Casting for 44 Special

[CTI1USNRET]

I just cast some bullets from wheel weights for my 3" N-frame 44 Special. I rejected rounded bases and what looked like interrupted pours and the lowest weights, to end up with 100 keepers. All the keepers mic'd btwn .4295 and .430 and weighed between 238.7 and 239.8 grains. I used Lee's TL430-240 SWC mold and tumble lubed them in straight Lee Liquid Alox. They'll sit on wax paper in the basement for a while.

My load for the 44 Spl
240 gr LSWC
5.0 gr of Red Dot or 6.3 gr of Unique
CCI #300 LPP
Starline brass
OAL 1.475".

[chsparkman]

That sounds like a good load. I like the red dot load the best.

[roberts1]

I shoot that exact bullet thru a blackhawk. I like 7 grains of unique. They leaded pretty bad until i honed out the mold and had to pc them to get them large enough to size.

[jmoore]

My .44 Specials all have the "big cylinder throat" condition and need 0.432" or 0.433" diameter boolits to shoot well and have no leading dramas. But they're all 1980's vintage or older. Oldest being a S&W just outside the triple lock serial number range. Still have the model 24 3" I ordered from Horton's in the mid '80s. First .44 I owned!

~http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b226/dave4201/Jmoore%20Stuff/handgun%20photos/S%20and%20W/44%20Spl%20numbered%20models/3%20inch%20Lew%20Horton%2024%20and%20624/33167956.jpg

[EMC45]

Nice Model 24!

[Petrol & Powder]

Nice 24 !!!

Love those factory RB S&W combat grips too.

[Petrol & Powder]

I just cast some bullets from wheel weights for my 3" N-frame 44 Special. I rejected rounded bases and what looked like interrupted pours and the lowest weights, to end up with 100 keepers. All the keepers mic'd btwn .4295 and .430 and weighed between 238.7 and 239.8 grains. I used Lee's TL430-240 SWC mold and tumble lubed them in straight Lee Liquid Alox. They'll sit on wax paper in the basement for a while.

My load for the 44 Spl
240 gr LSWC
5.0 gr of Red Dot or 6.3 gr of Unique
CCI #300 LPP
Starline brass
OAL 1.475".

The 44 Special is a GREAT cartridge and one of the most versatile. Your 5 grains of Red Dot or 6.3 of Unique will safely put you in the 750-820 fps range with a 3" tube. [By the way I also like 3" barrels but that's another thread :-D ].

While 5.0 grs of Red Dot and 6.3 grs. of Unique are listed max loads for a 240 grain lead bullet a modern S&W N-frame can safely handle a bit more. The famous "Skeeter Load" of 7.5 grains of Unique is well beyond listed loads for 44 Special but frankly, 44 Special data is held artificially low and modern designs can safely handle a bit more pressure.
I'm not sure there's a benefit in attempting to push a 240 grain bullet to 950 fps out of a 3" barrel but I do think you could go a bit higher than your 6.3 grain load of Unique if you wanted to try. Of course if your current Red Dot and Unique loads satisfy your needs there's no need to push them faster anyway. Within reason, it's up to you.

I duplicate the "Skeeter Load" using 44 magnum brass and 8.1 grains of Unique behind a 250 grain LSWC in a 4" N-frame. It is an outstanding load and I see no reason to continue wandering.

I have often lamented on this forum that the 44 Magnum revolver has almost killed off the DA 44 Special. If you have a good N-frame S&W in 44 Special consider yourself lucky and enjoy that fantastic gun/cartridge combination.

[Thumbcocker]

8.0 of power pistol with a Keith boolit has worked very well for me in several guns.

[35 Whelen]

I've tried many different bullets in my .44 Specials (all 5 of 'em) but hands down the best in regards to accuracy is the RCBS 44-250. The most accurate load is 6.5 grs. of either Unique or AL 20/28 (They're virtually the same in the .44). Either will get you right at 850 fps and I've shot 50 yd. groups in the 2.5" - 3" range often.

