44 mag ...which cast boolit?

[mozeppa]

seems i read that some cast boolits tend to perform better than others...
i hoping that there's a savvy 44 shooter who can help.

I want to cast my own and powder coat them.
have not slugged the bore yet and will probably have the throats reamed.

read rave reviews on the keith design (what ever that is.)
read how some nose designs are more finicky than other and should be avoided.

i'm a plinker not a killer ...accuracy is a must....but hollow points at 300+grains are not necessary (unless needed for accuracy.)

still the wife and i are plinkers ...and lighter but accurate loads are what we are aiming for. (no pun intended)

now that brings me to the powder charge...i have several books and they are all over the grain map for charges.
anywhere from 3 grains of one powder to 20+ grains of another and must be properly compressed what ever that is.
any one have good load recipes?

we just want to ring gongs at 25 yards with out breaking a wrist.

our gun is the S&W 629 6" barrel.

[mac266]

The short answer to all your questions is, it depends. You can have two of the exact same models of gun and the tolerances will be off by .001" in places, so they will perform slightly differently. The bottom line is, you'll have to experiment to find out what works best. That is what's so fun about casting and reloading, and it's what we mean by "working up a load."

I have a 5" 629 that uses a 240 gr. SWC, gas checked over 9.5 grains of Unique. It works fine; but your gun may be different.

"Keith design" refers to bullets that were designed by Elmer Keith, a gun writer of he 50s, 60s, 70s, and probably 80s. He, in fact, is the "inventor" of the .44 magnum (he essentially saw the potential of the .44 Special and pestered gun and ammo manufacturers to build bigger with more pressure until they caved...voila, .44 magnum).

So, look in your load manuals for bullet weights and designs you'll like. Semi-wadcutters will give you nice holes on paper targets. Round noses will load from a speed loader more easily. Round nose flat points will work in a tubular magazine gun like a lever action. Lighter weight bullets will produce less recoil than their heavier counterparts with the same powder charges.

Once you've picked a bullet, buy some of that bullet and make a bunch of test loads with your favorite powder listed in the manual. I usually make 5 rounds with one powder charge, starting at the bottom, and then make 5 rounds with a bit higher powder charge, etc. until I get close to the top of the chart. For what you're doing, you probably won't go much past the middle of the chart. In fact, the .44 load I listed above isn't even close to the top; it's my plinking load. I have a heavier load for bears in the Colorado mountains.

If you like the bullet's performance, buy the mold to begin making it. It is *imperative* you slug the bore and size the bullets correctly (for lead, usually .001" larger than the actual bore diameter is good).

[mac266]

You also might think about loading .44 Special for that gun. It's the older, shorter, less powerful version of the magnum. I tend to use the longer, magnum, brass because I don't like cleaning that ring out of the cylinders (same reason I shoot .357s in my .357s rather than .38s).

The .44 Special is plenty for self defense; you don't need "the most powerful handgun in the world" to blow someone's head "clean off." Since you're a self-described plinker, I think you'd have a lot of fun with that round.

[youngmman]

I shoot two bullets in the 44mag: the H&G 503 Keith at 255 grains is a real tack driver and the LBT 250 grain WFN, again a real tack driver but for any bullet a load for the particular gun must be developed with different powders and charges.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The Lee 200gr RF is my fav econo boolit
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/520...rain-flat-nose

[sundog]

+1 on the Lee 200 as a plinker -- over a charge of Red Dot or Green Dot.

[ultramag]

The Lee 200gr RF is my fav econo boolit
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/520...rain-flat-nose

I'd second this for what you're asking about. I cast this one and tumble lube as cast with 45-45-10 and then load them over 5.0 grains of Clays. It's very accurate, could be shot all day long, and any woman or child with hands big enough to operate the gun would have no problems shooting it.

On edit: Well shoot, I guess I third it then!

[BruceB]

My loads for the .44 also use two bullet designs.

One is the obviously-popular LEE 200 "round/flat" design, cast from a mould given to me years ago by 9.3x62 Al.

