44 Special and 250 Gr Bullets

jamaica · August 17, 2008, 04:01 PM

What ever happened to the 250 Grain bullets for 44 Special?
It seems there is also a shortage of loading data for bullets of that weight.
My Lyman bullet mould 429421 still throws 250 grain bullets, same as it always did. It would be nice if there was loading data available. I can't believe the powder companies would forget the bullet that made the 44 Spl what it was in the beginning.

joneb · August 17, 2008, 04:38 PM

Here's a start http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/P...0and%20132.pdf

crowbeaner · August 17, 2008, 06:31 PM

Try 6.0 of IMR PB with your 250 cast bullet. Not over 6.5 though; my old M24 loved it.

Slamfire · August 18, 2008, 06:51 PM

You just cannot find commerical cast 250 Keith type bullets. That's why data is so scarce, in my opinion. Does anyone make a 250 JHP?

Commerical casters all make 240 grain bullets. Or they make monster 300 grain plus bullets for the "real men". (with repetitive motion injuries) But none in my area will make a copy of the 429421. Don't know why as that bullet is a great bullet.

Still, when I found some 250's about 15 years ago, I used the same charges as the 240's.

That is 6.5 grains Unique for factory equivalent, or 7.5 grains for a Skeeter Skelton/Elmer Keith recommended powerful load.

crowbeaner · August 18, 2008, 07:31 PM

I've got some RCBS 44-245-KT cast up. PM me. Basically the same bullet as the 429421. I have that mould also.

jamaica · August 18, 2008, 11:20 PM

Thanks to all for your ideas.

I don't know why the 250 gr 44 bullets went out of style, but suspect the cowboy action shooting had something to do with it. They didn't need the performance that hunters demand, and the manufacturers, cater to who buys the ammo. Since the advent of the 44 mag I think the interest in 44 Spl for hunting dwindled a bunch.

Quote:

That is 6.5 grains Unique for factory equivalent, or 7.5 grains for a Skeeter Skelton/Elmer Keith recommended powerful load.

Yes, the old Lyman manual I have from the late 1950s, shows max on unique with the 250 grain 429421 at 7.8 gr. I used to load them at 7.7 gr. (Disclaimer: I am not recommending anyone use this data, but put it here as a piece of history.)

My new hornady handbook redlines unique at 6.0 gr with the 240 gr bullets. Most of the data I find now is about the same. It seems the trend is to load down considerably from what we were doing in the "olden days". Do you suppose the powder has changed? Is Unique still the same as Unique used to be? No data in the new Hornady book for the 250 gr bullets.

I loaded some 250s up the other day with 5.4 gr of Unique and this seemed like a good load for plinking. I really have no interest in loading up to max pressures at this point in the game.

My problem is finding any data for different powders and the 250 gr bullets.
Since store bought bullets went sky high, I just recently decided to cast some bullets, which I hadn't done for years, hence my renewed interest in the 250 gr bullets.

RidgwayCO · August 19, 2008, 09:00 AM

Here are some people still making and selling 250-255gr Keith bullets in .44 caliber:

http://www.proshootpro.com/
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm
http://www.tennesseevalleybullets.co...s/bullets.html

I'm sure there are more, but these are the manufacturers I know of off-hand. Also, Cast Performance Bullets makes the LBT style bullets that might be even more effective than the Keith-style bullets.

http://www.castperformance.com/Categ...mance%3A44+Cal.

And as far as the .44 Special for hunting, I'm currently working on lead-bullet loads for my Freedom Arms Model 97 that will be legal to use here in Colorado (which requires a minimum of 550 ft-lbs at 50 yds for handguns). Using Brian Pearce's excellent article in Handloader as a guide, I don't think it will be very difficult.

Hope this helps!

CraigC · August 19, 2008, 03:08 PM

No loading data??? No commercial Keith bullets??? As posted above, there are several sources for commercial Keith bullets. Although last time I ordered Beartooth was several months backlogged. Regardless of what the site says, I'd call first. I got 1000 Keith bullets from Leadhead's and they are excellent. About the cheapest I've found as well. Add to that list Montana Bullet Works and Mt. Baldy.

As far as loading data, your homework assignment is to procure and read all the John Taffin you can find. Start with his "Book of the .44".

August 17, 2008, 04:01 PM	#1
jamaica Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2006 Location: Northern Utah Posts: 705	44 Special and 250 Gr Bullets What ever happened to the 250 Grain bullets for 44 Special? It seems there is also a shortage of loading data for bullets of that weight. My Lyman bullet mould 429421 still throws 250 grain bullets, same as it always did. It would be nice if there was loading data available. I can't believe the powder companies would forget the bullet that made the 44 Spl what it was in the beginning.

August 17, 2008, 06:31 PM	#3
crowbeaner Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 1,943	Try 6.0 of IMR PB with your 250 cast bullet. Not over 6.5 though; my old M24 loved it. __________________ If you want your children to follow in your footsteps, be careful where you walk. Beware the man that only owns one gun; he probably knows how to use it. I just hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.

August 18, 2008, 07:31 PM	#5
crowbeaner Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 1,943	I've got some RCBS 44-245-KT cast up. PM me. Basically the same bullet as the 429421. I have that mould also. __________________ If you want your children to follow in your footsteps, be careful where you walk. Beware the man that only owns one gun; he probably knows how to use it. I just hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.

August 19, 2008, 09:00 AM	#7
RidgwayCO Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2008 Location: Western Colorado Posts: 244	Here are some people still making and selling 250-255gr Keith bullets in .44 caliber: http://www.proshootpro.com/ http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm http://www.tennesseevalleybullets.co...s/bullets.html I'm sure there are more, but these are the manufacturers I know of off-hand. Also, Cast Performance Bullets makes the LBT style bullets that might be even more effective than the Keith-style bullets. http://www.castperformance.com/Categ...mance%3A44+Cal. And as far as the .44 Special for hunting, I'm currently working on lead-bullet loads for my Freedom Arms Model 97 that will be legal to use here in Colorado (which requires a minimum of 550 ft-lbs at 50 yds for handguns). Using Brian Pearce's excellent article in Handloader as a guide, I don't think it will be very difficult. Hope this helps! Last edited by RidgwayCO; August 19, 2008 at 09:59 AM.

August 17, 2008, 04:38 PM	#2
joneb Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2005 Location: Central , OR Posts: 1,888	Here's a start http://www.accuratepowder.com/data/P...0and%20132.pdf

August 18, 2008, 06:51 PM	#4
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	You just cannot find commerical cast 250 Keith type bullets. That's why data is so scarce, in my opinion. Does anyone make a 250 JHP? Commerical casters all make 240 grain bullets. Or they make monster 300 grain plus bullets for the "real men". (with repetitive motion injuries) But none in my area will make a copy of the 429421. Don't know why as that bullet is a great bullet. Still, when I found some 250's about 15 years ago, I used the same charges as the 240's. That is 6.5 grains Unique for factory equivalent, or 7.5 grains for a Skeeter Skelton/Elmer Keith recommended powerful load.

August 19, 2008, 03:08 PM	#8
CraigC Junior member Join Date: November 28, 2001 Location: West Tennessee Posts: 4,300	No loading data??? No commercial Keith bullets??? As posted above, there are several sources for commercial Keith bullets. Although last time I ordered Beartooth was several months backlogged. Regardless of what the site says, I'd call first. I got 1000 Keith bullets from Leadhead's and they are excellent. About the cheapest I've found as well. Add to that list Montana Bullet Works and Mt. Baldy. As far as loading data, your homework assignment is to procure and read all the John Taffin you can find. Start with his "Book of the .44".