35W

[harley45]

Anyone try the 6.5 grain unique load in 44 mag brass? I have a Ruger Alaskan I'd like to tame a bit and I have no 44 special brass but plenty of magnum.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Harley: 6.5 gr will certainly work in a .44 Mag case but you could bump it up a bit and not suffer very much in the recoil dept. A Ruger Alaskan is a heavy enough gun that you shouldn't notice much difference in the recoil but there is definitely more to be had on the other end.

Handloader #237 has an article by Brian Pearce on loading "Mid Range".44 Magnums. Good info to have.


Also in Magnum length chambers persistent use of Special length cases will require that you clean the cylinder frequently to remove the ring that develops in the chambers which will eventually will be permanent. Better to use Magnum Brass in Magnum chambers. You can load them to any strength you wish, and it won't hurt a thing.

With handguns the time the bullet spends in the barrel directly affects how high it goes on the target. As a result slower loads will print somewhere other than where you thought you aimed.

My S&W 696 .44 Special is a classic example. My idea for a Plinking Load was a Magma 190 gr SWC with 5.0 gr of W231 plodding along at @600 fps. It failed miserably as it printed 12" high at 25 yards and the sights were all the way down. The boolit simply stayed in the barrel too long and as the gun recoiled the muzzle rose a bunch before the boolit actually exited. Nothing you can do but aim lower. That idea sucked.

Conversely: My now goto load now for that gun is 6.0 gr of W231 with a 240 gr Mihec/H&G503/ Keith style boolit with the Pentagonal HP. or the 260 gr solid. This load shoots to the sights perfectly. No need to go further as this one works and will do anything needed from that gun. Both shoot to the sights at 25 yds, but this is a gun I have to practice with more as the short barrel definitely amplifies the need for perfect sight alignment. Double action is pointless as I can't hit anything, and I do lots better shooting S/A. But the gun is an absolute joy to shoot and carry and people always OOH an AHH over it.

With the Keith Boolits I can rest assured that anything that does get hit,,, will know it! The solids will easily go thru a person, the HP's maybe not. They are running around 750fps.

You will have to experiment with different levels of loads for those boolits in your gun, but when a load shoots to the sights, you have arrived at the sweet spot for that gun. (as long as there is no leading which you do need to pay attention to.)

My gun was used and the guy sold it after 100 rounds as he was not able to get it to shoot with no leading. The barrel was literally caked with lead.

I cleaned it which took a while and the bore on that gun looks like a chrome plated bumper. It is hard for me to understand how it got so leaded with a barrel that smooth and bright, but it did, and I got a pretty neat gun as a result of him not knowing how to make cast boolits work. I was successful on the first try as I just followed directions from here to make it happen. Bullet fit is everything, and it is hard to beat the Keith Style Boolit in a .44.

Hope this helps.

Randy

[harley45]

I have the MIHEC Thompson copy GC with all th pins plus I will be powder coating so leading shouldn't be an issue. I'm just looking for a load that is a bit easier on me than the full bore loads. They are fun to shoot occassionally though!

[EDK]

HP38/231 or TITEGROUP are my favorites in various low end/mid range 44 loads. RED DOT's clone PROMO was $112 plus tax for an 8 pounder a couple months ago.
The divorce kinda derailed my mould buying...and a lot of other stuff too! but there are a lot of good designs available. I got MAKE MINE A 10mm's version of H&G 503/LYMAN 429421 as well as the MIHEC version. MIHEC's full wadcutter with hollow base has worked well, as has BLAMMER's clone of 429352 from OLD WEST BULLET MOULDS. I found that the RANCH DOG 432-265 gas check tumbled lubed would remove residual leading from my Vaquero barrels.
Try BEN'S LIQUID LUBE...it ain't near as messy as straight Alox.

Enjoy the little S&W

[Thumbcocker]

Mr. Buchanan that gun and holster is purdier than a speckled pup under a new red wagon.