The other design is the RCBS 250KT, a plainbase SWC.

The LEE 200 is loaded to about 800 fps, and that is what I call my ".44 LITE" load.

The SWC is used in two different loads, one being ".44-1000" (running at 1000 fps, natch) and the other a max-effort recipe called simply ".44 Magnum".

All these are loaded in .44 Magnum brass, since I have no desire to add further supply complications by using .44 Special cases. Before moving to the US, .44 Special brass was EXTREMELY hard to find in far-Northern Canada, which also contributed to my use of all-Magnum brass.

The LEE-bullet-load is easily identified, of course. The other two recipes are color-coded by modeler's paint on the primers...."hot" colors (red,orange, yellow, pink) for Magnums, "cool" colors (black, blue, green) for .44-1000.

The system has worked well for me for many years to date.

[L Ross]

Another vote for the 200 grain route. Being fortunate enough to have a mastercaster I ordered the 44-200-rf that drops at .433". A couple of friends and I shell them out like peas. As Dean Grenell posited, we melt up anything vaguely plumbous, run them through a Star with a Lathesmith die at .432", lubed with Ben's Red and push them out of the barrel with 6.5 grains of PROMO. Remember, these aren't far off from the 44-40 as far as potency goes so they are nothing to sneeze at either.

[jhalcott]

I had a round nose bullet mold that dropped .44 cal 225 grain bullets. When shot at PAPER targets the holes were about the same SIZE as .22 RF bullet. Flat or round/flat nosed bullets cut a larger hole in the paper. For steel gong shooting at 25 yards, just about any cast bullet should work! Bullets from the 180 grain full wad cutter to 250 grains can be bought or cast at home. Every loading manual I've seen has plenty of load data for you.

[mdi]

Before you start modifying you gun's cylinder, do a lot of measuring first. You need to measure each chamber/throat of the cylinder to see if there is much variation. Pin gauges, in .001" increments is prolly good enough and you should measure each chamber/throat several times. Measure to see if the throats are within spec. and consistent. Also you need to measure the groove diameter of the barrel (mostly to make sure that dimension is smaller than the throat diameters). This also should be done a few times and slugging is the easiest method. Measure the slug with a good micrometer, avoid calipers.

The "classic" bullet for .44 Magnum is the "Kieth style" 250 gr. Semi-wadcutter, plain based. This bullet has proven to be very accurate and has stood the test of time. I shoot a lot of these (Lyman 420421) in my .44 revolvers. Another favorite for me is Ranch Dog's designs, both 240 grain and 265 grain Round Nose Flat Point. Very good accuracy in my Puma (SWC won't feed without some fiddling with OAL and seating depth/case length).

I don't like bullets lighter than 240 grains, mostly because I've not found a load with them that work well in my 5, .44 Magnums...

[DougGuy]

+1 on the 44-200-RF boolit. If you get a mold that drops .432" - .433" so you can size it exactly like you want, this is a very good boolit. Unless you have near perfect cylinder to bore alignment, the driving band on the Keith boolit can get wiped off of one side when it contacts the forcing cone and for this reason I got away from those and gravitated to the smooth sided Lee RF boolits in .44 and .45 calibers. They work VERY WELL with an 11° forcing cone, like they were meant for each other.

For powdercoating, this smooth sided RF boolit would keep the powder in place better than a Keith type.

11° forcing cone, cylinder throats reamed and honed to a light drag fit on your PC'd boolit, you would have a very sweet shooter on your hands. I -just- got finished doing one for a member here that sent a sample of his PC'd 200gr RF boolits and they could be pushed through the throats with light finger pressure when finished.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've been reloading/shooting/collecting, etc. for decades but only casting for a few years, so I'll defer to others on the details of the subject. I will say that on the advice of members of this forum, I selected the RCBS 44-250-K mold as my 44 caliber bullet.
That plain base "Keith" style SWC has proven to be an EXCELLENT all around bullet for me.
Similar to the OP's stated uses, I have no need/desire for super magnum, rock the world loads.
My loads for my 44 magnum are in the category of "warmish" 44 Special velocities (850-950 fps I'm guessing) fired in 44 magnum casings.

