.44 mag help required

[Leverlover]

G'day all!

I'm the proud owner of a brand new Marlin 1894 in .44 mag and I'm just in the process of procurring bits and pieces to start loading up some cast bullets.

As I've never used cast bullets before, I need a bit of help choosing a die, and nutting out other bits and pieces.

I've read a story or two about how some dies squeeze the brass down a little too much so all loads will suit all types of firearms. In my case I'm only loading for the Marlin so I'm looking for a cheap and easy die that won't shorten the case life.

The projectiles I'm using are Hawkesbury River Bullet Co. 200gr RNFP that are already sized and lubricated. I plan on 7-8 grains of ADI AP70N (an aussie powder) which is probably similar to what all you guys use. The load should get me 1200 fps which is suitable for cowboy shooting without a sore shoulder!!

I have no idea about crimping, what primer to use (I've heard CCI 550'S?) or how and when to know that the loads are fouling the barrel as so far I only shoot and reload jacketed bullets for my .270 and .303.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[twotrees]

Yank here but got an Aussie wife so I'm half way between.

I don't know that powder but a mag primer 550 really isn't necessary unless it's a ball powder that is hard to light. A standard primer should be all you need.

My Marlin had the micro groove rifling and it shot 240 gr cast and jacketed bullets well. But I was loading it way faster (With a much slower powder) than you want too.

If the standard they sized the boolits to, in your case, fit the gun then your Fair Dinkem, with them. If not then slug your bore and either buy or better yet cast and size your own.

I used and still do, RCBS carbide dies for my 44 mag and have gotten 6-8 reloads out of all of them. Run what ya brung (old drag racing expression) for use what you have and try it.

Any Rate give us a shout back as to how you go.

Have a 4 X or VB for me, will Ya?

TwoTrees

[hollow-point]

AP70N is listed by adi. as equivalent to unique orsr7625. i am not sure 100%but AP70N is made here in australia and sold by hodgdon in states as UNIVERSAL.

[hollow-point]

further to earlier post adi handbook states, NOTE:THESE TABLES ARE ONLY APPROXIMATE,SHOWING EQUIVALENCE WITHIN ABOUT 5%.

[mike in co]

regular primers for most loads.....

having said that i just put mag primers in my 290 gr gb without a gas check installed for my 1894.... it shoots better with 16 gr of wc820(slow aa9) than with std primers. my super red hawk likes the same load with std primers....so there.

crimp does two things. helps with burn, and keeps the boolit where you put it.

a low load typically does not NEED a big crimp, but the big crimp will help with the burn.

[MtGun44]

The most important thing for accuracy will be bullet diameter
matching the barrel. You need to slug the barrel and shoot a
boolit that is in the range of 0.001" larger than the groove
diameter (diam of slug). You will be apt to be surprised if you
assume that a .44 cal will shoot best with .429" boolits (lead)
just because that is the "normal" size of bullets (jacketed).

Good luck, it's not really difficult to make a 'bang', but it is
more challenging to get accurate ammo.

Note my motto. :-D

Bill

[454PB]

The quick answer is to use the largest diameter boolit that will chamber easily, and stay away from magnum primers unless using hard to ignite ball powders. Many (most) commercial cast bullets are sized .429 to .430, and use an alloy that is harder than needed and lube that is the same to prevent damage in packaging and shipping. The result many times is that they are less accurate and lead the barrel more than a larger, softer boolit with proper lube.

I would advise you to stay away from the Lee factory crimp dies unless you find that you have a problem with chambering. One of the dies functions will actually size the cast bullet in a loaded round. I like and use the Lee reloading dies, and the standard dies will work fine for your use. There is no need to do heavy crimping in a lever gun, as long as the boolits aren't being pushed deeper into the case in the magazine tube.

As an example, I own a Uberti 1866 in 44/40 and use my Lee 200 gr. boolits cast in WW alloy and sized at .430. Traditional wisdom says 44/40 boolits should be about .427", but the Uberti shoots 1 1/2 groups at 50 yards with open sights.

[Leverlover]

Thanks to all for the help. :drinks: xxxx's all round!

So I should stick with standard primers I gather! For the .44 mag are they large rifle, small rifle or pistol primers? - It can be so confusing!

And I'll have a go at slugging the bore first and see what that tells me, makes sense. Should I just shove one of the .429" cast bullets down there with a cleaning rod and then measure or do I need something that measures say .432"?

The Lee carbide die (3 die) set is a winner then? With an eenie weenie small crimp?

[fatnhappy]

get yourself a .45 or .50 muzzleloader ball and push that down the barrel.

[twotrees]

What ever flavor you can get, Winchester/CCI/Remington or what ever just standard flavor.

Yep on the 3 die carbide set and some crimp.

From the load I guessed it was about equal to our Unique, or a mite faster.

a round ball, deads soft lead is what you need to slug the bore.

Cheers Mate for theXXXX, I needed that:-D


Good Shooting,

TwoTrees

[454PB]

You want large pistol primers, large rifle are the right diameter, but are too tall and will protrude from the rear of the cartridge.

Most cleaning rods won't stand up to barrel slugging. I use a piece of 1/4" brass rod for slugging. I've read others use wood dowels, but I haven't tried that.

You need pure lead (or very soft lead) for slugging. I've done it with wheelweight alloy before, but it's a tough go. A .429" slug is too small, but if you have nothing else, use a hammer to bump it up in diameter. Just lay the slug on a hard surface nose up and pop it a few times on the nose until it mics .434 or so.

[MtGun44]

With fear of sounding like a broken record. . . . .

Try 10 gr Unique under a 240-250 Keith type bullet and you
will likely be very pleasantly surprised with moderate
recoil, great accuracy and all round good fun. I
avoided this load in my Win 94 trapper carbine for quite a
while, had mostly mediocre to poor accy. Went back to
10 gr Unique, and shot 1.5" at 50 yds first try, better
later.

9 gr Power pistol is also very often exceptionally accurate
and moderate load in the .44 mag.

Stick with std large pistol primers (as previously advised) unless
you are using H110/W296 (same powder) in max or
near max loads. Mag primers definitely ruin 44 loads with
Unique or 2400, in my experience.

Shoot right thru a warthog with that load,too.

Bill

[Ranch Dog]

The best slug is a lead egg sinker used for fishing, the type of sinker that has a hole through the longitudinal axis of the sinker. All lead has a certain amount of memory and will immediately start to relieve the pressures of compression once free of the barrel. The hole through the sinker allows that pressure to be relieved for a truer indication of the bore dimensions. The 1/2 oz sinkers are ideal for 44 caliber.

[45 2.1]

Pure lead does not have a memory and is the best thing to use for slugging as it gives true dimensions.

[MT Gianni]

South Bend brand sinkers are pure pb as I recall. Gianni