What to do with oversize throats?

[125JHP]

I just got around to re-slugging my 44 cylinders with pure lead. I used some Hornady .457" musket balls and a wood dowel to tap them thru.

Out of 6 guns, Two were consistently .429" but the other 4 guns were all .433".

Up until this point I have shot mostly jacketed out of them with some lead I picked up at gunshows. I'm now planning on casting my own and need to order a sizer die and was going to get .431 until I decided to slug the throats first.

From what I recall about lead sizing, the two .429 should be fine but what to do about the four with oversize throats? Isn't a .431" bullet too small and leading will likely result?

Even if I get a bullet that will cast to .433 or 434 I wonder if I will be able to chamber such a round. I see a number of problems with trying to make oversize bullets work.

Should I try to get S&W to refit new cylinders with the proper size throats or will shooting unsized .432 be good enough (and just deal with the leading. Should I go to softer lead and/or gas checks with these guns? or just resign myself to jacketed bullets?

What is the standard remedy to this problem?

thanks
125

 

[OKFC05]

What is the standard remedy to this problem?

Mine is to shoot my own cast Tumble Lube bullets unsized, and let the gun size them.
Very accurate.
lee tumble lube molds - Bing Images

 

[Fishinfool]

125

Don't make the mistake of casting super hard. If you cast around 12 BNH or so, and avoid powder puff loads, the bullets will "slug up" to fit your throats, then back down to bore diameter when they enter the barrel. Oversize throats is the reason most factory 45 Colt loads use softer lead bullets with hollow bases.

If leading is a problem, gas checks can help, but I would try a bullet without first. Good lube (not the rock hard stuff used on some commercial bullets) is important. I would personally try sizing to .430 / .431. You should have no chambering difficulties at that diameter.

For less then medium to hot loads, try casting a little softer then 12 BNH. Most leading is really a result of undersized, hard bullets, often with bevel bases and poor lube that allow for gas cutting at the bullet base, causing leading.

I have several 44 mags with over sized throats, and the above has always worked well for me, giving good accuracy and minimal leading.

Larry

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Bingo

Mine is to shoot my own cast Tumble Lube bullets unsized, and let the gun size them.
Very accurate.
lee tumble lube molds - Bing Images

Bing Oh!
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[358156hp]

I had a custom mould and sizer made for my 629-2, which is right at .434. If it were much larger, it would be a .45! Anyway, the chambers are plenty sloppy enough for the bigger bullets to chamber, so I have no worries there. It didn't cost any extra for the oversized mould, but since I had to buy yet another Star die, I'm out about $40.00 for the nonconforming 629.

Just the other day I bought an original Ideal 429422 hollowbase Keith mould, which would have handled the situation nicely. However, because of it's advanced age (1929!), it will probably sit in my budding Keith mould collection unmolested.

 

[125JHP]

I have wheel weight lead which as I understand it is usually around BHN 11 or 12, so do you think it would be better, instead of dropping them into water (which I hear hardens em up to about 15), that I should just drop them on a towel and let them air cool?

Also would a std .430 sizer be preferred to .431 or would it matter?

thanks
125

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I have wheel weight lead which as I understand it is usually around BHN 11 or 12, so do you think it would be better, instead of dropping them into water (which I hear hardens em up to about 15), that I should just drop them on a towel and let them air cool?

Also would a std .430 sizer be preferred to .431 or would it matter?

thanks
125

Hey there, straight air cooled wheel weight alloy will be just fine. I've run plain base bullets using air cooled wheel weight alloy up to 1200 fps in .357 and .44 Mags with no leading to speak of with good accuracy. I hear over at cast Boolits.gunloads.com fellows run straight wheel weight alloy up to 1800 fps in rifles with no problems so I think it will be fine for most all handgun loads. As for the size I think I would size em as close to .433 as I could and let the smaller throat guns size em to fit. The only problem is that if you have tight chambers in any of your guns you may have chambering problems and you may want to check that before sizing a whole bunch of them. If you use a SWC style bullet make sure you size the front driving band as well as that will help in chambering.

 

[TAROMAN]

Most of my 44s measure the same.
Recently purchased a batch of larger sized bullets from Penn.
On most of his lines, he has 3-4 diameters from which to choose.

 

[125JHP]

So a .433" size is not too big for a .429 throat - Wouldn't that up the pressure some? If I size them that large (for the four) then I would have to work up my loads in the smaller sized guns in order to shoot them in any of the 6 (with peace of mind on the max side of things)... no?

 

[USSR]

I have wheel weight lead which as I understand it is usually around BHN 11 or 12, so do you think it would be better, instead of dropping them into water (which I hear hardens em up to about 15), that I should just drop them on a towel and let them air cool?

Definitely air cool them. Your water quenched bullets are probably a lot harder the BHN 15.

Don