QUESTION: Lyman 250 gn SWC bullet

[KnotRight]

In a package deal for some 44 Special and Magnum brass and dies there was also some bullets. I have no information on these bullets: Lyman #429421 250 gn SWC .429" bullets. They have a lot of red lube on the bullet. There was about 200 of them in 2 boxes from Western Bullet Company out of Missoula, MT.


I looked in the Lyman cast bullet manual and it did not show that bullet.


Being a .429" I looked at the 44 Special data.


Anybody know anything about these bullets and would you shoot them in a 44 Special and/or magnum? 250 gn seems a little heavy for a special.

[Nueces]

The Lyman 429421 is Lyman's version of Elmer Keith's design for the 44 Special, in use since the 1930's. The factory round nose slug weighed 246 grains. Be of good cheer, they are perfect for the Special and Magnum.

[KnotRight]

I went to the Western Bullet website and it show the bullet as .430 and the label on the box says .429.
http://www.westernbullet.com/ly4gr3.html

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm confused, are they bullets cast in a Lyman 429421 mold? or are they bullets in a Western Bullet Co. box labeled Lyman 429421?

If they are .429" -.430" and about 250 grains in weight they would be fine in a 44 Special or a 44 magnum.

[KnotRight]

P&P the label on the box says "Lyman 429421" and I was assuming that is the mold that Western Bullet Co used to make them. On the website it show that they can be sized .429, .430 and .431.

When looking for load data, there is none for 250 gn bullets. There is some for 255 gn SWC bullets. Would you use that data?

[bhn22]

Lyman made many changes to Elmers original bullet design over the decades, and the weights did fluctuate as well. One version or another of this bullet design has been in constant production from Lyman since the 1930s. The current design probably weighs 255 gr, at one point, they were as low as 240 gr. Western Bullet simply cast bullets from the mentioned mould, and sized them to .429, that's what the box is trying to tell you. Go ahead and use the Lyman data for 429421 at 255 gr if that's what you have available. I don't recall this bullet being up to 255 gr, but nothing surprises me anymore.

[KnotRight]

I loaded 75 rounds with 6.3 gn of Unique @ 1.560". The Alliant website showed 6.9 gn of Unique @ 921 f/sec. The Lyman manual showed the 245 and 255 gn bullet with a min and max load. I took the average of each bullet for charge, velocity and pressure then averaged the two bullets.


I have no idea how they will shoot but figured I could not hurt anything including myself with that load.


I will say that it is a much softer lead than I been getting with the Missouri bullets so it might be good that they are not very hot.

[MT Chambers]

Some Lyman 429421 drop a little on the small side and may not size at all over .429", although the mold is generally acknowledged as the best .44 mold out there.

[Dan Cash]

I only have 2 .44 mags; both S&W 29s. If those bullets were mine, I would melt them as any thing under .431 leads my revolvers terribly.

[Petrol & Powder]

I loaded 75 rounds with 6.3 gn of Unique @ 1.560". The Alliant website showed 6.9 gn of Unique @ 921 f/sec. The Lyman manual showed the 245 and 255 gn bullet with a min and max load. I took the average of each bullet for charge, velocity and pressure then averaged the two bullets.


I have no idea how they will shoot but figured I could not hurt anything including myself with that load.


I will say that it is a much softer lead than I been getting with the Missouri bullets so it might be good that they are not very hot.

7 grains of Unique in a 44 Special case with a 250ish SWC will get the job done nicely. 900-1000 fps is about where you want to be with a 44 Special and a 250 gr bullet. That's a little hotter than factory loads but the factory loads are pathetically weak. Fit is more important than hardness. If they can be sized to .430" I'd start there.
As for the that style of bullet, as others have said, it is one of the best!
Now, the bad news. If they are too small for your throats & barrel; you may have to melt them down and start over.

[W.R.Buchanan]

As stated in other terms above, the 429421 is probably the most used boolit in the .44 Special and Magnum.

The load you suggested is perfectly fine. There are probably about 6 different common versions of that mould out there made by Lyman, RCBS, H&G and others. I have another version of that mould made by Mihec. It drops solid boolits at 260 gr and HP's at 240 -250 gr. I use the same load of 6.0 gr of W231 for all weights of that boolit in my .44 Special Loads. Magnums can be pushed much faster but 1200-1300 fps is about the top end for plain based boolits such as these.

Sized at .429 they might be a little small for many revolvers with .430-431 being more likely to be the correct fit . Still I would load some and shoot them and see if they lead the barrel. The softness of the lead in this case is a good thing as it allows the base of the boolit to bump up to fill the bore. .001-.002 is not much to move and that is why as said load and shoot some. They may work just fine.

I have 2 .44 Special Revolvers and one .44 Mag Revolver, and I use this same boolit in all of my midrange loads. Even at mid range velocities this boolit will go completely thru just about any game animal in NA, so you're not going to be suffering from a lack of Horsepower.

Randy.

[mdi]

If those bullets were mine, I would melt them as any thing under .431 leads my revolvers terribly. Me too. Measure the bullets and measure your cylinder throats.Bullets smaller than throats have a good chance to lead the barrel.

Lyman's 429421 is the "classic" .44 Special/Magnum cast bullet. I have a single cavity mold that I'll cast mebbe 100-150 at a time, it's a chore but it's worth it. This bullet works quite well in 4 of my 5 .44 magnums (my Puma won't consistently feed SWCs).