Model 24-3 44 special, reloading/casting question

[kadams]

Hello all, Thanks for any replies. I recently acquired a 61/2" 24-3 and I sat down to load some rounds and found the cylinder throats are .434" My cast bullets are 240 gr. sbwc sized .4295 I am wondering if any of you have had experience with these (to me) oversize throats and If so how did you go about getting good accuracy from cast bullets? Bullet diameter, bullet design, bullet weight etc. before I try to reinvent the wheel on my own.

Thankyou, Ken

 

[rockquarry]

Hello all, Thanks for any replies. I recently acquired a 61/2" 24-3 and I sat down to load some rounds and found the cylinder throats are .434" My cast bullets are 240 gr. sbwc sized .4295 I am wondering if any of you have had experience with these (to me) oversize throats and If so how did you go about getting good accuracy from cast bullets? Bullet diameter, bullet design, bullet weight etc. before I try to reinvent the wheel on my own.

Thankyou, Ken

I have three of these guns and all measure around .432". I use .432" cast bullets and they shoot very well. Your throats seem unusually large. How did you measure the throats?

 

[kadams]

I used an rcbs reloading caliper after dropping my .4295 sized bullets right thru the cylinder, The bullets measure .4295 on the same caliper, I have another caliper I could try and see if there is any discrepency

 

[rockquarry]

I used an rcbs reloading caliper after dropping my .4295 sized bullets right thru the cylinder, The bullets measure .4295 on the same caliper, I have another caliper I could try and see if there is any discrepency

A micrometer will give you a far more accurate reading and I'll bet the number will be less than .434". Since you already have the smaller bullets, it won't hurt to use them with several loads. The worst that can happen is leading and inaccuracy, but they're still worth a try.
Good luck-

 

[venomballistics]

pin gauges are the usual, accepted means of making this measurement.
However, the old timer method was to cast a few from pure soft lead, sorting them by size and pushing them through until the throat slightly sized the slug. measuring this slug gave you your bore size.
the most practical means is to use a proven load, and make small batches of said load in various sizes.
whichever sings, you use.
Personally, I believe this to be the best overall method as adjustments seem to be made even when measured to NASA standards of precision anyhow.

 

[kadams]

A micrometer will give you a far more accurate reading and I'll bet the number will be less than .434". Since you already have the smaller bullets, it won't hurt to use them with several loads. The worst that can happen is leading and inaccuracy, but they're still worth a try.
Good luck-

could you recommend any good molds or bullet designs you have had good luck with in your 24-3's
Im going to try the .429 bullets because I have several thousand of them, but I'm not expecting great results.

 

[mtgianni]

I have a 4" 24-3 and my pin gauges show 0.432". I use an NOE mold spec'd at 0.432. Diameters can vary due to alloys and I powder coat. Mine came to me "unfired, we believe" outside of the factory and it has no turn line. I have only shot two cylinders through it, though it had excellent accuracy with a 235 gr rf and Unique powder.

 

[rockquarry]

could you recommend any good molds or bullet designs you have had good luck with in your 24-3's
Im going to try the .429 bullets because I have several thousand of them, but I'm not expecting great results.

You may not want to go to the trouble or expense, but I had three moulds professionally opened up to where they would cast .432" bullets; a Lyman #429421, a Lyman #429244, and a SAECO 200 grain flat nose (don't recall the mould number). However, there are custom mould makers (Accurate Moulds comes to mind) that will make moulds to throw any diameter you wish. That's probably your best route if you want a bullet that fits and is capable of good accuracy.

PM me your name and address and I'll send you a few samples of .432" bullets. I'll be surprised if they don't fit your cylinder throats.

 

[Forrest r]

Used to own a 624 and yup, had the ,432" cylinders. That 624 with test loads using a 220gr hbwc that I cast.

Used to own a 29-2 that had .431" cylinders.

Got tired of having .430" cast bullets for several firearms and .432" cast bullets for those 2 revolvers. Ended up selling both of them.

The easiest thing to do is powder coat your cast bullets. PC'ing them (pc ='s powder coat) will add 2/1000th's in diameter to your .429" bullets.

Glad to see you cast your own bullets. You might consider investing in quality molds from a custom mold maker that are actually cheap to buy. A link to that website. Take a look at their .432" molds.
https://www.mp-molds.com/

I've been casting and swaging my own bullets for decades owning 100+ molds from several different mold makers. MP molds are impressive producing quality cast bullets that are extremely accurate.

 

[6string]

.432-433” is normal diameter for .44 Special. In his classic book on handloading, Phil Sharpe documented the bullet diameters of ALL the 44 special factory ammo available at the time (Winchester, Peters, Remington, etc). Guess what? They all mic’ed at .432”-433”.
Older Ideal/Lyman molds will usually drop bullets “as cast” between .432”-.434”, depending on alloy. Just cast them, then lube them.
My favorite is the 429348 185 gr full wadcutter.

 

[kadams]

Used to own a 624 and yup, had the ,432" cylinders. That 624 with test loads using a 220gr hbwc that I cast.

Used to own a 29-2 that had .431" cylinders.

