First off, let me say that I hope 2021 is much much better for ALL of us! Now, down to the meat of the matter. I've been reloading for years but this is my first foray into the realm of pistol, and an antique one at that. In an earlier post, you gentlemen were kind enough to share TONS of knowledge and personal experience which I've taken to heart. I've had to carefully sift through all that you've told me and I think I have a pretty good handle on things. I do have a few more questions though. I purchased 200 gr. flat nose and 240 gr. HP soft cast from Jet Bullets up here in Canada. I assume we're to seat them to the cannelure? My Lyman reloading manual doesn't give me cartridge overall length so I'm using the groove in the bullet as my seating depth indicator. I have 2 trial rounds (no propellant) to get used to the Lee dies I have. The 240 gr. come in with a COL at 1.284 in. and the 200 gr. at 1.211 in. My question is am I correct in where I'm going thus far? I had the good fortune to get my hands on a .44 Russian DA that had obviously been through the hands of a seriously good gunsmith. It didn't do too well with the Fiocchi ammunition and I hope to improve my accuracy with my hand loads.

Attached Images

	DSCN2299.jpg (76.9 KB, 34 views)
	100_0111 (1).jpg (33.8 KB, 29 views)

Standard OAL for 44 Russian is 1.43". The question is what powder are you planning on using and is there published loading tables for each of the cartridges you have?

The reason why I ask is that the same amount of smokeless powder under each of those bullets will give different velocities and pressures. If you are using black powder, the longer bullet will lower the amount of BP you can get in the case, while a 200 grain bullet will leave extra room for powder. Original loadings were around a 240-250 grain RN in front of a load of 23 grains of 3F.

__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515

Gary, would you mind if I sent you a PM?