Rechambering a 44 mag to .....?

[Johnch]

Well today I jumped on a CHEAP 44 mag Encore barrel before I realy looked at it
I knew it had a scratch in the chamber from the original owner
And When I looked at it , I never REALY looked at how deep the scratch was :groner::groner:

I thought , no problem
I will just have it reamed to 444

But after paying the guy and getting my real steal home
I realized I may have just messed up
As after doing some measurements
I figured the scratch / gouge would not be totaly cleaned up by a 444 reamer
It starts at the rim area and extends in for .78 - .8"
Starting out about .011 -.012 deep and Getting shallower as it goes (don't have the proper tools to measure the scratch )

Now I have to figure out just what to do

As I would need a bottle necked cart with a base of at least .480 and I want a rimmed case
I was thinking of a 44/475 or a 44/500

Are either a normal wildcat ?
So I could posibly rent a reamer
Or any other sujestions ?

Not looking to exceed 444 balistics , but I figured I could always down load to those balistics

I am going to stop in and talk to a local gunsmith that thinks out of the box as I do
And see what he sujests
He will probely sujest his normal , bigger is better and want to use a full length 45/70 parent case

John

[Scrounger]

.440 GNR

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/information/GNR_cartridges.htm

It says dies and data are readily available, uses necked down .450 Alaskan cases, which comes from .348 Winchester brass if I remember correctly. How far is that from .45-70 brass? They do chamber it in Encores so you're good to go.

Also, you could salvage the stub part of the barrel and have someone thread it and put in your choice of calibers. This was discussed here a few days ago.

[montana_charlie]

44-90 Remington Straight

[yondering]

Don't know if it's still around, but there was a 440 Corbon Magnum (I think that's the name) that was a 50 AE necked down to .44 caliber. This was for those Desert Eagle pistols.

[lar45]

take a chamber cast to see exactly what you're working with.

A 444 might work if the scratch isn't too deep.

[dragonrider]

regarding the chamber cast, he may not be able to get the cast out?????

[smokemjoe]

I know a fellow that had a 41 Swiss reamer made and rechamber a H&R -44 Mag. to 41 Swiss.

[exblaster]

Why not repair the gouge ? Re chambering is not the only answer. You may be able to fill the gouge with filled epoxy , cheapest way to go or you could sleeve the chamber. Just a thought maybe not a very good one but.

Exblaster

[dk17hmr]

I like the 44/500 idea. I have a 44 magnum barrel on a NEF with a sloopy chamber, and a 44/500 could be a pretty awesome rechamber.

I might be intersted in that if you need help with reamer cost. If a guy could find one.

[Pepe Ray]

I've seen a lot of fine suggestions, all expensive to me.
I prefer simple and cheep.
Look at 44-40 (WCF).
Pepe Ray

[montana_charlie]

regarding the chamber cast, he may not be able to get the cast out?????
CerroSafe contracts when it solidifies. It takes an hour to come back up to actual size...
CM

[fishteach]

I just had my 26" Encore .44 mag custom shop bull barrel rechambered to .444 and I love it. David White (http://dandtcustomgunworks.com/) did mine and it is a serious tack driver now and the recoil really isn't bad with the bull barrel. You mine as well send it to who ever is going to do the work and they'll be able to tell you what you can and can't do. Good luck, FT

[longbow]

Just out of curiosity, does the gouge have a raised burr? Part of the 0.011" to 0.012" depth you gave?

You never know, if there is a raised burr maybe you can either polish it or have a gunsmith run a chambering reamer in to clean it up and see what is left after. If it isn't too deep and doesn't have a burr anymore it may not bother your brass. I'm thinking if the burr is about half the depth of the gouge it might not be such a gouge after removing the burr.

If the chamber is tight, you may be able to have it opened up a couple of thou and still be within tolerance. My Marlin has a horribly sloppy chamber so I just size the case mouth a little ways and the rounds look like .44-40!

Also as Pepe Ray says, rechambering to .44-40 may be your easiest solution except if you loaded to .44 mag levels you would want to make sure those rounds never found their way into a stock .44-40. A wildcat or other larger bodied cartridge might be safer in that regard.

Longbow

[BUFFALOW RED]

i got a marlin in 44mag id like to go to 44-40 is there a reamer we could share expence on

[dk17hmr]

Will a 44-40 in a rifle be comparable to a 44 magnum in a rifle?

[smokemjoe]

You can rent a reamer for like $25.00

[Dark Helmet]

This will clean it up http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=171

[longbow]

Dark Helmet's suggestion looks like a good one if the gouge is too deep to clean up.

A good fix with a cartridge that can't be loaded in a firearm not intended for the pressure. Most likely a pretty good performer too.

Longbow

[Johnch]

Thanks for the input

Got a chance to talk to the gunsmith tonight
He knows of 2 44/475 or 44 x 45/70 wildcats
One has a longer neck and he thinks it would be a better choice

If he can't find a reamer , he said he can make one

Now it wait begins
As he is back loged 6 months

Oh well , late spring

John

[Lloyd Smale]

used to be commom practice to rechamber 44 mag #3 rugers to 444.

[Mack Heath]

You might save yourself some headaches if you just called JD Jones at SSK. He has already developed a number of wildcats in .44 on the Encore. If you explained to him your problem, he could give you an idea of what your options are. I am pretty certain that he has already done the .44/.454 and the .44/.500 S&W.

Other advantages of going with SSK is that, if he has already done it, he has the reamers, the turn around time for a re-chamber job is only a couple of weeks, he will already have loading data for you and, finally, you can get the dies from him as well. You'll get everything you will need at one time.

Just a thought.

[Johnch]

(
You might save yourself some headaches if you just called JD Jones at SSK. He has already developed a number of wildcats in .44 on the Encore. If you explained to him your problem, he could give you an idea of what your options are. I am pretty certain that he has already done the .44/.454 and the .44/.500 S&W.

Other advantages of going with SSK is that, if he has already done it, he has the reamers, the turn around time for a re-chamber job is only a couple of weeks, he will already have loading data for you and, finally, you can get the dies from him as well. You'll get everything you will need at one time.

Just a thought.

Last time I looked into it
SSK didn't want to rechamber barrels
They wanted to sell you a new barrel

But things may have changed

As for turn around time
I have several barrels on the bench that I have not worked with yeat and 1 has sat there for almost a year

Between work and work and hunting
I back burrner some projects :-(:-(

John