Got tired of having .430" cast bullets for several firearms and .432" cast bullets for those 2 revolvers. Ended up selling both of them.

The easiest thing to do is powder coat your cast bullets. PC'ing them (pc ='s powder coat) will add 2/1000th's in diameter to your .429" bullets.

Glad to see you cast your own bullets. You might consider investing in quality molds from a custom mold maker that are actually cheap to buy. A link to that website. Take a look at their .432" molds.
https://www.mp-molds.com/

I've been casting and swaging my own bullets for decades owning 100+ molds from several different mold makers. MP molds are impressive producing quality cast bullets that are extremely accurate.

I like your hollow base bullets is that a custom mold? how do they shoot?

 

[Forrest r]

It's a Mihec mold & worth every penny.

They shoot way better than I can hold anymore.

 

[kadams]

Thanks! ill check on that

 

[kadams]

You may not want to go to the trouble or expense, but I had three moulds professionally opened up to where they would cast .432" bullets; a Lyman #429421, a Lyman #429244, and a SAECO 200 grain flat nose (don't recall the mould number). However, there are custom mould makers (Accurate Moulds comes to mind) that will make moulds to throw any diameter you wish. That's probably your best route if you want a bullet that fits and is capable of good accuracy.

PM me your name and address and I'll send you a few samples of .432" bullets. I'll be surprised if they don't fit your cylinder throats.

Thanks so much for the samples! they go thru the cylinder throats with just a nudge of finger pressure on a wooden dowel rod your bullets measure .4325 on my calipers, I casted some .44 hollow base today that measure .433-.434 as cast. they take a few raps with a platic mallet and dowel to get thru the throats and once tapped thru measure .4325-.433 I'm going to powder coat them, I'm wondering If I should get a sizing die? to size after coating? or if I could try them as cast with no trouble? With my (3) other .44's .I size .4295 after coating and they are satisfactory for me two smiths and a contender. This 624-3 definitely has larger throats.

 

[rockquarry]

Thanks so much for the samples! they go thru the cylinder throats with just a nudge of finger pressure on a wooden dowel rod your bullets measure .4325 on my calipers, I casted some .44 hollow base today that measure .433-.434 as cast. they take a few raps with a platic mallet and dowel to get thru the throats and once tapped thru measure .4325-.433 I'm going to powder coat them, I'm wondering If I should get a sizing die? to size after coating? or if I could try them as cast with no trouble? With my (3) other .44's .I size .4295 after coating and they are satisfactory for me two smiths and a contender. This 624-3 definitely has larger throats.

You're on your own with the powder coating. I don't know anything about it and can't offer advice. At this point, no reason to learn. Conventional lube and sizing has worked very well for me. Good luck-

 

[kadams]

You're on your own with the powder coating. I don't know anything about it and can't offer advice. At this point, no reason to learn. Conventional lube and sizing has worked very well for me. Good luck-

I have only ever pan lubed 45-70 and liquid alox on .357 and 44, I did'nt like the mess and I've never owned a lube sizer. Powder coat has worked well, accurate and no mess, also no smoke when i shoot, So I'm liking it, Thanks for your help!

 

[kadams]

Used to own a 624 and yup, had the ,432" cylinders. That 624 with test loads using a 220gr hbwc that I cast.

Used to own a 29-2 that had .431" cylinders.

Got tired of having .430" cast bullets for several firearms and .432" cast bullets for those 2 revolvers. Ended up selling both of them.

The easiest thing to do is powder coat your cast bullets. PC'ing them (pc ='s powder coat) will add 2/1000th's in diameter to your .429" bullets.

Glad to see you cast your own bullets. You might consider investing in quality molds from a custom mold maker that are actually cheap to buy. A link to that website. Take a look at their .432" molds.
https://www.mp-molds.com/

I've been casting and swaging my own bullets for decades owning 100+ molds from several different mold makers. MP molds are impressive producing quality cast bullets that are extremely accurate.

I ordered and received the MP-Mold for the Hollow base .44 you recommended. they drop at .433-.434 I only use powder coat should i get a .432 sizing die? and then coat them? I was hoping to get away with powder coating the bullets as cast. I don't have a suitable sizing die. Thanks for the mold recommendation by the way the MP mold is very high quality and cast beautiful bullets right out the gate, Thanks

 

[Forrest r]

IMHO:
I would get a .423" sizing die. I never size more that 3/1000th's in one pass, if I do bad things tend to happen. If you can't find a .432" sizing die a lee .430" sizing die and a couple light passes with 400grit sandpaper on a wooden dowel to open it up will work. I made a .432" sizing die from a lee .430" that way.

Good luck and enjoy.
And yes those 220gr cast hbwc's made with 8/9bhn alloy seated backwards making a huge hp hit extremely hard at +/- 1000fps.

 

[WILDPIG]

I have three 24-3s and they all measure right at .432". I think I once posted that my first one measured .430" but I must have been drunk or reading the gauge without my cheaters. I run coated 240 gr. SWC that measure a tad over .431" with very good results.

WILDPIG

 

[Roper1628]

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