I think mdi stated the facts very clearly. Don't start removing metal until you are certain it's necessary. It's very difficult to put metal back on ! I also will soundly agree that the "classic" 44 mag (and 44 Special) bullet is the Keith Style 250gr, plain base SWC. That bullet driven between 800-1000 fps will get the job done and, in my experience, is extremely accurate.

[dondiego]

7 to 10 grains of Unique powder under pretty much any boolit has worked well for me for years.

[williamwaco]

Not saying it can't happen but In 60 years of reloading, 55 with the .44 Mag. I have never seen an inaccurate bullet.
Inaccurate loads? Yes.

I believe any bullet, absent casting flaws, can be made to shoot as good as any other.

For your described use, select a bullet of 220 grains or less. Actual Keith design bullets are virtually unavailable but Keith "style" designs are common.
They look like this:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/219...ProductFinding

Lyman used to make this in a 220 grain version but I can't find it.

I would seriously consider a 200 gr wad cutter for what you are describing.

Find a load with a fast burning powder that produces around 800 fps and you will be delighted with the results.
check these.

http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloade...32&bulletid=48

PS, You don't need magnum cases for this. .44 Special is fine. This will be a light load in even the .44 Special.
That said, I find once fired magnum cases easier to find than once fired Special cases.

[HeavyMetal]

Lymans 429348 180 grain wadcutter will fill the bill for you! Lymans current book should have both a description of the boolit and loads to chose from.

The Lyman 429421 is the classic Kieth design, if you can find one with the square lube groove instead of the round one. I've had both and can't tell the difference in shooting but the round lube groove design does drop out of the mold a tad easier.

10 grains Unique will be a all day shooter, switch to WW 296 for full house loads.

A caution on the Lyman loading manual: it suggests you load the 429421 in the case and crimp the case mouth over the top of the last driving band. Kieth design this boolit with a crimp groove to allow the firat driving band to actually enter the throat of the cylinder for center the round in the chamber before firing.

Load the 429421 as Kieth designed it and life will be better and more accurate!

[Petrol & Powder]

Having re-read the OP I wish to add that powder selection will be highly dependent on what you have available. I think that decision will be dictated by availability of suitable powder more than anything else.
Staying with the Keith style 250 PB SWC, I would recommend you aim for a loading that puts you in the 800-1000fps range. If you have no needs beyond target shooting, you could go a little bit slower but that big magnum casing is going to be an issue with low charge weights. That flat front SWC bullet is not only very accurate for target shooting but it's a respectable hunting/self defense bullet as well. As others have stated, almost any style bullet will ring a steel gong but I like the idea of a more all-around bullet.
You could use 44 Special brass and take advantage of the efficiency of the smaller case volume. I started down that road with my 44 magnum model 629 but abandoned that course and went with magnum brass for everything. It's just easier in a magnum length cylinder to use magnum brass and get everything dialed in.
Lighter weight bullets conserve lead and can reduce recoil but I prefer standard bullet weights. Before I was casting bullets, I would experiment with different bullet weights but I always ended up settling on bullet weights that were the accepted standards for the caliber. (for example -158gr for 38 Special, 250gr for 44, etc. ) While there are certainly niche uses for light or heavy bullets in any caliber, there's a reason standard bullet weights became the standards and continue to survive the test of time.

[William Yanda]

Speer #10 manual shows .433 round ball for both 44 Special and Magnum. Easy on powder too. For plinking what's not to like?

Just double checked-Speer says accuracy can be very good to 50 feet.

[Blammer]

Of all of these I would recommend the Lyman 429215.
If you don't want a GC bullet, look for the 429667, either will work fine.

Unique will be a good powder for your plinking needs.

[buckwheatpaul]

I love their 429421 Keith Style bullet (245 gr SWC)....but if you are under 50 yards you might consider a wadcutter style like the 429348 (180 grain). With the 429421 I use 10 gr of Unique.....good luck on your quest.....it is quite an adventure!