44 Mag ideas

[shaman]

I've just ordered a Rossi Model 92 in 44 Mag w. 24 inch barrel. My goal is to come up with a decent cast load for deer.

Right now, I've got a C429-240-Swc left over from another project and a pile of aluminum gas checks. I can start there, but I'm open to other ideas.

I'm looking for ideas on alloy and lube. Powder Coat? (Y/N)

[Tatume]

My most accurate 44 Mag load is the Accurate Molds 43-240K bullet and the max load of Alliant 2400. The bullet uses conventional bullet lube. It is an excellent deer load.

You Lee bullet should work just fine if the bullets drop large enough.

https://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/Powder.aspx?powderid=9

[Milky Duck]

have lead as soft as possible and powder coat.....run em fast and they will splat out to look like a coin....but do have a few less potent loads/gallery loads on hand for finishing off shot etc no need for full noise loads all the time.Im starting to see the boolit shape is of lesser importance than the degree of hardness of material its made of.

[gwpercle]

I like your boolit choice ... I'm not afraid of of gas checks (no gascheckaphobia here).

A good alloy to start with is 50-50 blend of COWW and soft lead .

For a hunting load ... 2400 . Take advantage of that 24" barrel .

For loading data I'm looking at the RCBS Cast Bullet Manual #1 and Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th edition .
44 Magnum (Rifle) 20 inch bbl tested
44-240 gr. - SWC GC - with gas check installed .
sized .429" . We lubed our bullets with RCBS Pistol and Lithi-Bee .

Start load in RCBS and (almost 20.6) Max Load in Lyman#4 ...

20.5 grs . 2400 @ 1686 fps... a magnum CCI 350 primer was used .

My best friend hunting and loading buddy owned a Ruger Super Blackhawk and a model 92 Winchester in 44 Magnum ... this load is the one we developed to shoot in both .
The Super Blackhawk was a handful but the rifle was "Sweet" he used it for a few Louisiana Deer and several Hogs ... and one or two Armadillo's !!!.
Very accurate load .
Gary

[Bazoo]

Congratulations on the Rossi.

You should experiment with both PC and lubed with any bullets you try, and see what the gun likes best.

My favorite 44 bullet (currently) is the Ranch Dog 432-265-RF (https://bulletmatch.com/bullets/ranch-dog-ctl432-265-rf). It's accurate and hard hitting. I've run it both in a rifle and handgun, and even in 44 Special it performs well. I lube them in my Lyman 450, after first applying GC/sizing in the Lee push through sizing die.

NOE makes a copy of it both with and without a GC - https://noebulletmolds.com/site/product-category/bullet-moulds/432/sc432-267-rf-z4/

[OFFSHORE]

Please keep this post updated with your new rifle (I'm looking/wanting one myself) and how it is performing for you.

I am a huge 44Mag fan and own several handgun configurations that I hunt with, and I also load for a friend who has a Ruger 44 auto carbine which I would LOVE to own. I'm solely a hunter, so all my loading/shooting is governed around that. For a long time I shot an alloy that was 50%/50% soft lead and COWW with 1 lb. pewter and this was for a 30 lb. batch. This worked very well but I wanted a little more bullet upset on game. A couple years ago I made a small change in alloy to 75% soft lead / 25% COWW with 1 lb. pewter for a 30 lb. batch. Accuracy and velocity are still stellar and I'm getting more bullet upset on game. In the area I live, we are overran in hogs and they are my main source of test media and that is what I base my loadings on when I find something on paper that shows promise.

I have two molds that I really think perform well and honestly couldn't choose one over the other for hunting. One is from Mr. Tom at Accurate Molds and is a 43-255H and the other is a Lyman 429244AV. Two different styles. . .both awesome "Critter-Get'rs"!!! I used to be a true "Cast Boolit" purest and only used lube from my Star Lube Sizer and I am a big fan of the Ben's Red recipe and also Satan's Lube, but about the time I changed up my alloy mixture I began powder coating my bullets and I wish I would have jumped on this wagon a long time ago!!! Accuracy improved dramatically, didn't have to worry about time of year outside temperatures, and it is just plain easy to work with.

Powders I mainly shoot are VV N-110, 2400, and IMR 4227 all knocking on the door of a max load. The N-110 powder has been one of the best, if not the best, powder I have ever used out of the 44 Mag cartridge - NOT to be confused with Hodgdon H-110. I have also tried all sorts of Standard and Magnum primers, but always find the Winchester LP primers to do best for me. That is my $0.02 on this great cartridge, and please keep us informed on your Rossi - PLEASE. Good luck.

