44 special

[white eagle]

Now that my beloved Colt has blown up all I have left is my 44 mag
I have molds in 250 gr and 300 gr
but I can also shoot 44 specials so what boolits do you all shoot out of that cal ?
I will use the 250 for awhile but anything lighter than that worth a try in 44 sp ?:?:

[jmsj]

I don't shoot 44 specials for my self anymore but I do load some for a friend of mine going through some tough times that can't afford to buy loaded ammo. I have been using the Lee 429-200-RF. He says that they are working good for him. jmsj

[white eagle]

ok thanks

[Ole]

6.5gr Uniquie and the Lee 200 RNFP is what I shoot the most of in my Charter Bulldog Pug.

I run them through my .432 sizer die, but the die rarely shaves any lead off.

[Dale53]

I have several .44 Specials (a S&W Model 24 with 6½" barrel, a 4" and a 6½" Model 624, a Cimarron 4 5/8" barrel, and my most recent .44 Special, a .44 Lipsey Special with 5½" barrel.

My most used load is the "Skeeter Load", 7.5 grs of Unique behind a 250 gr Keith (H&G #503 from a MiHec mould). A good load for target work is the Group Buy 200 gr wad cutter with 4.0 grs of Red Dot.

Dale53

[MakeMineA10mm]

I bought one of Catshooter's 225gr RNFP moulds he was running when I was running my Heavy Keith, and both of these boolits get shot a lot in my 44 Specials (as well as my 44 Mags, at mid-range load levels, which feel a lot like 44 Specials in the heavier Magnums).

225gr RNFP (Catshooter) + 5.6grs W231 + WLP = 700+fps (depending on barrel length)

This is a nice load. My wife and 7 year old daughter could shoot easily from the heavy magnum revolvers.

[Lloyd Smale]

probably the two most used bullets by me in the 44 specials are the rcbs 240 swcgc and the lyman 429215

[buck1]

+1 for Lee 429-200-RF and unique.

[NSP64]

I don't shoot specials. In my mag I shoot the Lee 240gr GC SWC (255 as cast and ck) over 8.5gr of U. Nice pleasent 1075 fps. Cloverleafs at 25yrds.

[44man]

I don't like short cases either and just use .44 mag brass for special loads. Even 7 gr of Unique behind a 245 gr boolit is a great can buster.

[Rodfac]

With Magnum brass, I like 7.5 gr of Unique or Win 231, or HP-38 and any good cast 240 gr LSWC. The same loads work well behind Lyman's 429215gc, with or without the gas check, and cast from WW. I size all of them to .430" for my Ruger 50th Anniversary 44 or my S&W M-29 Classic.

I do use the gc'd bullets through a Marlin 336 in .44 Magnum as well, but these need .432" diameters to do well in the Micro-groove rifling. Sized .432" They do just about as well in the hand guns.

HTH's Rodfac

[UnderDawgAl]

In 44 Special, I've had good luck with the Lee 429-215-SWC over 5.3 grains of HP38/W231.

[MakeMineA10mm]

probably the two most used bullets by me in the 44 specials are the rcbs 240 swcgc and the lyman 429215


In 44 Special, I've had good luck with the Lee 429-215-SWC over 5.3 grains of HP38/W231.

There's just something about 210gr-225gr boolits in the 44 Spl. I bought the Catshooter, because I was needing a RNFP for my lever-guns, but a SWC is dandy in the revolvers (and levers, if you're lucky).

I believe (somebody check me) that NOE has a "de-horned" (no gas check shank, so you can shoot 'em as plain-base) version of the Lyman 215 boolit. I've been thinking hard on that one.

[rintinglen]

i recently got an old Ideal 429-378 that works very well in a 44 Special. My 21-4 thinks they're dandy and I intend to run some through my Taurus and my S&W 544.
its a 205 grain roundnose that is a breeze to cast.
i wonder if any one makes a similar mold today? you would think that some of the Cowboy shooters would go gonzo for something like this.

[blackpowder man]

The Lee 240 gain tumble lube SWC as cast works great in 2 Ruger SBHs with 6 grains of unique. It shoots well in a Rossi 92 also, but doesnt feed as slick as other bullets do.

[Lloyd Smale]

got to agree with 44 man here. If its a 44 mag i use mag brass.
I don't like short cases either and just use .44 mag brass for special loads. Even 7 gr of Unique behind a 245 gr boolit is a great can buster.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

How did that happen??

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=93999

[Cowboy T]

I also use the Lee 200GR LRNFP. It's a fine boolit, but the crimp groove isn't very deep, so you're not going to get a heavy crimp out of it. That's OK, though, because for SAAMI-spec .44 Special purposes, you don't need much of a crimp. Unique has been suggested; I would also suggest Titegroup, which was also designed for the bigger revolver cases.

I know this cartridge works wonderfully out of Redhawks and S&W N-Frames. I shoot lots and lots of .44 Special out of my .44 Magnum, and it's great fun. The .44 Special round is a terrific round to shoot and definitely powerful enough to drop a 2-legged predator.

As for those saying "if it's 44 mag I use 44 mag brass", that's only because a carbon ring forms at the end of the chamber after enough rounds. If you let it build up enough, it makes it difficult to chamber the longer .44 Magnum case. But in reality, it's really no problem, just clean your gun when you're done shooting, like you should be doing *anyway*. :-) A little Hoppe's #9 will get rid of that ring in very short order.

If you do go with the Lee 430-200-RF, I would suggest getting the 6-cavity mould, only because there's really no reason not to. Why not have the ability to make lots of good boolits in a shorter amount of time?