lyman devastator + ruger 77/44

[TREERAT]

do not own either yet, but have heard that the ruger 77/44 magazine does not accept long bullets. do any of you know if the lyman .44 devastator gc bullit will work with this rifle, and feed from the mag? I am ony going to buy one if it will!

what is the C.O.A.L. of a .44 mag with the devastator? is it much longer than a factory 240 jhp?

[dubber123]

I am not sure about the Devastator, but the Lee 310 RF fed from the mag on my nephews 77/44 just fine.

[Leadforbrains]

I have that mold and it is long for my .444P Outfitter. I just seated it deeper in the case for that rifle and accuracy and function was just fine. I can't speak for the OAL lenth for the ruger, but if you do have to you can seat it slightly deeper to get it to work. I am going to buy a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag this weekend and I will probably have to trial and error it during the reloading process as well.

Yes it is longer than a standard 240gr copper condom bullet. My Devastator throws the boolits at around 264 grs with straight range lead.

[Shuz]

I have that mold and it is long for my .444P Outfitter. I just seated it deeper in the case for that rifle and accuracy and function was just fine. I can't speak for the OAL lenth for the ruger, but if you do have to you can seat it slightly deeper to get it to work. I am going to buy a Marlin 1894 in .44 mag this weekend and I will probably have to trial and error it during the reloading process as well.

Yes it is longer than a standard 240gr copper condom bullet. My Devastator throws the boolits at around 264 grs with straight range lead.

And if you machine out the unnecessary(my opinion of course!) gas check shank, you'll get a beautiful shooting boolit that weighs 267g from ww+1% tin!!

[BarryinIN]

I've never used the Devastator but I have a 77/44 that I've been working with a little. From what I've seen, if you can get the loaded round in the magazine you are good. I even tried a buddy's shot capsule loads, and they fed.
Basically: If it will fit, it will feed.

[TREERAT]

am I thinking right, if it needs to be shorter O.A.L. and I want to still use the crimp groove, that I can just trim the cases alittle shorter? and loose some case capacity, I do not plan to push these real hard any way. I would like 1,200 fps out of the 18 inch rifle barrel.

[felix]

The Ruger rifle needs no more than 0.300 inch sticking out of the case. ... felix

[fredj338]

do not own either yet, but have heard that the ruger 77/44 magazine does not accept long bullets. do any of you know if the lyman .44 devastator gc bullit will work with this rifle, and feed from the mag? I am ony going to buy one if it will!

what is the C.O.A.L. of a .44 mag with the devastator? is it much longer than a factory 240 jhp?

I load to the crimp groove @ 1.660". In a rifle, I think you are going to get too much expansion w/ the larger HP. I had a cup point made, the bullet casts about 275gr from 25-1 alloy. It expands nicely @ 1200fps+.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272-1K.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272.jpg

[Ramslammer]

G'Day All
I have used the Devestator in my 1894 cowboy ok but in my 1894P it hangs up. Also a mate of mine had trouble in his win 94 with some I gave him. As Treerat said just trim a bit shorter. I have three different 44 hollow point molds on the go but if I can find some nickel cases I'll shorten them just for the Devestator. By the way it's true to name when it hits a Wallaby or possum.
Juddy

[Leadforbrains]

I just picked up my Marlin 1894 yesterday and it feeds the Devastators like butter. I have them crimped in the crimp groove at an OAL of 1.665.
Hope this helps,
steve

[Shuz]

FWIW--When I load the 429640 Devastator to the crimp groove, with .44 mag cases, my OAL is 1.710. Once again, it looks like Lyman has "variations" in this mould just like the countless variations in 429421's!

[Shuz]

do not own either yet, but have heard that the ruger 77/44 magazine does not accept long bullets. do any of you know if the lyman .44 devastator gc bullit will work with this rifle, and feed from the mag? I am ony going to buy one if it will!

what is the C.O.A.L. of a .44 mag with the devastator? is it much longer than a factory 240 jhp?

Read Post number 11. Tenga cuidado!

[Leadforbrains]

FWIW--When I load the 429640 Devastator to the crimp groove, with .44 mag cases, my OAL is 1.710. Once again, it looks like Lyman has "variations" in this mould just like the countless variations in 429421's!

That's weird. I just remeasured mine to make sure I wasn't going crazy and my dial caliper is still reading them at 1.665. These are loaded in Remington .44 mag cases. I got this mold last Christmas.
I guess Im lucky to have a short boolit mold?

[geargnasher]

I don't have the 44, but I do have the .45 Devastator and it casts 203 grains with ww+3% 50/50 solder, Glen Fryxell says his cast at about 185 grains with ww, I have a friend who casts the same and his drop at 197 with Lyman #2 storebought. Go figure.

As for the oal in the ruger, trimming cases for just that gun is a perfect solution if you need to reduce oal and retain the crimp-in-groove. I do just the same for a friend's finicky .357 Mag levergun and the .015" I trim off still lets him shoot the same cartridges in his pistol.

Gear

[fredj338]

That's weird. I just remeasured mine to make sure I wasn't going crazy and my dial caliper is still reading them at 1.665. These are loaded in Remington .44 mag cases. I got this mold last Christmas.
I guess Im lucky to have a short boolit mold?

Your OAL is within tolerances of mine. I suspect case length plays a bit into that. A diff of 0.005" is within the crimp groove tolerance. In other words, you can seat the bullet in or out that far & still be well within the crimp groove. The OAL of 1.710" could be case length &/or crimp groove location in the mold.

[mroliver77]

I may have went to school in OH but I come up with .045 difference in length.
Jay

[fredj338]

I may have went to school in OH but I come up with .045 difference in length.
Jay

Yes, even in Ohio 1.710"-1.665"=0.045" but if you read th post again, I was refering to LFB OAL of 1.665".[smilie=1:

[Shuz]

fredj338--I just measured my 429640's and they are between .790 and .795 in length. What's the length of your 429640's?

[fredj338]

fredj338--I just measured my 429640's and they are between .790 and .795 in length. What's the length of your 429640's?
I only have sized & GC bullets, but they go .715" & .380" to the bottom of the grease groove. That is quite a variation in length between two, supposed "same" molds. I was just reading an article about diff. variations in crimp groove locations between mold runs on other Lyman molds. So this probably comes under that grey area.:coffee:

[Shuz]

fredj338--My experience with Lyman moulds down thru the years leads me to the conclusion that their product numbers are just "indicators" of a general type design. For example, all versions of 429421 that I have seen have been copies of a Keith design, nominal 250g swc boolit. That's where the similarity ends. I have seen very small (short)front driving bands, front driving bands that are the same width(actually length in this case) as the other driving bands, and front driving bands that are some where in the middle of the others!Now when it comes to grease grooves, most folks are aware that there are two basic types...round and square. However I have seen some square grease grooves that have the corners beveled, supposedly to make for easier release from the mould. Other square grooves are just that...90 degrees square! Now when it comes to ogive shape, again there are lots of differences out there. Longish noses, shortish noses, etc. Another major difference I've noticed is the location and shape of the crimp grooves. Yet all these moulds are identified as 429421! Interestingly, all 429421 moulds that I have, seem to shoot well, altho I've not done any scientific type testing. Rather, I consider myself very fortunate to have 2ea 4C 429421's that both appear identical, and cast boolits that mic the same dimensions and weigh the same.