The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Rossi .44 Lever

Moloch · February 17, 2013, 06:14 PM

Hi!

I need some help with reloading for the Rossi Lever Action 24'' chambered in .44mag. Actually, my buddy needs the help as it is his gun.

So he bought a new Rossi Lever in .44, we loaded some ammo and brought her to the range next day. Accuracy was absolutely terrible.

The loads we shot:
Bullet: Speer .429 240 grain and Hornady XTP 240 grain, .430
19, 20 and 21.5 grains of Alliant 2400
Taper crimp
Brass: Starline, new
Primer Federal large pistol
Lee dies

At the range we tried to sight her in at 50yds and with all reloads we got groups the size of a basketball.

No pressure signs on the brass and primer, 21.5 kicked quite a little bit and there was no difference in accuracy (or the lack thereof) between the .429 and the .430. and the different charges. No keyholing though.
I know that rifles can be picky sometimes, but thats just crazy.

We're both very experienced shooters and we are also experienced in handloading, we weighed each charge on a mechanical lee scale, the extreme inaccuracy simply boggles our minds.

The funny thing is we tried some factory ammo and got excellent results with Remington white box 240 grain 44mag. Thumb-sized groups at 50yds, thats as good as it gets with a rifle like that I guess.
Unfortunately he did not keep any rounds so we could not pull the bullets to measure their the diameter. The factory stuff was very hot, too.

Any suggestions?

February 17, 2013, 06:14 PM	#1
Moloch Senior Member Join Date: November 27, 2005 Posts: 1,419	Rossi .44 Lever - Handloading help! Hi! I need some help with reloading for the Rossi Lever Action 24'' chambered in .44mag. Actually, my buddy needs the help as it is his gun. So he bought a new Rossi Lever in .44, we loaded some ammo and brought her to the range next day. Accuracy was absolutely terrible. The loads we shot: Bullet: Speer .429 240 grain and Hornady XTP 240 grain, .430 19, 20 and 21.5 grains of Alliant 2400 Taper crimp Brass: Starline, new Primer Federal large pistol Lee dies At the range we tried to sight her in at 50yds and with all reloads we got groups the size of a basketball. No pressure signs on the brass and primer, 21.5 kicked quite a little bit and there was no difference in accuracy (or the lack thereof) between the .429 and the .430. and the different charges. No keyholing though. I know that rifles can be picky sometimes, but thats just crazy. We're both very experienced shooters and we are also experienced in handloading, we weighed each charge on a mechanical lee scale, the extreme inaccuracy simply boggles our minds. The funny thing is we tried some factory ammo and got excellent results with Remington white box 240 grain 44mag. Thumb-sized groups at 50yds, thats as good as it gets with a rifle like that I guess. Unfortunately he did not keep any rounds so we could not pull the bullets to measure their the diameter. The factory stuff was very hot, too. Any suggestions?