44-77 sharps?

[ndnchf]

A while back I bought 80 rounds of loaded PCI .44-77, primarily for the Jamison brass. I needed to shoot it and get the brass fireformed. Its shoulder is a little further back than my chamber. I went to the range this morning to shoot this and a grease groove load. The PCI ammo is mildly loaded with smokeless and RCBS 44-370 bullets. This is only the second time out with the new GM barrel, so it is still breaking in. But I was pleasantly surprised how well the PCI RCBS .44-77 shot. This is only 100 yards, but its a good start. Now I have a good set of fireformed cases for my paper patch loads.

[reinert]

Thanks Don, all good, all 'round. Good idea on the lube thickness in a pan... I'll try hard not to get a spent cap in a cut wad! Ha!

[Don McDowell]

ndnchf, that roller looks as tho it's going to treat you very well.

reinert if you try those felt wads it is interesting how yellow they are in the bag, and when you recover one after you fire, they are snow white, and if a person really wanted to I suppose you could reuse them, albeit without the lube.

[ndnchf]

391gr, 1.125" long tapered bullets patched to .438" at the base over 77.0gr of Swiss 1.5 compressed .100" with a .030" card wad. I neck sized the case with a .45acp sizer. Still a little looser than I'd like, but its a start.

[Don McDowell]

Looks pretty good

[Distant Thunder]

391gr, 1.125" long tapered bullets patched to .438" at the base over 77.0gr of Swiss 1.5 compressed .100" with a .030" card wad. I neck sized the case with a .45acp sizer. Still a little looser than I'd like, but its a start.

Just a suggestion on one thing to watch for and just trying to help. It looks like your patches may be a little far up the sides of the bullets. You'll know better by looking at your recovered patches after shooting. If they are not cut all the way to the leading edge you may want to pull them back some when you patch the next batch.

Otherwise they sure look good from here. It's hard to beat the .44-77 loaded with paper patch bullets for COOL! you gotta love it!

[ndnchf]

Thanks for the tip. I'll check the confetti!

[Lead pot]

They sure look good to me also. The lap of your patch is right from what I can see.
But like Jim said the patch looks like a little far up on the ogive but I think they will do well.
Take your cast bullet unwrapped and lay it on a smooth surface like a mirror or smooth countertop and take a sheet of your paper and slide it under the nose of the bullet and where it makes contact to the shank that will be a good place to hold the patch or even .005" farther back to the shank.
The double wrap of the paper should hold the bare nose above the bore if your using at least 1/16 tin/lead alloy.
Man those BN cases and that good looking bullet should make you smile when you see the results.

I don't know if you ever mentioned who made the mould. And what is the weight? Is that a tapered Gibs?

[ndnchf]

Thats a great tip for setting the paper length - thanks. These bullets were sent to me to try out by a very generous fellow shooter. I'm told they are from a BACO adjustable mold. They weigh 391gr. Im waiting on a shipment from BACO with two different PP bullets to try. But this gives me something to get started with. I also have 100 more pieces of Jamison brass coming.

[Yellowhouse]

I have problems chambering .446 bullets from the RCBS 370 mold in my Shiloh 44-77 and two .44 rollers with GM barrels unless the driving band is seated well below the case neck. In my 44-70 with a PP chamber it won't chamber regardless because of the too large diameter in the nose. In fact, I've given up on that mold and bought one from Accurate molds with a .434 nose and that works fine

[ndnchf]

For some reason the PCI loaded rounds had the RCBS 44-370 bullet loaded out about .070" from the crimp groove. They would not chamber. I had to seat them to the crimp groove, OAL 2.850". Then they loaded fine and shot great as shown above.

[ndnchf]

I made an interesting discovery today. It was bugging me that the patched bullets were just a little loose in the case. So I started going through all my die sets (at least 30 sets) looking for a die that would tighten up the neck a little. Literally the last set I checked was an RCBS .44-40 set - Bingo! The .44-40 sizer minus the depriming rod was perfect. I ran the loaded cases in about .250". It made the bullets just snug enough that I can turn them by hand with a little resistance, but they won't fall out

[reinert]

ndnchf,

Let us know your results on paper (the downrange paper, that is) when you try those loads out. I'm quite curious on your results. Amazing what I have for die parts to make my old .44 roller perform, too. I've got a good load for my hunting GG bullet, and hopefully I've got all I need for reloading components for the PP project, also.

So, then to all the great paper patch mentors here:

I have one more question before I can get my bullet factory set up to run some bullets, and make some real deal rounds to send downrange. My new Steve Brooks adjustable DD mould, (which is set at the max: example bullet weighs 498 grns. using a 30:1 alloy from my mould) was a design decision decided on through a conversation with Steve on what this PP bullet was specifically for. It is for hunting, and being able to shoot dirty with the possibility of a couple/few follow up shots if needed whilst following a wounded critter (yeah, I DO try my utmost to be the "one shot one kill" hunter, but it's still good to have a contingency plan). Anyway, that's the idea. So, here's the question:
Do I need to patch JUST the shank of the bullet up to the point where the diameter reduction starts? Or do I patch beyond it a bit? Is this where experimentation starts? My bullet's O.A.L. is 1.320" (again, that's max adjustment for the mould) and as near as I can tell/measure/guess, the shank diameter of .438" runs .475" of the bullet's length. So, should I patch just a tad beyond that shank diameter? Would the reduction starting from the shank diameter then be considered where my "real" ogive begins and patch accordingly to that?

Hope I asked the right question here, and even more so, hopefully you can understand what I asked.

Thanks much,
reinert

[Don McDowell]

It might take a little trial and error but probably start with your patch 7/8 in wide
Wrap a bullet seat it in a case and chamber it
See how much of the leading edge of the patch engages the rifling
Adjust the patch width so that at least a 10th of an inch is in the rifling


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[reinert]

Got it, Don. Thank ye kindly! And yea, we go...

[Don McDowell]

You’re welcome
If you scroll back up to the picture I posted of the dual diameter from brooks you’ll get a fair idea of how my loaded rounds for the 44 look


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[reinert]

Will do! 👍

[ndnchf]

It seems all 4 patch papers I have are a little too thick for the BACO bullets. I got online last night and ordered Seth Cole 55y and 55w, but it will probably take a week or so to get here. Does anyone know if Staples or Office Depot carries a suitable paper .0015" - .0017" thick? If so, I'd go get a some. A specific name, link or sku would help. Thanks. Steve

[Don McDowell]

Staples sells an 8 lb roll of drafting paper in their drafting supplies that is very similar to Seth Cole 55w.

[Bent Ramrod]

Strathmore “tracing” paper is 0.0015” thick, and I’ve found it at Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart. There’s also another brand; don’t remember the name, but the pads have black covers instead of the Strathmore yellow, that seems to be the same thickness for its “tracing” paper.

Take your micrometer with you, and check the “tracing” against the “vellum” and “drawing” types. Crank the thimble down hard when you measure. Generally the “vellum” is 0.002” or slightly thicker, and the “drawing” 0.003” or considerably thicker.