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Old October 19, 2012, 01:13 PM   #1
dado5
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44 mag plated bullets

I have been reloading rifle for a while but am now venturing into pistol. I have some berrys plated bullets for my 44 mag. I have rcbs carbide die set. There are no cannelures in the bullets. From my reading I think they need a taper crimp, but I assume my dies are set up to roll crimp for 44 mag bullets with a cannelure. I loaded some and just did a mild roll crimp, they shot well and I didnt notice any walking of the bullet. Is this ok or do I need to purchase a separate taper crimp die?
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Old October 19, 2012, 02:03 PM   #2
Pond, James Pond
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I am by no means an expert, having only this summer started reloading .44s, but I have interrogated forum members on crimps, .44s and plated bullets.

Personally, I use an FCD. I've mananged to get it to work for me.

Having said that, it seems to me, if there is no bullet creep under recoil, no signs of over-pressure and the cartridges perform as you need them to, I can't see a problem.
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Old October 19, 2012, 02:19 PM   #3
noylj
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They "think" they don't need a cannelure, as the bullets are only good to 1200 fps. However, with just a taper crimp you can still get the bullets to back out of the case.
Roll crimping can damage the plating and the plating can shed, leading your barrel. From your results, it sounds as though you are OK.
You can do a roll crimp over the bullet shoulder (SWC) or the beginning of the ogive (RN and RNFP), but you need to work up from starting load as the COL will be shorter.
I would only buy cast lead or real jacketed. Try Monana Gold jacketed next time.
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Old October 19, 2012, 02:41 PM   #4
mikld
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My .44 Lee Factory Crimp Die lives in a landfill somewhere in Southern Oregon. I tried it and it does no good, and actually made my ammo less accurate and I got barrel leading. Besides I remember those thousands of rounds I put together before I "found" Lee's FCD.

Since you don't have a problem with bullets creeping out, continue as you are. Hasn't happened to me, but I understand too heavy of a roll crimp can pierce the plating and the plating can separate from the bullet as it travels through the barrel. A plain old taper crimp works very well on plated bullets.
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Old October 19, 2012, 02:52 PM   #5
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The technique that works for me is to barely flare the mouth of the case to accept the smooth sided, plated bullet.
Then, after the bullet is seated in the case, adjust the roll crimp to just remove the flare.
That should be enough for a revolver.
If the rounds won't easily chamber, and if there's no taper die crimp handy, I use the resizing die to further remove the flare, rather than more roll crimp,
The only time plated bullets have been a problem is if the case mouth has too much flare to begin.
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Old October 19, 2012, 11:27 PM   #6
testuser
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I'd say you're fine, probably no reason to buy anything else.

I've been using the Lee Factory Crimp die and it works great. Screw the die body down, screw the adjuster screw down until it just touches the case and then slowly adjust the adjuster screw down until you get the right amount of crimp. That's it.

I think the instructions say 1/4 increments, but it's something you have to feel out, otherwise, you're going to overcrimp bullets with disasterous results. Just go slowly, like with your seating die, and you can't mess it up.

Good die, but not the clearest of instructions (especially the rifle version).
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Old October 20, 2012, 02:27 AM   #7
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I shoot the plated bullets in .357 magnum. As someone pointed out plated bullets should be kept to below 1200 fps. This did fine in my S&W 627, but I found it awkward to develop a load below 1200 fps in my Marlin 1894C. So I never tried plated in .44 magnum. I load only cast and jacketed in .44 magnum and use the reloads in both my revolver, carbine and pistol.

I do a moderate crimp followed by use of the Lee Factory Crimp Die when loading the .357, whether plated, cast, or jacketed bullet.

I suggest you save the plated bullets for a revolver reload.
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Old October 21, 2012, 01:13 PM   #8
Edward429451
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Agreed, the typical 44 cartridges are a little too much for plated bullets that have no cannelure. So my advice is to nix the plated bullets in 44 Cal., and stick to good lead boolits or jacketed bullets with a cannelure. You can stick to light loads with the ones you have and shoot them up, but I wouldn't make a habit of them.

Having been loading 44 SP & Mag for 23 yrs now, IME I have found that any and all 44 loads will be more consistent and work better if they have a fairly decent crimp. This is not possible without a cannelure. Additionally, lead bullets give one the ability to fully embrace the ultimate versatility of the cartridge.

Not having the lead bullets lead up your gun is mostly about bullet fit. Generally, the fatter bullets lead less. Stick with .430 or .431 lead bullets from 180 to 340 grains and you'll fall in love with that 44!
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Old October 21, 2012, 01:21 PM   #9
BigJimP
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I think you're ok ...but I would switch to a jacketed bullet with a cannelure as soon as you shoot up what you have...

......like Montana Gold, especially in .44 mag ( and .357 mag as well ) ....plated bullets tend to come apart on me in .44 mag ( Rainier especially ) ...like someone else said, you just can't push them very fast or they will come apart / especially with Rainier where the electro plating is very thin and sometimes uneven bullet to bullet ...and while I had better results with Berry's plated bullets (they have thicker plating than Rainier )...Montana Gold, JSP in 240 gr and JHP in 158gr .357 mag ...are much better bullets.
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Old October 22, 2012, 10:12 PM   #10
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A mild roll crimp is what you want. Too much crimp and you risk deforming the bullet or damaging the plating at the crimp.

Not all plated bullets are the same. Some seem to have a mere whiff of copper on them and others have a real plated layer. Some are only good to 1100-1200 fps. and others can be driven harder. Consult the manufacturer for their upper limit.

I have loaded nearly full jacketed charges of W296 under Xtreme Plated bullets in 357 and 44 magnum w/o my accuracy going down the toilet. Going anywhere over beginning jacketed charges under Rainier OTOH gave poor to shotgun patterns.
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