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Originally Posted by applefish
Hi everyone I recently picked up a 1st model DA in .44 Russian. I've been browsing old threads on loading .44 Russian for these old top breaks and have seen some conflicting answers on certain things.
I'm thinking of reloading with black powder (I already muzzleload with black powder), but I had a few questions
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Stay with Swiss Powder or Olde Eynesford, 3F...they burn clean and have more power than 'Goex'.
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1) Are hard cast bullets okay, or should I stick with cowboy cast bullets/what BNH is okay to shoot in these?
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Better to cast your own than to buy over-hard ones.
All the original Bullets were pure Lead and Swaged, and this is what the old Guns were made for. Cast is fine, just keep it Pure Lead or Pure Lead with a little bit of Tin, to fill out the mold better.
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2) Does it make a difference in bullet weight (180 gr vs 200 gr vs 240 gr) in terms of how safe the pressure will be for these old antique guns?
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.44 Russian, Original Loading and standard Load, was and is, a 246 Grain Bullet.
Lighter Bullets are fine, just be sure no Air Gap in the Cartridge Case...and also, always have some decent compression of the Black Powder Charge...right Seating Die, and one can do this when seating the Bullet, with no meaningful deformation.
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3) Has anyone tried shooting 0.433" round balls sized down to 0.430"? I want to try that since 0.433" round balls in soft lead seem to be easier to come by than 0.429/0.430 soft cast bullets
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That is what used to be called "Gallery Loads" and commercial Cartridges having a single Ball, or, Home Loads with a single Ball, were popular in the latter 1800s, early 1900s...so, "Yes" it is fun to do, and, usually, it is done with a light Powder Charge, and the Ball seats deeply in to the Case.
Measure your Cylinder Bores and Barrel's 'Groove-to-Groove' to find what diameter to elect for your Projectiles, and ideally, this will be a few thousandths over Groove to Groove.
Cases may need to be Fire-formed or expanded a little to have things right, lest the case itself squeeze the Projectile diameter down to be smaller.
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4) When shooting black powder, what kind of lube do you guys use? Grease cookies/lubricated wads? Or just lube the bullet groove and seat on compressed FFFg?
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No aspect of all this is fraught with worse concoctions than "usual" Lube advice for Black Powder Revolver.
Wads are for Shot Guns.
A Thin Beeswax Disc ( or Beeswax impregnated Paper Towel disc ) between Powder and Projectile, and which is a little larger in diameter than the Case ID is, so it goes in tightly like a little shallow 'Cup' ( gets flattened out when the Bullet is seated, or, goes more Cup like if a Ball ) is the perfect Lube, and it eliminates all fouling and build up also.
Lube put in to the lube-grooves of Bullets has never been as efficient or as good as this is.
The Beeswax disc vaporizes and some of the initial Vapor goes around and past the Projectile as 'early' Gasses, providing the Lube for that shot, and the rest of it lubes things then also for the next round.
Gun stays cleaner than if using 'Unique', Hands stay clean, etc, no stench or dribbling goo of horrid Crisco or Hair Tonic mixed with Transmission Fluid, etc. Will not effect Powder if left sitting loaded for 100 years etc.
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5) Are "light" smokeless loads okay? How about factory light smokeless loads like those Black hills cowboy action rounds?
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In theory "yes", in practice, it is only as good as who does the loading, and, even though I love to load Smokeless for Revolvers intended for it, I myself never do it for Black Powder era Revolvers, and I would not advise anyone else to do it.
For me anyway, .44 Russian is a Black Powder Cartridge, and designed to be that way, and it is at it's best and most fun that way.
Black Powder substitutes, bulky smokeless, other smokeless, etc, are not the same experience, and to me, they do not belong with these Guns...and also, people using them to load their own, do sometimes go wrong and damage the Guns.
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I know that's a lot of questions but I haven't found a clear answer searching through past threads. Thanks for all your help!
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Original spec Loads of .44 Russian, you would think you are firing .45 colt, it is no slouch!