New 44 boolit

[Heavy lead]

I'm asking for some imput. I'm wanting a new boolit for heavy 44 loads to be used in a SBH Hunter and a Redhawk, as well as a three screw SBH, and a NMSBH. I've been messing around on Mountain Molds design centre and have come up with essentially a long flat nose design with a .430" long nose, secant ogive with a 77% meplat with a base and front driving band of .1" two centre driving bands of .07" and a weight of 310 grains.
This boolit will be pushed and not used for any light loads. You guys with experience with heavy ones, if you could chime in and let me know what you think. I'm concerned with three things, number one, is the nose too fat to stabalize? Number two, can I do this without a gas check ok. Number three, is it heavy enough? This boolit will just be used on deer, targets probably not more than 100 yards.

And also, am I wasting money, should I just buy the Lee and a box of checks?

Thanks in advance.

[crabo]

People really seem to like the Lee, and at the price you can buy the Lee, plus it is a 6 banger, I would start there. I can't imagine why you would need more weight than 310 grains. A box of gas checks is going to last for a long time.

[454PB]

I doubt it would be wasted money, used moulds are easy to sell and hold their value. Many of my older moulds are selling for twice what I paid for them.

However, that Lee 310 GC is a great boolit!

[Tom W.]

I traded for a Lee 310, and now that's it's my current "go to" bullet...My RCBS mold boxes are getting dusty now.

Yes, I'm gonna keep them...

[GP100man]

my redhawk loves the lee 310 gr boolit & all the 4227 i can stand!!!
it is more accurate with a gc though, it`s designed for one any ways & probably would work plain based.
i size & lube mine with lars 45 carnauba red.

GP100man

[Heavy lead]

What are you guys using for lube on the Lee, and what powder? I'm thinking 296, but am thinking about 2400 also.
How does 4227 meter?

[454PB]

H-110 and WW296 at 21 grs. equals 1230 fps from my 7 1/2" RH. 19.5 grs. of Lil'Gun equals 1340 fps. I Use the rear crimp groove and CCI 350 primers.

[Glen]

To answer your questions --

1) The nose is not too fat to stabilize...at short range. For longer range, you might run into some accuracy problems. I have shot .44 WFN bullets (80% meplat) that gave decent accuracy out to about 50 yards or so, but then groups started to open up at longer ranges. I don't generally design my hunting bullets with anything larger than about 73% meplat, and sometimes go with 70%.

2) You can make this design work just fine with a plain-based bullet. A GC is not necessary.

3) Is it heavy enough? You say that you intend to shoot deer inside of 100 yards with it. A Keith 250 grain SWC will shoot through a broadside deer at 100 yards, and so will your 310 grain bullet. It's much heavier than it needs to be for deer. The extra weight buys you something for larger game like elk, but for deer, it buys you nothing.

As for you basic design, I think it has merit. With the exception of the meplat diameter, you are basically describing the classic 320 grain SSK truncated cone bullet, designed by JD Jones. The SSK bullet has been used to take elephant, Cape buffalo, eland, moose, elk, etc. so yes, I think your bullet can kill a deer.

[MakeMineA10mm]

I'm asking for some imput. I'm wanting a new boolit for heavy 44 loads to be used in a SBH Hunter and a Redhawk, as well as a three screw SBH, and a NMSBH. I've been messing around on Mountain Molds design centre and have come up with essentially a long flat nose design with a .430" long nose, secant ogive with a 77% meplat with a base and front driving band of .1" two centre driving bands of .07" and a weight of 310 grains.
This boolit will be pushed and not used for any light loads. You guys with experience with heavy ones, if you could chime in and let me know what you think. I'm concerned with three things, number one, is the nose too fat to stabalize? Number two, can I do this without a gas check ok. Number three, is it heavy enough? This boolit will just be used on deer, targets probably not more than 100 yards.

And also, am I wasting money, should I just buy the Lee and a box of checks?

Thanks in advance.

Heavy Lead,
I'm not going to comment on the design, as plenty of more qualified guys have already done that. (I shoot mostly medium-weight and medium-light-weight bullets in my 44s - around 210grs to 265grs, with 285grs the heaviest.)

What I'd suggest is that your design work is not tremendously far different than the Lee 310gr. As others have pointed out, you could get that in a 6-cav. for a lot cheaper than a custom mould, AND, if you can verify it's good for you with the gas checks, you could try some without GCs and if those work, there's always getting the GC shank machined off of the Lee factory mould. This would add a few more grains weight and get rid of the need for the expensive GCs... Just another thought for you to ponder.

[BD]

I use two "hunting" boolits in my .44 mag. A 265 grain WFN, and the Lee 310.

The 265 grain WFN over 21.5 grains of WC820 has completely penetrated almost everything I've ever shot with it including a 10" maple tree. The only exception was one hog shot in the shoulder at a downward angle from a stand. That bullet traveled down the upper leg bone and took the leg off at the knee.

The Lee 310 has completely penetrated everything I've ever shot with it, including a whitetail end to end, a pair of hogs and several black bears, (by sports using my RedHawk for a "finishing" shot).

I bought the Lee 310 mold as a result of finding a 1/2 dozen expanded 240 grain JHPs on the entry side of bears skulls while caping them. Seemed to me that a bullet that couldn't make it through the jaw muscle into a bears brain case from 10 feet wasn't something I'd want to count on in a pinch.

I bought the ballisticast WFN mold after realizing that the Lee 310s were heavier than necessary for anything inside of 100 yards. And I'd missed a nice buck in heavy cover 6 times at 30 yards due to the recoil and the heavy wool gloves I was wearing allowing the muzzle rise to shift the POI 12" high at 30 yards.

As to the exterior ballistics of the the two: The Lee 310 over 18 grains of WC 820 launched at 1,200 fps will fly true as far as I've shot them on paper, 300 yards. And from shooting at rocks across the lake I'd bet they're still flying well at 500 yards. The 265 gr. WFN at 1,400 fps will hold a 4" group at 100, and a 6" group at 150 but it's all over the place at 200 yards, and you can forget about the rocks across the lake. My theory is that at about 175 yards it's passing down through 1,100 fps and that "sound barrier" turbulence causes the big meplat to wobble beyond recovery.

For what I hunt with a handgun these days I just don't see much need to go heavier than the 265 grainer. It makes a nice hole clear through most anything and generally breaks down anything along the way. If I was out west in more open country, or if I go back to guiding bear hunters, I might feel differently. In any case I'm not seeing the need to design anything additional to hunt with a .44.

Of course someplace I do have one of the extra length Lees from a group buy a while ago. Some time when I've nothing better to do I'll try flinging those 340 grainers on out there just to see how they fly. Probably need to put a mark on the barrel to hold for the rocks acroos the lake...

BD