[9.3X62AL]

Kind of a heathen here......I've sold off my 44 Specials and the brass that fed them. This was a "warehousing" and space issue more than anything else, I had to create some room in the safe and the ammo locker. This process continues at present, with several other calibers and their platforms set to go down the road. I retain 44 Special capability with 90% of the 44 Magnum ammo I load corresponding to "Skeeter's Load"--Lyman #429421 atop 8.2 grains of Unique or 9.0 grains of Herco. I loved being a cartridge enthusiast and still enjoy being a reloading hobbyist, but space limitations--ongoing component scarcity--and the ever-present danger of eventual prohibition and seizure in this Worker's Paradise argue persuasively for disposition of some percentage of assets ahead of forced forfeiture.

[rintinglen]

I have several 44's, but I have never found the snub nosed N-frame to my taste. For concealed carry, it is about as hideable as a grapefruit under a table cloth, and the older (pre-21st century:roll::roll:) guns didn't shoot all that well, despite the propaganda put out by some well-known gun writers. My favorite load is the old Keith 429-421 over 6.9 grains of Unique, though I would use the Skeeter load of 7.5 Unique for hunting. That Ruger pictured there on the right is far and away the most accurate 44 Special I have ever owned. The Smith's, quite literally, shoot rings around it's groups.
150202

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Al, do you remember that day in Hemet when you could have bought several big frame Smiths in 44 special? Instead you bought a model 19. Quite a difference in size. The "N" frame is just too big for my little mitts. I do love the cartridge however. I really wanted a Colt SA in 44 special back in the 60s. Skeeter wrote many articles about them at the time. I had a Colt SA in 32-20 converted to 44 special but it didn't turn out well. The pistol shoots about ten inches high at 25 yards.

[35 Whelen]

I had a sweet 4" Model 24, but after having shot 36-38 oz. Colt repros in 44 Special for several years, the 24 felt enormous. And that's the reason I haven't just switched over to the .44 Magnum....I like the smaller frame .44's. My carry revolver is a little CA Bulldog in .44 Sp.

35W

[9.3X62AL]

Al, do you remember that day in Hemet when you could have bought several big frame Smiths in 44 special? Instead you bought a model 19. Quite a difference in size. The "N" frame is just too big for my little mitts. I do love the cartridge however. I really wanted a Colt SA in 44 special back in the 60s. Skeeter wrote many articles about them at the time. I had a Colt SA in 32-20 converted to 44 special but it didn't turn out well. The pistol shoots about ten inches high at 25 yards.

I sure do, Glen. I had my mouth all set to snag at least one of them, but the .433"-.434" throats dissuaded me. Every last one of them, drat the luck. After sorting out the Ruger 45 Colt dimensional drama in the BisHawk just prior to that shopping venture, I was in no mood for further such dimensional gymnastics. That little M-19/2.5" shot like a house afire, but the change to the Federal 357B loads by my agency--noted for bending K-frame S&Ws--made it disposable to me. Off it went.

[Petrol & Powder]

I went through similar revolver purges in my pre-bullet casting days. All of the big bore revolvers left my safe, replaced by various 38/357 revolvers and assorted pistols. By the time I returned to that segment of the handgun world the DA 44 Special had reached cult status. I was forced to go with a 44 magnum and typically download it to duplicate the Skeeter load. Not a bad compromise.
I always liked the 44 Special over the 44 mag but I acknowledge all of the above mentioned issues with the older 44 Specials. I really do wish I had picked up a model 24 or 624 just before their prices hit the stratosphere.

[9.3X62AL]

Opting for the 44 Magnum in S&W flavor won't exempt you from dimensional foibles, though the newer editions tend to be a bit more compliant with modern thinking. The SAAMI chamber drawings show throat dimensions to max out at .433", so the wide-throated S&W examples are actually "within spec" as far as SAAMI is concerned. That many of these same wheelguns also sport .429"-.430" grooves is another issue. I am thankful that my old Redhawk x 5.5" has .430" throats and fat .429" grooves.......431" castings do good things in the revo, though the .425" expander spud that came with the RCBS die set is as useless as disc brakes on an aircraft carrier. Can you say "Jacketed Bullet Bias, with malice aforethought"? Buckshot fixed me up in that regard, as he has so many times in this hobby field. The 45 Colt has its own tooling biases and drama sequences, but that is off-topic and a bit tangential.