.44mag and micro groove

[boca]

Hi
This has probably been talked about already but I have cast some .44 projectiles they measure .433 for a # 2 alloy , I will lube them with bees wax and vaseline . The load is the lowest load with trail boss . The rounds will be used just for plinking. I have no gas check on these The rifle is a marlin lever action with micro groove barrel. 101414
The question I would like to know is will this un sized bullet be ok at these low velocity about the 1000fps .

[blikseme300]

Boca, hard to tell if the boolit will be accurate as the lack of GC on this design may not be conducive to stability. I regularly push PB boolits in my micro groove 44mag Marlin rifle over 1,200fps with good accuracy and no leading. I lube & size to .432".

[runfiverun]

how about more like 750-800 fps.
gas checked boolits without the gas check "have" to be pushed slower than normal usually.
no hard and fast rule but this has been my experience.

ohhh nice pro-tex-bore boolit too.

[MtGun44]

Not clear if you mean the Harvey or the GC design, or both.

The zinc washer-based Harvey Prot-X-Bore were an old "solution" to the leading problem,
and they may still work for a microgroove barrel, depending on the diameter of the
zinc washer. Microgrooved barrels are reported to require slightly oversized boolits,
so if the zinc washer is .429 and the barrel really needs .433 or .434 (as many report) then you
may not have good results.

.433 may be big enough with the GC design - but with or without the GC will best be
discovered by asking Mr. Target.

Most report best results with GCs, but all my .44 rifles have conventional rifling - and,
unfortunately, they DO need very large boolits, too.

Bill

[boca]

Hi just measured the zinc washer bullet .429 + got these with some jacketed ones never have seen these before are they an old idea. I have fired some store bought with a black hy - tech coating these bullets where ok till about 1100fps . After that they stripped the rifling and tumbled. The load with the cast will be under that speed , Just don't want to load up a few 100 only to have to pull them apart . But am going away in a week or 2 and will not be able to shoot any to find out.
I may need to find a load with trail boss slower than expected ,hard with a rifle? I see a load for a 44 special 4 grs with a 240gr bullet can I use 44 special data for the .44mag rifle .

[beagle]

When I was beating my head against the wall with .44 micro groove rifling, I found that GCs added quite a bit to accuracy. As has been said, only the target will tell the truth./beagle

[runfiverun]

yeah they are an old idea.
lyman made the molds for a while and you heated the zinc washers on your pots edge then inserted them in the mold and cast through the hole in the washer.
mine is a single cavity mold.
I have one I picked up in 38 and some washers to go with it, I'm thinking it might make a good slick-side for powder coating.

[44man]

Big problem is the slow twist in the Marlin .44.

[boca]

Hi guys
just updating, fired both the zinc washer and the hardcast in the marlin with a mild load of trail boss. All good, accuracy was good as we where only plinking with open sights . No leading or keyholing but the load was a little to mild with a small amount of soot on the shell.
All in all a fun experiment with a lighter ammo box on the return trip.

[williamwaco]

I haven't done any testing with the .44 but with the .357, using gas check bullets with no check increases the group size about 50%

A load that shoots in two inches at 25 yards with a check will open up to around three inches without the check.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

If the boolit stand up is Lyman 429215 215gr +- you don't need a gas ck at 1,000 fps a better boolit for the Marlin is Lyman 429421 245-250gr is better for my marlins .002-3 over sized. If you go over 265Gr a lot of these rifles don't like 300+_ boolits IMHO

[boca]

can a gas check be put on without buying another tool

[Mumblypeg]

All that I have ever done to put on GC's is to place the check on a flat surface and push the boolit down on it and then run it through the sizing die.

[williamwaco]

can a gas check be put on without buying another tool


Yes.

Place a flat piece of steel on top of your sizing die. I use the wrench that is used to turn the nut that locks in the sizing die.
Place the check on the base of the bullet.
Place the checked bullet on the wrench just below the top punch and use the lubrisizer to push the bullet down into the check..

[boca]

All I have for the .44mag is the die set , no lube sizer . I dont mind if it takes me a while

[Foto Joe]

I run a BUNCH of boolits through a Marlin 44Spc/Mag rifle. I shoot either 200gr SWC's or 200gr RNFP's both sized to .429. I normally load just 44 Special but my speeds are 1,000+ fps and I've never had an issue using a non-gas checked boolit in the gun. On the 44 Specials I pretty much use just TrailBoss as well and I think that you'll find that even with 44 Mag you'll have a pretty hard time getting too fast with TrialBoss.

As far as accuracy is concerned, the gun itself is amazing and will make most any shooter look good.

[Elkins45]

All I have for the .44mag is the die set , no lube sizer . I dont mind if it takes me a while

You need one of the Lee push-thru sizer dies. They aren't very expensive.