Best dies for the 44-40

[Pioneer2]

I have an older set of Lyman dies that work fine for bullets up to .429 size.With the .430 the neck tension is a little much.I am aware of the varying neck thickness of brass Starline + Win .007 and Rem .008-.009 I had the sizer die apart and it doesn't appear to have an expander button? Odd but parts may not be available for this model.May need another die with a .44 mag .430 button? The bore size is .4286 in my Win 92 so I want to use .430 bullets if possible.Thoughts?

[lightman]

I'm a little surprised that you can't get the expansion that you need with the Lyman set. I use an RCBS set and it works fine. I would think a .430 bullet would work great.

[iShoot17]

Another vote for RCBS!

[EDG]

The Lyman dies are a 3 die set. There is no expander in the sizer die.
The expander is an M die. You should try a M die for a .44 Magnum.

[Larry Gibson]

The Lyman dies are a 3 die set. There is no expander in the sizer die.
The expander is an M die. You should try a M die for a .44 Magnum.

+1.........it's what I did with an older set of Lyman dies. Finally traded them off and got new RCBS dies. They work great with .429 and .430 sized bullets.

[Outpost75]

If you already have the Lyman dies, a .44 Magnum "M" die plug will do what you want.

If buying new dies, I like my RCBS Cowboy set, which came with two expander plugs for .427 and .429 bullets, which also works with .430"

[EDG]

My RCBS .44 Mag dies date back to the late 1960s.
They had the decapper and expander in the expander die.
I put a decapper in the sizer die.
I found that the RCBS expander die had the same internal threads as an M die. I put an M die expander in my die.

[LUBEDUDE]

I second the Cowboy dies by RCBS. I’ve experienced no problems using them up to .429. I have not tried .430 boolits.

[TNsailorman]

I never owned but one .44-40, a Ruger Vaquero. It had a serious problem and I sent it back to Ruger and they sent me a notice that it could not be repaired and I needed to pick out a revolver from their current book. The dies I had for it were the RCBS Cowboy dies and I really liked them. They loaded lead very well for me, I never loaded any jacketed bullets for the .44-40 so I don't know how well they would work for that. I really like that retro look too. james

[Beagle333]

I use the RCBS cowboy set with .430 boolits. No problems.

[country gent]

I have 2 sets of 44-40 dies a older set of standard remingtons with a hornady expander, and a new set of lees 3die set in the red box.The rems do good and the hornady expander bell does a good job. I set up the lee sizer today to size some new brass and got some scrathes from the vent hole and at the neck. Had to get out the rubbing compound and made a cotton buff work it a little and got rid of some burrs and sharp edges. It does a better job forming the shoulder on new brass than the rem does now. Also a light burnishing on the case neck now no scratches and its smooth when sizing.

In the future I'm going to buy a long rifle die with the 9/16 thread stem and bore it to .550 to the threads, then make a complete set of expander belling stems in .001 increments in each caliber range I load cast in. this will start at 30 cal and go up to 45 cal. Done right it should do pistol cases to the long BPCR cases.

[nicholst55]

In the future I'm going to buy a long rifle die with the 9/16 thread stem and bore it to .550 to the threads, then make a complete set of expander belling stems in .001 increments in each caliber range I load cast in. this will start at 30 cal and go up to 45 cal. Done right it should do pistol cases to the long BPCR cases.

NOE already makes pretty much what you suggest, for use with the Lee Universal Expander die. They may not have the BPCR cartridges covered, though. Buffalo Arms has that area pretty well covered.

[krems]

I use the rcbs cowboy dies for the 44-40. I never had a problem with .430” bullets.

[Pioneer2]

I'll have to look into an RCBS cowboy set as I'm not a Lee anything fan.Except perhaps Enfield.