H&R handi 44 mag.

[str8shot426]

Just picked one up for a song, never loaded or casted for 44 mag.
Boolit recommendations?


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[RogerDat]

Lee makes a decent one. https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-molds/bullet-molds/44-special-44-mag-4440/lee-dc-mold-tl430-240swc- Or the 6 cavity version of it. I like the tumble lube design. Also works well with powder coating. Two cavity is less than $20 so you can check it out for peanuts.

I think the rifle will handle a heavier bullet but the 240 SWC will work ok in both rifle and handgun.

They say you can shoot a tumble lube design as cast without sizing but in 357 I found my most accurate rounds were TL SWC with powder coat and sized, or tumble lube and sized. How far are you from Hartford WI? That is where Titan Reloading is located https://www.titanreloading.com/index.php?route=information/contact

[RPRNY]

Two issues. 1) the twist rate that H&R chose, 1:38, undermines the use of the long, heavy for caliber bullets that would, otherwise, be ideal for that rifle 2) many of the H&R 44Mag barrels were overbore - like .431" - .432"

Happily, both of those potential issues can be mitigated with cast boolits. So, first, slug the bore and find out what you have. Ideally, size to .002" over groove depth. Second, longer, spitzer type boolits are less likely to work well, so you are probably looking for something in the 250 - 300 grs range in a wadcutter/SWC style. With the slow twist, a softer alloy is more feasible. I would suggest that a 280 grs .432" bullet with a big fat meplat over @ 19.5 grs H110 would be a good place to start.

Many folks have reamed to 445 Supermax as well.

[725]

Of the various .44 Mag rifles I've come across, many like the 215 grain bullets. YMMV. Kind of a matter of good or gooder.

[P Flados]

No real experience with long guns, but the Lee 429-214-SWC (traditional lube grooves) does pretty darn good out of a Ruger single action. Even though a lot of the Lee SWC molds are not of proper proportions, this one just looks right & shoots right.

I use BLL for "target loads" & ASBB HF Red PC for full power loads.

[murf205]

The Lee 240 gr swc w/ gas check has been a very accurate boolit for me in handguns, but you would be remiss if you didn't try a Lyman 429421. Elmer got it right, it hits like it weighs a lot more. You do not have to drive either one to warp speed to make a great game gun out of the 44 in a rifle(or a handgun, for that matter)

[runfiverun]

1-38 would barely stabilize a 200-215 bullet.

[RPRNY]

Well, people have had success in the 260 - 280 grs range with their H&Rs, so Greenhill be d****d. The H&R forum over at Graybeard will provide excruciating detail and a wealth of information.

[CIC]

I will have to say that RPRNY is on the right track. I spent a lot of time working on the 44 handi. I ended up with a .433 diameter cast SWC before it would shoot. Unfortunately all of the Lee options were too small. I eventually got a 240 grain LBT mold. When I first started I was using 300 grain XTPs and had good accuracy so they can stabilize the heavies.

[curator]

My .44 RemMag Handi shoots best with shorter, fatter boolits as well. .432-.434 and hard (BHN 15+) seems to be the ticket. Another problem with the Handi is the way they are chambered. They have a very long, coned throat. Mine will chamber a .445 SuperMag case without trimming. Loading the longer .445SM brass cases helped a lot with accuracy. This is the only way I could get the short boolits close to the rifling.

[str8shot426]

I tried some factory 185 gr. Remington’s. They shot pretty decent, need to look at the lighter side for cast boolits?


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[GhostHawk]

I don't have a .44mag handi rifle. But I do have a .444marlin handi rifle that shoots .44mag loads in .444 brass.

I like the lighter weight 220 grain Truncated Cone. It is in a Lee 6 cavity mold, does very well. Shoots well. I also have the Lee 310 RCBS clone with GC. And it shoots VERY well in the big .444 but it also eats lead half again as fast. But it would be my #1 choice for something I want DRT right there right now, and no BS about it. Buff on down it will do the job. Even at slow speeds.

