Oversize Bullets in 44 Mag Rifle

[Themoose]

I'm trying to work up loads for two 44 Mag bolt action rifles... I had a LBT 280 LFN mold made to cast .433 diameter using wheel weights... have lapped out sizer to .432 per Veral's recommendation... have begun load testing and so far only mediocre results(best 3 shot group 1.4" @ 100 yds)... one thing that did spur a brain cramp was the seating of the oversize bullets in sized cases... some deformed the brass and looked like a skinny 5 month pregnancy...showing an obvious bulge... I didn't pull any bullets, but would think that they probably were squeezed to less than the desired .432...

Was thinking back to my 45-70 black powder cartridge days.. where I didn't full length size, only sized the bullet gripping area of the brass enough to hold the bullet... Can anyone help me out here? Am I on the right track? The only critical point that I can think of is that the loaded rounds would chamber in the rifles properly... and may have to keep them separate as size may be different..

Your experience is appreciated,

Themoose

[curator]

Try water-drop quenching the boolits to harden them a bit more. If you are sizing, do it right away after casting. The hardness comes in about 24-48 hours after quenching. Hard boolits won't geet resized by tight cases. Alternately get a larger neck expanding die that will open the mouth to about .431 instead of the usual .436 to .437.

I love my LBT .432-280 LFN mould and the boolits it casts. Amazingly accurate in my two Ruger SBHs. I found that I really had to push it to 1400 fps or faster to get it to shoot as well in my Marlin with its one in 38 inch twist however.

[MT Gianni]

Take a micrometer to the fishing shop and buy some South Bend egg sinkers. They should have a hole running lengthwise through them. Lightly lube them and slug your bbl then see what size you need.

[Echo]

You could measure the neck thickness of the cases, then the OD of the loaded round. Subtracting 2xneck thickness should give boolit diameter...

My guess is that if the boolits are hard enough to swell the cases, they weren't swaged down - maybe...

[Themoose]

Thanks all for your input...I guess that I really didn't clearly state my issue/question...

The required sized bullet diameter(I had the barrels slugged with slugs sent to Veral Smith for exact measurement and correct sizing) is .432.. When seating bullets, some of the brass is being deformed/ bulged... as a solution for this and perhaps improved accuracy as well... [B]I was thinking of not using the full length sizing die on the straight walled 44 casing; just sizing enough in the "neck" area of the straight walled case to have enough tension to hold the bullet during the crimping operation.[/B I will be loading water cooled bullets in the next range trip... but again was really interested in your views of the bullet sizing/seating process.

Hope this clarification helps... sorry for any confusion..

Kindest regards,

TheMoose

[Hondo Lane]

Your bullets may not be seating square to the case. Determine the half way point in your seating stroke,stop and turn the cartridge 180 degrees and finish seating. This helps square up bullets that may start out a bit off kilter.

[Blammer]

if your bullets are bulging in the brass after seating, it means that your brass is really being sized down in the resize/deprime step.

I have not found this to be a horrible accuracy detriment. I have this same thing happen in my 357 mag and 360 DW brass, 45acp and my 9mm.

Resizing only the portion only where the boolit is seated may help them look better.

[anachronism]

Try a different sizing die, or perhaps a Lyman "M" die to slightly expand the case in the bullet seating area. The M die could possibly cause a lower bullet "pull" as the bullet leaves the case, and this could affect ignition, so watch for that. Anyway, a large diameter bullet coupled with an undersized case can cause it's own issues. I think I've traced my 45 ACP leading down to this situation and have an M die ordered for it. If you're using gas checked bullets it may not be an issue at all.

[felix]

Yes, let the case size the boolit down to match the leade/throat exactly. Adjust boolit hardness to match the ignition characteristics. Faster powders for the bore/case size require harder boolits. ... felix

[MT Gianni]

Check the die dimensions, you may need a larger diameter expander.