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Thread: Heaviest bullet you use in 44mag revolver?

  1. #41
    Boolit Man dla's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul105 View Post
    I've shot the Beartooth 355gr LFNGC in my 629. It has an OAL of 1.710. Also shot the 325gr LFNGC Beartooth in my M69 OAL 1.730". It's a tight fit, but doable. Need to make sure you have good neck tension and strong crimp to prevent bullet jump from tying up cylinder under recoil.

    Loaded 355gr Beartooth in .44 mag case shown seated in M69

    Wow! That is a tight fit. I don't own a M69, I'm assuming it has a 1.7" cylinder as well.
    You must have your neck tension and crimp down pat to trust in no bullet movement with so little margin. Thanks for the visuals!

  2. #42
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by dla View Post
    Wow! That is a tight fit. I don't own a M69, I'm assuming it has a 1.7" cylinder as well.
    You must have your neck tension and crimp down pat to trust in no bullet movement with so little margin. Thanks for the visuals!
    629 Mtn Gun Cylinder Length: 1.705”
    M69 L Frame Cylinder Length: 1.670”

    Chambers are not recessed for case heads, so add .060" to 1.670" (M69) and absolute max OAL is 1.730" for the M69. Need to make sure you have good neck tension and strong crimp to prevent bullet jump from tying up cylinder under recoil.

    You can barely make it out, but the contours of the seated bullet can be seen on the outside of the case -- OAL right at 1.710".



    Paul

  3. #43
    Boolit Bub
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    I've been running the Missouri 300 hammers in my Ruger super Blackhawk hunter for quite some time. I'm loading them over book Max coal of 1.610 and 21gr of H110. Book Max is 19gr. I have wonderful accuracy at 25 yards with both 19 and 21gr. I started getting leading issues over 21gr. I don't hunt anymore but can say that it would be an awesome deer or boar killing round.

  4. #44
    Boolit Master

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    Always thought I’d pick up a Lee 310 until I shot a Ranch Dog 270 over a full charge of MP 300 at 13 jugs of water (6” barrel) trying to catch the slug. It went through all of them.

  5. #45
    Boolit Master
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    SSK 310gr.

  6. #46
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    This are a pretty good hand full with full power loads.

  7. #47
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    ive got a 345 ballistic cast lfngc mold. Very accurate and ive pushed it to 1200 in a 5.5 inch blackhawk but wont tell you the load. that bullet (at 20bhn) and load took second place in a penetration competition at a linebaugh seminar. Only beat by one 475 load and not by much. Test had 44s 45s 475s 500s and many rifles including my 458 mag shooting ww solids and a 458 lott. The reason it came in second was one bullet blew all the way through the box and one stopped with the nose poking out the back. The 475 that won had both exit. No other gun or load blew out the back of the box even once. Left many there shaking there heads. by the way that 475 was loaded with kelly Shelps solid brass punch bullets not cast. It beat my own 475 and 500s shooting cast. I walked up to the line thinking it would sure do respectably but would have never guessed it would be the best penetrating cast bullet gun there. By the way that same gun and load won the long range (800 yard) steel buffalo shoot in the 44 mag class. It was a 3/4 scale sized bison at 800 yards. You had one shot to get range and 5 for effect and i hit it 4 out of 5 times. that load shot inch grouips at 50 yards. Strange thing is i dont ever recall actually killing something with that load.

  8. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tar Heel View Post
    The SSK 325gr bullet (SSK 310429) cast in Lyman #2 alloy.

    Attachment 288213
    thats another real good heavy for the 44s.

  9. #49
    Boolit Master waco's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul105 View Post
    Why not suitable for M29?
    Too many hot heavy loads like that would shake a Smith loose. The other guns mentioned are much stronger.
    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
    Proverbs 1:7

  10. #50
    Boolit Buddy sandog's Avatar
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    I've owned and shot a lot of .44 in past years, but 10-15 years ago was sidetracked by the .45 Colt, and enjoyed those guns until a couple months ago.
    I hadn't considered getting back into .44 Mag, now that I'm in my 60's I was even considering revolvers and carbines in .357.
    But after several attempts, I just can't warm up to the .357. The allure of the Big Bores is too strong.

