I received 100 H&G #258 SWCers from Montana Bullet Works quite some time ago and just now got around to loading with them in .41 mag. These have quite a long "nose"! Most of my loading manuals state an over all cartridge length of 1.580-1.590". I do not have a manual that mentions this bullet specifically.
I've loaded a few of these and find that I can't reach that OAL without seating the bullet down within the case so that the case mouth is above the shoulder of the bullet. That doesn't seem right? If I seat it just down to the crimp groove, it is way over 1.590 in length. Right now I'm running about 1.612" in OAL seated just flush with the shoulder. Anyone out there loading this bullet? How deep do you seat them? Thanks for any advice/help. jp

use the crimp groove to control the oal

What Steveno said! Use a good roll crimp into the crimp groove and check your rounds in the cylinder to make sure the meplat doesn't protrude. A good roll crimp ensures ignition and makes sure the bullet doesn't jump forward under recoil , tying the gun up. I load the Lyman #410459 and the Lyman manual says 1.700" OAL. Don't have any of my loads handy , but the recessed rim cylinder of my Model 58 measures 1.744.

FWIW, I also load the Penn Bullets 41cal 295gr SSK bullet and it comes darn near flush with the cylinder face.

Thanks for the helpful info, fellas. Sounds reasonable to me. I check fit some for fit in the cylinder and I've got room, seating them to the crimp groove. Thanks again.

Food for thought.

Different styles of SWC bullets take up different amounts of space in the case. This will have an effect on pressure. As others have stated, the correct seating depth is going to place the crimp groove of the bullet where you need it. After that, start at the appropriate level of your chosen powder and work up. I'm assuming that you are looking for moderate velocities, so you should not run into problems with a case the size of .41 mag, but it is always something to consider.

Load safe.

Chubbs

Thanks again.
I'm using an inertia bullet pulling hammer this morning to "ease" out the rounds that I already had seated. So I can reseat them to the crimp groove and roll crimp them.

You know....there really isn't much data out there for loading the 215 grain SWC in 41 mag., let alone the H&G #258 bullet.
Here are my starting loads, from what I found:

Very light ("special" equiv.?) load = 4.5 gr. TiteGroup, WLP primer, in Starline brass

and

starting mag. load: 17 gr. IMR 4227, WLP primer, in Starline brass.

What do you think?

Try checking Hodgdon's web site. They have data for mild loads in the 41 mag.

Pecos

Bill: Thanks for reminding me about Hodgdon's web site. Finding out H 4227 is same as IMR 4227, and since 18.0 gr. is starting load for 220 gr. lead, 17.0 should be OK for 215 gr. bullet. And the 4.5 gr. of TiteGroup is another starting load shown. Now to finish fiddling with my bullet puller. Found out 2 1/2 "wacks" will ease them out just beyond the crimp groove. Thanks much guys.

Not necessarily. Again , it depends on the bullet and how much is seated in the case. This pic shows it perfectly.


The 215gr (ctr.right)has a lot more shank in the case , which will give a compressed load and dangerous pressure with loads otherwise safe with the 220gr (ctr.left).

My Lyman manual shows 21.5 as a max with the 220gr ("410459)and 19.2 as max with a very similar 215gr (#410610)

the hodgdons magazine (issued each year) is also a great source of recipe's including 41 mag.i have been using a lot of unique lately for the 210gr SWC

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

I'm doing some reading now on seating depth. I was concerned about that with these long nose bullets from the beginning. I'm trusting that the crimp groove in the H&G #258 is in the right place and if seated there and roll crimped will be safe.
They ended up around 1.698- 1.702" Overall Length. They still fit in the cylinder with about 0.035" to spare between the tip of the bullet and the face of the cylinder. That seems kind of close. We'll see if I put enough roll crimp on them. I don't think the light loads will move. We'll see about the 17 gr. of IMR4227.

Have any of you ever trimmed the cases back to an "interpolated" special equiv. length when trying to create .41 special loads? I've got to re-read some Handloader magazine articles about .41 mag too. I know there was one about "special" equiv. light loads.

Starline did a special run of .41 Special headstamped brass that was the same length as .44 Special , 1.150''. Some ranges do not allow any round that is headstamped MAGNUM , even if ya trim it way back and use a .22 case of powder. Trimming back magnum cases doesn't help , since it still says MAGNUM. Though it is not a SAAMI listed cartridge , Barnes Cartridges of the World has it listed under WILDCAT cartridges and even has some data.