolits and I've taken them pretty fast using the LBT lube. Don't get me wrong I've used other lubes with no issues, it just seems LBT lube is what I use the most of.

[Taylor]

I'm and a working on 44 loads too.I have 2 moulds,a Lyman 429421 and a Lee 240429rn.We'll see what works.

[Hal H]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Hal

[kweidner]

I like my keith's. 429421 for me or my NOE hollowpoint.

[wv109323]

As a precaution I have a 245 gn. SWC Lee six cavity mold that I can not get to shoot at all. I can not figure it out. I am using a Marlin 1894 in .44 Mag. With that bullet it is totally unacceptable. I have been able to get other cast Boolits and J-words bullets to very acceptable results but not the lee mold.

[cbrick]

Did you get your throat & groove diameter measurements with calipers or a micrometer?

RCBS 240 Sil GC, mine casts 248 gr from WW +2% tin and drops from the mold at .4295", perfect for your throats.

Why limit yourself to 100 yards with such a fine long range revolver?

Rick

[MtGun44]

Lym 429421 or RCBS 44 250 K are both excellent, and if properly
fitted to the throats with a good lube will work fine with AC WWts,
far softer than lino and much cheaper.

Bill

[turmech]

IMO everyone who owns a 44 should have a Lyman 429421. Although I have no first hand experiance with your gun might as well start there.

[Hal H]

Thanks for the guidence. It will give me a place to start.

Hal

[HiVelocity]

I'd get a few samples of different cast bullets from the members here and try them to see which works best for you BEFORE going through an exhausting, and costly, trial and error with a mold that may not work.

Just my .02 worth.

HV

[Mal Paso]

The 2 4c Lyman 429421 Molds I bought would barely cast .430 at the base without modification. I haven't seen one post where someone was happy with the size of a Recent 429421 quite the reverse.

I am currently using the MP Molds copy of the H&G 503. That was a group buy that sold out but Ballisti-cast took over the H&G Molds and The current number is 1103. That to my knowledge was the last and Only Unmodified Keith. Lyman shortened the forward drive band much to Keith's dismay and the 2 I bought had a distinct taper with the forward band undersized.

My other favorite is the MP 432640 Hollowpoint, there may be one left.

I'd have purchased an RCBS Mold but I couldn't imagine casting as many as I need 2 at a time.

Accurate Molds is another good place.

[kweidner]

yep had to lap the heck out of my 429421. It originally dropped .428 IIRC. Thats just part of the fun. Leaned alot from that experience. Buy custom! :mrgreen: Tom and NOE get my business. I still cast out of my lapped mould. It drops and casts incredible now. Lots of work to get it there though. Let a custom builder do the work and just pony up another $20.

[Mal Paso]

yep had to lap the heck out of my 429421. It originally dropped .428 IIRC. Thats just part of the fun. Leaned alot from that experience. Buy custom! :mrgreen: Tom and NOE get my business. I still cast out of my lapped mould. It drops and casts incredible now. Lots of work to get it there though. Let a custom builder do the work and just pony up another $20.

+1

I have so much time into one of mine, it's not for sale at any price.

[Hal H]

Mike

I used a mike to measure the slugs where I could and a set of calipers to measure in the groves of the slug.
I want to find a bullet that will shoot accurately at close range before I try to many long shots.

Hal

[44man]

Did you get your throat & groove diameter measurements with calipers or a micrometer?

RCBS 240 Sil GC, mine casts 248 gr from WW +2% tin and drops from the mold at .4295", perfect for your throats.

Why limit yourself to 100 yards with such a fine long range revolver?

Rick
I have to go with Rick. Are measurements correct. Then forget 25 yards and reach out.

[Hal H]

What measurements are you questioning and I'll double check them.
It's sure easy to get an incorrect reading.

I'll call a friend that might have a set of pin gauges.


Hal

[Hal H]

Well I called my friend and he didn't have any pin gauges.

I'll go remeasure my lead slugs.

Hal

[44man]

[QUOTE=Hal H;1995505]What measurements are you questioning and I'll double check them.
It's sure easy to get an incorrect reading.