[crappie-hunter]

Something to keep in mine about your Rossi, you might want to first slug the bore, mine has a bore diameter of .433, I had to order a LBT mold that dropped bullets at .435 and size to .434, my Rossi is at least 10 years old, don’t know if the newer ones have better tolerances or not. Size matters.

[oley55]

Something to keep in mine about your Rossi, you might want to first slug the bore, mine has a bore diameter of .433, I had to order a LBT mold that dropped bullets at .435 and size to .434, my Rossi is at least 10 years old, don’t know if the newer ones have better tolerances or not. Size matters.

I have similar vintage Rossi (24" SS) that enjoys a generous .433" barrel. Have been reluctant to buy a mold for a maybe project, so have been running .431" 240gr jacketed soft points. I have however invested in the appropriately sized NOE dies for use with bumped cast bullets from assorted molds on hand. But these efforts remain on my to-do list.

Edit added: The sad truth is I think I may have slightly ringed my barrel during fire lapping. The barrel lapped well and is near mirror smooth but I swear I can see something at each of the dove tail cuts. It still shoots jacketed quite accurately but I wonder/worry about cast bullets.

[firefly1957]

As said above slug your bore you may be able to shoot the bullets as cast if it is .433" .

You have a good starting bullet see how well it shoots . I would suggest trying H-110 / WW 296 or IMR-4227 .

I shoot the Lyman 250 grains mold gas checked and coated (Enamel spray paint baked on) with dead soft lead from my revolver and it works great . My older long time load was IMR-4227 as it has very little flash but recently went to H-110 . Both shoot very well H-110 gives a bit more speed and still shoots same point of aim.

Last fall helping at the gun club for sight in days a guy had a Rossi .357 Magnum rifle the ejected cases where swollen and out of round ? The gun shot very well it was factory ammo he shot , I did not notice how the cases looked bad until the days end when picking up brass.

[Larry Gibson]

I like your boolit choice ... I'm not afraid of of gas checks (no gascheckaphobia here).

A good alloy to start with is 50-50 blend of COWW and soft lead .

For a hunting load ... 2400 . Take advantage of that 24" barrel .

For loading data I'm looking at the RCBS Cast Bullet Manual #1 and Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th edition .
44 Magnum (Rifle) 20 inch bbl tested
44-240 gr. - SWC GC - with gas check installed .
sized .429" . We lubed our bullets with RCBS Pistol and Lithi-Bee .

Start load in RCBS and (almost 20.6) Max Load in Lyman#4 ...

20.5 grs . 2400 @ 1686 fps... a magnum CCI 350 primer was used .

My best friend hunting and loading buddy owned a Ruger Super Blackhawk and a model 92 Winchester in 44 Magnum ... this load is the one we developed to shoot in both .
The Super Blackhawk was a handful but the rifle was "Sweet" he used it for a few Louisiana Deer and several Hogs ... and one or two Armadillo's !!!.
Very accurate load .
Gary

Concur with the above data. Only thing different is I would use a 16-1 binary alloy. That GC'd Lee bullet should prove excellent in the Rossi rifle.

[racepres]

The Super Blackhawk was a handful but the rifle was "Sweet"
Very accurate load .
Gary
I bet... 18.0 gr under a like Boolit, goes 1137 out of my 4-5/8 SBH...and I am Not likely to go Stronger!!!!
Maybe Im an Old Puss!!!!

[parson48]

I had a Rossi 44 for several years. It liked fairly heavy bullets. I have an original Ranch Dog mold that drops at about 270grains with wheel weights. I powder coated and shot over 296/110. They were deer accurate ( 3"- 4") out to 100 yards.

[Bazoo]

As said above slug your bore you may be able to shoot the bullets as cast if it is .433" .

You have a good starting bullet see how well it shoots . I would suggest trying H-110 / WW 296 or IMR-4227 .

I shoot the Lyman 250 grains mold gas checked and coated (Enamel spray paint baked on) with dead soft lead from my revolver and it works great . My older long time load was IMR-4227 as it has very little flash but recently went to H-110 . Both shoot very well H-110 gives a bit more speed and still shoots same point of aim.

Last fall helping at the gun club for sight in days a guy had a Rossi .357 Magnum rifle the ejected cases where swollen and out of round ? The gun shot very well it was factory ammo he shot , I did not notice how the cases looked bad until the days end when picking up brass.

My buddy had (he's swapped it now) a Rossi 92 with that issue. He had bought it new about 2 years ago. It would sell 357 Magnum brass so far down the case that they would not enter into the sizing die far enough to remove it all due to the shell holder and small taper on the interior of the die. It did just fine with 38 Specials, but both factory and handloaded 357s were ruined.

The only recourse would have been to use a full length hand sizing die.

