44 Special to Russian

BOGE · September 15, 1999, 12:12 AM

Yesterday I bought an old but complete Lee Loader kit in .44 Special in hopes that I can use it to load blackpowder .44 Russian. I know the Russian case is .97 in length and that the .44 Special is somewhere around 1.10 approx. My question is do you think my Lee Loader will be able to "crimp down" on this shorter cartridge without having to grind down the base of the die?

fal308 · September 15, 1999, 10:49 AM

I was thinking of trying this a couple of years ago just as the 44 Russian case came out from Sierra. Talked to the phone rep at Sierra about it, he said that I would have to grind/cut the die IIRC. Nowadays you can just buy 44 Russian die sets.

[This message has been edited by fal308 (edited September 16, 1999).]

Contender · September 15, 1999, 02:31 PM

Fire off a quick e-mail to Lee at their website. www.leeprecision.com They answer questions pretty quick.

September 15, 1999, 12:12 AM	#1
BOGE Member Join Date: May 30, 1999 Posts: 33	Yesterday I bought an old but complete Lee Loader kit in .44 Special in hopes that I can use it to load blackpowder .44 Russian. I know the Russian case is .97 in length and that the .44 Special is somewhere around 1.10 approx. My question is do you think my Lee Loader will be able to "crimp down" on this shorter cartridge without having to grind down the base of the die?

September 15, 1999, 10:49 AM	#2
fal308 Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,992	I was thinking of trying this a couple of years ago just as the 44 Russian case came out from Sierra. Talked to the phone rep at Sierra about it, he said that I would have to grind/cut the die IIRC. Nowadays you can just buy 44 Russian die sets. [This message has been edited by fal308 (edited September 16, 1999).]

September 15, 1999, 02:31 PM	#3
Contender Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 1998 Location: NY Posts: 680	Fire off a quick e-mail to Lee at their website. www.leeprecision.com They answer questions pretty quick.