Keith style .44 bullets

[ontargetagain]

Matt's Bullets, 250 gr Keith bullet offered

Karl

 

[oysterer]

There are no better people than Bruce and Victoria over at Montana.

44 Mag, Lyman 429421, 255gr, SWC-K (Authentic Keith) - Montana Bullet Works

The bullets are not for plinking around aimlessly as they are not cheap. For target work and real accuracy shooting they do pay off beautifully.

 

[Nightowl]

I have a Lyman 429421 4 cavity mold I bought at least 40 years ago. It has rounded cavities and spits out bullets of 235 grains with linotype lead. I have not cast bullets in about 30 years as it is now so easy just to buy them rather than spend two days casting and sizing a thousand bullets. However, I still prefer non beveled bases.

My point is that I have not seen a cast bullet with Keith's original square grease groove. It would be interesting to shoot some.

 

[Warren Sear]

As I understand it, the groove is square so as to hold as much lube as possible. I don't know if it actually helps or not. I have used the Lyman 429421 for many years with very good results. I don't know, and could not care less if it follows ol' Elmer's specifications or not.

 

[Nemo288]

+1 on Montana Bullet Works.
They have revived a very nice company after the original owner retired.
He had a very comprehensive collection of the Veral Smith WFN designs as well as many others, some unique.
Theirs is one of the only true Keith designs still being made.

I have become a Smith convert as I believe him to be a truly worthy successor to Elmer when it comes to cast bullet design.
Veral is no where near as eloquent as Elmer was but his book is still an important read for every cast bullet user.
Jacketed Bullet Performance With Cast Bullets

Beartooth also offers a true Keith with square bottom lube groove, 3 equal driving bands and a flat base.
They have most of the WFN designs as well and make very good bullets.
They are a little expensive and have a long lead time but I have used their bullets very successfully for years especially when Montana was out of business.
One of their main men, J. Marshall Stanton, is a well known guru of the 444 Marlin.

 

[shocker]

Penn Bullets says about their 240 gr SWC:

"A traditional Elmer Keith styled bullet. Although this design is not an authentic Keith bullet as Elmer's version featured a longer nose and a large square bottomed grease groove to hold a lot of lube. (Lubes were not very efficient in those days giving out at the end of the barrel at magnum velocities.) The longer nose profile also caused problems in some guns because the cylinders were shorter and the longer version would not fit. This design is user friendly to all styles of firearms."

I also see postings that the 429421 isn't a particularly easy bullet to cast, another reason to modify the design so there are fewer rejects.