44 Mag/44 Special

[CajunBass]

Can 44 Magnum dies be adjusted to resize 44 Special brass?

[Rule3]

I can only speak for Lee dies as they can. Their 44 spl will also load 44 Mag. But you state 44 Mag to 44 Spl so ???

[BearBio]

As far as I know, they all can. Just like 357/38 spl.

[Marksman]

No adjustment needed, the .44 Special case is .110" shorter than the .44 Magnum. If your sizing die is adjusted so that the shellholder just contacts the bottom of the sizer die at the top of the stroke, you're good to go to size either .44 Special or .444 Magnum. The expender and seater dies are the ones that need adjustment when switching calibers. I made a shellholder that is .110" thicker than standard, my dies are adjusted to load .44 Magnum with the standard shellholder. When I want to load .44 Special I just change to the .110' taller shelholder and the dies do not need to be readjusted. Makes switching calibers a whloe lot faster and simpler.

[lebomm]

I made a .110" thick spacer ring for my dies, to be placed under the lock ring when installing the expander & seater dies in the press. Also works for .38/.357. Whole lot less work than a new SH.
BTW, using the same dies for two similar ctgs seems to be a relatively recent realization for the diemakers. T'was not always so, as I've seen several sets of older dies whose seater-crimpers were .357-specific and could not be adjusted for the shorter .38.
Larry

[TSQUARED]

As the previous responder mentioned in years past the 44 Special dies could be used to reload 44 Magnum but not vice versa. Currently I believe all dies will reload both calibers.

[CajunBass]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I haven't responed until now because my wife and I were out for the day, but I was able to check in on my phone.

The reason I asked the question in Magnum to Special is I knew my dealer had 44 Mag dies (Lee Precision), but I was pretty sure they didn't have any 44 Special in stock. I don't have a Magnun gun, so I'll be loading for the Special, and I just wanted to make sure the Magnum dies would work.

[rck281]

Old RCBS 44 Magnum dies won't load 44 Special. The bullet seating/crimp dies is too long and you can't adjust it down to crimp 44 Specials. I guess you could grind it off and make it work.

[Coal Man]

Lee dies say they are for both, check Lee's web site for your dies part # and see what they have to say. I'm getting ready to get a set even though I don't have a 44 ...yet.

[m657]

Dillon full length sizer dies will fit both. In station 2 the powder funnel will have to be adjusted, as will the bullet seater and crimp die stations.

[jibjab]

I have a RCBS 44spl/44 mag 3 die set with a carbide sizer.
The resize step is the same for either cartridge, the exspander/flare and bullet seat/crimp uses a .128" spacer washer under the lock ring of the die.
This works well but adjustments may still needed for the seat/crimp die.

PS
RCBS has great customer service if you have a problem they fix it and send it to you at no cost.

[Snapdragon]

The dies should be labeled for both if they can be used for both. I have found that most of the more recent die sets I have bought have been labeled for every chambering for which they can be used.

[gboling]

Lee does make, what they call, speed dies, that are caliber speciffic. The 44mag. speed die will not work on a 44 special. They speed up set-up time on a singe stage press but will not work on a progressive press.

[Hammerdown77]

I have the Lee carbide set that is supposed to work with both 44 mag/special. The only problem I had was on a Dillon press, I could not screw the expander/powder die down far enough to sufficiently flare the case mouth before the die hit the shell carrier. It would flare some, but not enough to prevent shaving a .430-.431 lead plain base bullet. I called Lee about it, and they sent me an expander plug that they said was for the 44 Special, and that I might have gotten a die with the 44 mag plug.

With the new plug, the die works great. Lee was very easy to deal with, and sent me the new plug free of charge.