So I've been on a .44-40 long-gun kick...buying an older Rossi carbine(maybe 80's or 90's) and a even older Winchester sporting rifle(1909). Bought those two from the same guy last spring. Later last year I got a rough Winchester carbine in the same caliber(and from the very same fellow I got the other .44-40 guns from). All well and fine except .44-40 ammo is about as scarce as .22LR. I bought reloading dies as soon as I got the first two .44 guns.
Bullets and bore sizes....well..bore size first. I slug the Rossi M92 carbine and it's right there at .427...then the Winchester 1892 sporting rifle..it's bore slugs .430(a good solid shiny bore)...The old Winchester carbine has a rough bore..but does posses rifling and it slugs to .431
The bullets....The first bullets I bought were/are Hornady's 205gr 'Cowboy' bullets advertised at .427 right on the box. Hmmm..not so...those bullets measure approx. .423-.425 with the average of about .424 diameter. These a knurled soft lead bullet. A fellow with much experience shooting the ancient guns recommended me a load that 'kicks' these up and I've shot these Hornady bullets fine in my tighter bored Rossi.
So I decide the bigger-bored Winchesters need bigger bullets. I just received more factory bullets last week. I bought some Missouri Bullet Co. 'Cowboy #5' bullets advertised at .430 diameter...these hard-cast bullets they claim are optimized for .44-40/etc....I also bought some more Hornady knurled lead .430 diameter 180gr 'cowboy' bullets...then for the ancient rotten-bored Winchester carbine I bought some 200gr .429 diameter Nosler jacketed hollowpoints. All supposedly .429/.430 diameter bullets right?
No..they ain't .429/.430 diameter!! Like the earlier purchased Hornady 205gr cowboy bullets supposed to be .427 and are really .424 diameter. The Hornady 180gr 'cowboy bullets are scarcely bigger diameter than that..measuring .425/.426..not even close to .430 diameter.
The Missouri .430 cowboy #5 bullets are the closest to advertised diameter..these measuring right at .428 diameter.
The Nosler jacketed hollowpoints...also are small. Supposidly .429 diameter..I measured these at .427 diameter...I even walked down to my shop and retrieved my 0-1" micrometer and walked back(several hundred yards in the snow)..re-measured all the bullets just to make sure my calipers weren't out of whack....nope...these .44 caliber bullets measure the same.
I even measured some other bullets for .30 caliber and .45(rifle and pistol)...these bullets all measure-out pretty much like the box states...
So what's the deal with .44 caliber bullets?
Seems to me the manufacturers must be really conservative about bullet diameter..maybe because ain't no two .44 caliber bores the same size!
I do see some benefit to the small bullets....I think the Nosler bullets will likely work in my .427 bored Rossi...and I bet the 180gr Hornady 'cowboy' bullets may just work in my Italian M1889 10.4mm revolver!