[catboat]

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=37&osCsid=nk2glp5qnejns30268tmmli8h7

Several .432 and .434” diameter molds in the link above.

[Outer Rondacker]

This is what my lever likes. https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-precision-reloading-equipment/lee-molds/bullet-molds/44-special-44-mag-4440/lee-dc-mold-c430-310-rf-

[dbosman]

Leave time to test Elmer Keith's classic load of 240/250 gr over 2400. It took me a while to get to it, but I've not see a reason to test any more.

[Lonegun1894]

I use a Lyman 429421 in mine, sized to .434", that weighs 268grs. Now anything smaller than .432" shoots patterns instead of groups in mine, just so you have fair warning. The twist isn't a problem, as mine stabilizes up to 300gr bullets if pushed at full power. And as to the comments about the "oversize bores on H&R .44 Mag rifles, they aren't oversize at all, but rather SAAMI spec. For some reason, probably just do drive us all to drinking, the specifications for a handgun in .44 Mag call for .429-.430", while for a rifle in the same caliber, they call for .431-.432". So we can't blame H&R for this one.

Anyway, the 429421 sized to .434" (mine casts at .435") sitting on top of 10.0 grs Unique is good for 2"@100 in mine, which is plenty good for close in deer and hogs inside of 50 yards since I like to hunt close.

[longbow]

My experience is limited to my 1894 Marlin in .44 mag with 1:38" twist microgroove rifling.

As with any long gun in .44 mag you will need "fat" boolits. Contrary to popular belief, .44 mag rifles are not made with "oversize" bores they are made to SAAMI spec which is different for rifles than handguns. Groove diameter for rifle is 0.431" where for handgun it is 0.429".

Anyway, point being is that you will need a boolit of 0.432" or larger. My Marlin likes 0.434".

I found through much testing that the heaviest boolit that would stabilize in my gun with my loads was 270 gr. If you stay under that you should be good. Some say the WFN 300 gr. boolits will stabilize in 1:38" twist if you push them hard (in fact rereading, Lonegun1894 just said that!). I gave up on heavy boolits in my gun.

So far best accuracy I have gotten is with the H&G #503 SWC 258 gr. which didn't feed well without some mod's to the gun but in a single shot you'll not have that problem! Overall I like the Mihec 434640 clone of the Lyman 429640 RNFP at 270 grs. solid.

My go to powder is IMR4227.

Longbow

[Lonegun1894]

I do what Longjow does, and I forgot to mention this in my previous post. Although my H&R will stabilize a 300gr bullet (the Lee, or is it 310?), it only does so with top end loads, and frankly, I don’t need that for the way I hunt. So between a little less powder and a little less lead, and no GC, I use the Lyman 429421 instead. It does everything I ask of this rifle at 268grs, and is still stable out to 300 yards, as far as I’ve tested it. I keep it sighted in at 100 tho, and almost all my hunting is inside of 50.

How do y’all set these rifles up? Mine was pieced together from parts, so has a SB2 (rifle, not shotgun) receiver, laminated stock, and I put a Williams rear aperture sight on it instead of the factory irons. So the sights are reminiscent of their Buffalo Classic. I like it, but everyone has their preferences, so what do y’all do?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Well it's a shame H&R closed it's doors. They made a fine first firearm for many lads who saved up their lawn mowing or snow shoveling money for one.

[trapper9260]

My gunsmith use the H&R Handi as a base to make me one in a 327Fed Mag. .It dose have a kick in it. But need to finish sight in the scope.

[crandall crank]

I use a 265-ish grain. It is a real flat shooter and has plenty of knock down on deer.

[Outpost75]

.44 Spl. Saeco #430 260FN subsonic with 5.2 grains of Bullseye from Handi Rifle at 100 yds.

216906

[Lonegun1894]

Nice group! I may have to try subsonic loads in mine again. My current 429421 at 900 fps falls apart with going from 2”@50yds to 6”@75, but does 2-2.5”@100 with 10.0grs Unique. Maybe I need to try a shorter bullet and revisit subsonic loads.