    I had heard about the 69 when they came out in 2014, I think. I thought it a good concept, smaller and lighter but not super light like the 329PD.
    A guy was selling a Model 69, after some reading on them, I bought it.
    He had a box of 300 grain loads with it that he had only fired 3 from. They were "Mystery Loads" with a Lee GC but they were loaded in new Starline brass. I figured I'd just pull the bullets and salvage them and the brass. Royal pain due to the Lee gas checks not being crimped on. Bullets came out but gas check hung up on the case mouth.

    So far the heaviest I've shot in the 69 are 280 WFNGC, those and some 260 WFNGC are what I have most of.
    Now having a .44 revolver, I had the urge to look for a .44 carbine, and found a really new looking Marlin 1894P.

    The P was only made from 1999 to 2001. It has a 16.2" barrel that has ports on either side of the front sight, comes with swivels and a black ventilated pad. The porting (and the pad) do help, this is the most pleasant shooting 6 Lb. .44 carbine I've ever shot. I suppose they are louder when shot at an indoor range (the .357 version, the 1894CP, maybe even more so) but outdoors where I shoot it sounds no different to me.
    I added a Skinner Express peep and put a ladder sight where the folding rear was.

    Jacketed (evil) bullets like the Hornady XTP and Speer Gold Dot although streamlined in profile, don't feed nearly as well in the Marlin as a WFNGC.
    Those fat nose WFN's, close kin to the full wadcutter, cycle so smooth you'd swear the gun was empty.

    But all the WFNGC bullets I bought right after the Model 69 purchase are .430". They shoot pretty good in the Marlin's .4305" bore, probably helped greatly by the gas check and hard alloy. But any future purchases of bullets will be at least .431". Then it should group even better.
    Some will buy .432" for the Marlin .44s oversize bore, but I don't want to have ones too big for the S&W.
    Dang, it's never easy to get a load that shoots great in both sixgun and carbine, it's always a bit of a compromise. Especially when the bore sizes aren't the same.

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
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    Sandog-- Very nice setup with those two!
    It's all chicken, even the beak!

  12. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by sandog View Post
    Some will buy .432" for the Marlin .44s oversize bore, but I don't want to have ones too big for the S&W.
    Dang, it's never easy to get a load that shoots great in both sixgun and carbine, it's always a bit of a compromise. Especially when the bore sizes aren't the same.

    I have a bunch of .432 Montana Bullet Works 260gr WFNGCs (look just like your picture). Loaded over H110 w/CCI 350s, these are some of the most accurate loads in all my M69s. https://www.montanabulletworks.com/p...-260gr-wfn-gc/

    FWIW,

    Paul

  13. #53
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by waco View Post
    Too many hot heavy loads like that would shake a Smith loose. The other guns mentioned are much stronger.
    Agreed, wouldn't shoot a lot of these, but if 300gr needed, a few should be ok especially in the newer S&Ws.

    Paul

  14. #54
    Boolit Buddy sandog's Avatar
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    Good to know about the .432's in the 69, Paul. I haven't got around to measuring the bore in the S&W but assume it's going to be .429".
    It shoots good with both of the WFNGC weights that are .430".
    Good to see you over here on this forum too.

  15. #55
    Boolit Master
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    Hi...
    The heaviest bullet I shoot in my .44Magnum revolvers are 300gr Hornady HP/XTPs.
    Shoot a lot of them in my Dan Wesson and both of my Ruger SuperBlackHawks.
    I don't shoot them in my Virginian Dragoons or my Model 29. I reserve those for 240gr bullets, cast and jacketed.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check