He returned it to Rossi, and after kicking it around a YEAR they finally replaced it with a new gun. The new gun did the same thing, but to a lesser extent, and the cases were able to be resized.

[mnewcomb59]

I swear I can see something at each of the dove tail cuts. It still shoots jacketed quite accurately but I wonder/worry about cast bullets.

Your barrel probably has light chatter marks everywhere except below the dovetails. You probably had constrictions and now the areas below the dovetails are shinier than the rest of the barrel. A shiny ring can give a funny reflection

[shaman]

So I went down to the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility (SSURF) this AM and checked my inventory. On top of the mold, I found 1000 rounds of 240 grain Vance Lead SWCs that I had no idea I had. It looks like I've found enough to get started.

[firefly1957]

Bazoo thanks for the information this fall I will keep a closer eye on any Rossi rifles when people are shooting .

I do know the guy did not reload as he left all his brass on the ground . I was looking at a Rossi .357 Magnum a few years back but they where hard to find and did not have a pistol grip making them harder to shoot with my old wrist. I ended up buying a 1953 Marlin in 30-30 and am very happy with it and castboolits .

[W.R.Buchanan]

Go buy the current issue of "Handloader Magazine" (April 2024)

There is an excellent article on loading the .44 Magnum cartridge for use in Rifles, by Brian Pearce. There is loads for all levels of boolits from 200 to 320 gr.

One thing to figure our is the groove dia. of your barrel. SAAMI Specs for the .44 Magnum in Rifles is .431+/- .002. As opposed to Barrels for Pistols which are .429+/- .002.

I have had the best luck in my 1894 CB using MP versions of Lyman .429244GC , and 429421, and my barrel is .431 on the nose so my boolits need to be .432-3 which is what my molds drop at. I also powder coat them so there is no leading. The .429244GC boolit has 4 different configurations. Solid 260 gr, Small HP 250 gr., Large HP 245 gr and pentagonal HP at 240 gr. This would be my go to hunting boolit in the Solid configuration with 24 gr of H110 running About 1800 fps. I have gotten one 1.75" 5 shot group at 100 yards with iron sights on the gun.

My .429421 loads are "Midrange" loads for plinking and target shooting as well as Short Range Silhouette, 8.0 gr of W231 behind the 255 gr solid version, also powder coated. I also use this load in m y SBH Bisley where they are running around 1000 fps. in the rifle they are a little faster but not much. The Powder Coating eliminates any kind of leading which is something I really don't want to see in my S&W 696 in .44 Special. That load is 6.0 gr of W231 for about 850 FPS from the 3" bbl. The Keith Boolits shot to the POA in the 696 and other boolits were all over the place. The other cool thing is when you are done shooting, cleaning the barrel only takes one patch which removes the Powder Residue from the last shot.

I highly recommend the MP Moulds for these boolits as they are the best there is and already cast enough oversize so they can be sized for the Rifle Barrels at .433 or pistol barrels at .431.

IMNSHO, I feel that these two boolits will cover everything you will ever want to do with a .44 Magnum Rifle or Pistol. If not Garret Ammo makes .44 Magnum loads with 340 gr boolits in them that have taken all the big stuff on earth. For animals bigger than those native to N /A, I feel Large Caliber Rifles are more suitable, but if all you have in hand is a .44 Mag Rifle loaded with 260 gr solids, I would not consider you to be completely helpless.

Oh, and if you gun doesn't have a chamfered Chamber mouth it won't feed any of these boolits. See Pic below.

Randy.

[shaman]

Thanks all for the assistance. I was supposed to pick up the Rossi on Thursday PM. My truck decided otherwise and gave me a merry time wanting to drive into the ditch repeatedly before I could get back to the farm. My buddy came and got it, and now I'm stuck while he replaces the bearing. He said the wheel almost fell off.

Quite a fix: The lever is in, the sling is in, even the new 44 mag ammo boxes came in. The only thing missing is me.

I will definitely work on slugging the barrel.

[deltaenterprizes]

I am sensitive to recoil in my old age so I am shooting a 180 FP powder coated in my Ruger bolt action 44.
The problem is that it is a Magma mold and they are not in business any longer.

[shaman]

Well, I have the lever gun. I got it out yesterday and shot it with some old 240 grain SWCs over Unique. It handles extremely well, seemed to pattern well enough. I was shooting at plates at 25 yards, and I hit every time. The only comment I can make at this point is about the ejector. Yikes! That thing is energetic. Recoil was nice. However, what I was shooting was old pistol loads. I can imagine full-house loads are going to be another matter.
Fit and finish are top notch. I give it two thumbs up with peanut butter clusters.