I'll can a friend that might have a set of pin gauges.
Your groove size confuses me. Forget the forcing cone, no need to look at it.
You confuse bore diameter with groove diameter too. Groove is what you need. .428" sounds too small so you need a good slug, upset in the bore is preferable . You might have a tight spot that is making the slug smaller. Don't depend on Freedom for perfection. They buy barrels.
Pin gauges do NOT work in the bore.
Proper slugging of the bore is a must and you need a good micrometer that measures to ten thousandths, no calipers.
I have explained how to upset a slug in a revolver and remove it many times. Pounding a slug past a thread restriction alone does not help. The restriction must be removed but you can only detect one with a slug from the other end to compare.
Some will say to feel the slug as it moves----SORRY, they do not move that easy if fit right. Ever hear of a HAMMER?

[Hal H]

44man

You were right I made a mistake. See if these measurements sound better.

I used a soft lead .45 cal. muzzle loader ball as a slug and measured with a good Mitutoyo micrometer.

I rechecked my measurements and found the mistake in my typing.

The bore dia. is .422-.4225 measuring the slug and checking the muzzle end with a small hole gage.

The grove dia. is .430 measured at the muzzle and .4302-.4303 at the cylinder end of the barre, taking measurements from a slug.

These measurements should be close as I can measure and remeasure and get the same reading.

I'll try slugging one more time and not drive it past the threads on the barrel.

Hal

[cbrick]

The bore diameter, or in other words the diameter of the hole from the top of the lands to the top of the opposite side is meaningless. That simply means that yes, you do have rifling. Pin gauges are useless for measuring a rifled bore.

You need to know the groove diameter of the bore and you need to know this so that you know that groove diameter is the same or a little UNDER the throat diameters.

In post #1 you said the throats measure .430" and here you said the GROOVE diameter is .430". You are good to go, poopin in tall cotton. Size your boolits to a mild snug fit in the THROATS and go shooting.

Rick

[44man]

44man

You were right I made a mistake. See if these measurements sound better.

I used a soft lead .45 cal. muzzle loader ball as a slug and measured with a good Mitutoyo micrometer.

I rechecked my measurements and found the mistake in my typing.

The bore dia. is .422-.4225 measuring the slug and checking the muzzle end with a small hole gage.

The grove dia. is .430 measured at the muzzle and .4302-.4303 at the cylinder end of the barre, taking measurements from a slug.

These measurements should be close as I can measure and remeasure and get the same reading.

I'll try slugging one more time and not drive it past the threads on the barrel.

Hal
MUCH better.
Rick is right, forget bore diameter, only groove and throats. You are getting somewhere now.
Now relax and shoot. The gun will make a fool out of you right quick, shooting better then you can.
Rick and I are close and he might be one of the best here with a revolver. We shoot FAR, NEVER 20 to 25 yards, how about 200 to 500 meters? Hey, 500 meters is 547 yards! Silly, stupid, junk revolver.

[cbrick]

I just re-read this thread and found this that I had wanted to comment on & forget.


I used a mike to measure the slugswhere I could and a set of calipers to measure the groves. Hal

That is impossible, cannot be done. You cannot measure the ID of a round hole with flat sided calipers. Any measurements you come up with will be so far off as to be meaningless.

You need a proper slug measured with a micrometer for both the groove diameter and all (each one) of the throats.

Rick

[Hal H]

Rick

I was going to use the Pin Gages to check my measurments on the cylinder throats.

I use a set of dial calipers to measure the groves,or the top of the rifling imprint, on the slug, as the anvils on my micrometer were to wide.

I measured the ID's of the cylinder holes with a Starrett small hole gage, than used a micrometer to measure the gage.

Out of curiosity I measured the clyinder throats with the ID jaws on a dial caliper and was off by .0005-.001.
As a rule a set of dial caliper is only accurate to .001 at best.

Hal

[MtGun44]

Pin gages are MUCH better. Calipers for throats are not accurate, even if you ignore the
accuracy limitations of the caliper itself. If you really care about getting this part right,
you need a .0001 mic. If not, you may have fine results with best estimates.

Bill

[Bucking the Tiger]

I have been very pleased with my 5 cavity NOE 429421 mold. The price is fair and the quality is great. Nice people to deal with too. I have shot a few buckets worth of bullets from this mold from 3 S&W 44 Magnums and love it.