What Bullet Shoots Best ln Your 44 Mag ??

sw282

sw282

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Swaged ? Cast ? Gas Check? No Gas Check? Jacketed?

l took my 629 PC Hunter and a 629 DX to Steves lndoor Range today to find out. l loaded 60 rds of 44 mag ammo..20 rds w/Speer swaged 240gr swc lead bullet. 20 rds with a 230gr cast swc with gas check and 20 rds of the same cast bullet without the GC.. All were loaded using the same brass primer,and powder(PMC brass,8grains of Unique,Remington primer).

The drill was to shoot 2 each 5 rd groups with each of the 3 loads in both guns..This would yield 6 targets from each gun.

l shot 2 groups with the Speer bullets.Then 2 groups with the cast gas check bullets..Finished with 2 groups each WITHOUT gas checks...

All shooting was done at 33yards off sand bags...The PC Hunter has a red/dot...The DX has open sites...

After the smoked cleared and l measured the groups l was in for a BIG surprise.. The groups without gas checks were smallest of ALL for both guns....Next smaller were the groups WITH gas checks. Largest groups were with the Speer factory swaged bullets...

l cant understand why the Speer load didnt win...lts been my midrange accuracy load for decades...

ln the future,when it comes to 44 bullets, l will be buying less and casting more...
 
Well, it all depends. My 29's/629's all seem to shoot cast bullets better than jacketed. Gas checks or non-gas checks shoot differently, either one can have an edge depending on the velocity. The non-gas checks seem more accurate at a lower velocity.
 
If you're buying "cast bullets" be aware that many commercial casters lean toward "softer" bullets. It's actually hard to get "hard" cast bullets because of the nature of bullet casting.
IF accuracy is your core approach then you first need to be thinking gas checks...
 
I have real good luck for the past 30 years with Hornady 200gr HP and 2400 powder
 
I used to shoot 44 mag in IHMSA Metallic Silhouette with a 10" TC. I shot 220 gr cast SWC Gas Checked. If I did my part, the Ram at 200 meters went down. I used HS6 and they ran about 1200 fps.
 
Kilibreaux said:
If you're buying "cast bullets" be aware that many commercial casters lean toward "softer" bullets. It's actually hard to get "hard" cast bullets because of the nature of bullet casting.
IF accuracy is your core approach then you first need to be thinking gas checks...
Click to expand...

Try Cast Performance of Grizzly Cartridges. Their bullets are very hard. I like their gas check designs...particularly their 265 grain Keith style for my .41 magnums.
 
I have a 10 5/8 and a 6" m-29-3's and two 629's . A 4" & 8 3/8" . They shoot very well with Lee 240gr.TL. and Hornady 240 gr. XTP's. I just tried Rainier's plated 240 gr. with 22.5gr. of 296 and they are working as good as the Hornady's at the indoor range . I'm waiting for some dry weather together across the fields to shoot at a hundred yards.
 
The bullets are cast by ME... From a Hensley&Gibbs mold #142 Marked .429..Mold is a swc/gc design...230gr.. its similar to 0ld ldeal mold 431215.....A Thompson design....8 gr of Unique is my standard midrange load. l dont intend on changing anything with this load with reference to powder... lf l decide l want a Magnum load l simply change to 20gr of 2400.....That load shoots as accurately as any factory bullet or ammo l have tried...
 
I shoot a 240 gr. cast bullet (straight WWs) with NO gas check out of my scoped 629 Classic using a max. load of 2400 powder. With a rest, I am getting 3/4" groups at 50 yards and no leading!
 
I've had great luck with the rcbs250k, on top of both midrange and magnum charge's. I have a few of the "newer" edm rifled guns that shoot this bullet only so-so, when compared to a jacketed load. In these guns the speer and hornady 240's usually give great results.
 
Similar to what the others have said; my current most accurate round
out of my Redhawk is the Cast Performance 260 gr. WFNGC over 19 gr. of 2400.
Starline nickel plated brass and a CCI 300 primer.
The brass is sized in Redding's dual ring die which is, in effect, a neck size.
The molds for these may be obtained from the original source:
Veral Smith at LBT. He invented this bullet style.

LBT Moulds

===
Nemo
 
I shoot jacketed typically both 44spcl and 44mag. They never have been a problem and the barrel looks good all the time, except for a little powder fairy dust from the Goddess of 629s! :D

R
 
The 240 gr. lead semi wadcutter from Double Tap shoots well in my Model 29 and my Super Blackhawk. It is a hard cast bullet at I believe a hardness of 21 on the Brinell scale.
Plenty hard for any north American game, probably even a small grizzly. Published velocity is 1455 fps from a 7.5" barrel.
I know everyone jumped on the bigger bullet bandwagon with the 300 gr. loads but I feel a well placed 240 gr. in the right loading will take anything in north America.
 
I've loaded hundreds of Hornady 240 gr XTPs, and more recently, LaserCast (Oregon Trails) 240 gr RNFP hard cast. Both perform well in in revolver and carbine. .44 Mag is one of the more accurate calibers for me, but it's a little uncomfortable in a revolver until some of the feeling leaves my hand.

I don't go wild in my reloads, but not totally mild either. Using 2400 toward the top of the Lyman tables, I get about 1300 fps from a 6" revolver, and over 1600 from a 20" carbine.
 
When shooting .44s with 0.428" to 0.430" throats, pretty much all of the jacketed bullets seem to be fine out to 100 yards. Since I bought a 1000 or 2 Remington 240gr JHPs that's what gets used the most. But Hornadys work well, too.

Have yet to see a need for gas checks at handgun velocities. The old Lyman 429421 mould is very satisfactory. But my new 4-cavity set throws 'em right at 0.429" so they are NFG for long range in the older revolvers.

For those, a Lachmiller 250 SWCGC mould is used as it throws nice 0.434" bullets. Have thought about removing the gas check shoulder from the mould cavities, but it works fine "as is". Just no GC installed!

The swaged Speer bullets seem to be OK when a little Lee Liquid Alox is used for an additional tumble lube. Otherwise it tends to leave all sorts of mess. Horrible in the older .44s.
 
Kilibreaux said:
If you're buying "cast bullets" be aware that many commercial casters lean toward "softer" bullets. It's actually hard to get "hard" cast bullets because of the nature of bullet casting.
IF accuracy is your core approach then you first need to be thinking gas checks...
Click to expand...
It's really quite the opposite. Most commercial cast bullets are too hard. Most are going to be BHN 16-18 or higher and for moderate loads (say 1000fps or less), you don't need more than 8-10.
 
CraigC said:
It's really quite the opposite. Most commercial cast bullets are too hard. Most are going to be BHN 16-18 or higher and for moderate loads (say 1000fps or less), you don't need more than 8-10.
Click to expand...

Very true! I've even run coated 9-11 BHN bullets in front of healthy charges of H110 and 2400. Works well.

2013-07-26jmoorestuff059_zps03698ff6.jpg


2013-07-26jmoorestuff049_zpsd2b0931f.jpg

50yd 5-shot group with the "green" soft (recovered range lead) boolit.

2013-07-26jmoorestuff051_zps844df7a4.jpg

Out of this revolver. Still does that sort of group off the bench with some regularity. (Not something I've been able to duplicate with any .357 and cast bullets, BTW.)

If your .44 is older, the hard "store bought" bullets will usually lead the bore quite nicely no matter what type load you try.
 
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