44 mag mold

[Old 454]

I bought a MP 44 mag mold that casts a 300 grain HP, WFN and a dish nose.
But it says 44mag/44-444 marlin.
Did I screw up and get a rifle bullet instead of a pistol bullet
Cast diameter is .434
I have a .430 lube sizer die

Thank you in advance

[Unclenick]

As long as the crimp groove lets you make a cartridge that fits in your chambers, it's a universal bullet, and you should go ahead and use it.

[Old 454]

Thank you sir
This will be used in a new Colt Kodiak 44 mag

[Mike / Tx]

Which one did you get? I have several MP'S and just love them. Please post up on your new adventures with this one.

[Old 454]

Got the MP 44/444 - 300 unfortunately for what ever reason I can’t post any pics
…. But this mold casts a couple different hollow points and a nice WFN.
The hollow points are dropping at 295 grains and the WFN is dropping at 299-301 grains
I am using a Lyman #2 alloy
I will try to shake and bake some powder coated on the WFN

[Mike / Tx]

I looked it up and that is a good looking bullet.

I really like his molds and the versatility of them., as you can see I am a BIG fan,


All the blue top boxes are MP molds

[Old 454]

This is my first MP mold, and I must say I do like like it, and what I didn’t realize is there is a MP mold seller on eBay that sells brand new MP molds. I have prolly all ready cast 40 lbs of bullets.
This mold drops a .434 sized bullet. I slugged my Colt Kodiak barrel and on the lands it’s on the button at 430 and grooves were just a hair over .428 ( I used a sized down to .430 sized bullet of the same 300 grain bullet I plan to shoot )
So I ordered up a .432 sizing die I may have to step this down in two dies one to .432 and the lube size to .430, I may size the WFN down to .429 and try my hand at shake and bake powder coating.
Here is a question, how loose/tight are you running the sprue plate, on the one I have it needs to be pretty loose or I get fins on the bullet base on the cavity closest to the handles, I would almost say the spire has an ever so slight warp in it.
Then I need to find a correct seating depth.
I plan on buying a .357 & 9mm and 10mm MP molds

[Webleymkv]

I bought a MP 44 mag mold that casts a 300 grain HP, WFN and a dish nose.
But it says 44mag/44-444 marlin.
Did I screw up and get a rifle bullet instead of a pistol bullet

Both .44 Magnum and .444 Marlin use the same nominal bullet diameter. As a matter of fact, a common complaint about the .444 Marlin when it was introduced was that, because it used JSP bullets designed for .44 Magnum velocities, its penetration was often considered underwhelming due to overly-aggressive expansion from the much higher velocities that .444 Marlin produces.

Because .444 Marlin is most often encountered in lever-action rifles, it can be more sensitive to OAL than .44 Magnum which is more common in revolvers. The fact that your mold is labeled for "44 Mag/44-444 Marlin" suggests to me that the crimp groove is located close enough to the bullet nose to be useable in a lever-action rifle, but this would not necessarily make it unsuitable for a .44 Magnum revolver.

The primary caution that you need to keep in mind when loading bullets from your mold in .44 Magnum is to pay attention to the OAL specified in your loading data. It is not uncommon for loadings with heavy bullets in .44 Magnum to be loaded to OAL longer than SAAMI spec. This is done to take advantage of the longer cylinders of guns like the Ruger Super Redhawk or Colt Anaconda in order to increase case capacity so that larger powder charges can be loaded without increasing pressures to dangerous levels. If the crimp groove on your bullets puts the OAL significantly shorter than that specified in your loading data, you will likely be generating pressures significantly higher than what the loading data tested at. However, as long as the OAL of your ammunition when the bullets are seated in their crimp groove matches that specified in your loading data, then your bullets should be perfectly suitable for .44 Magnum.

[44 AMP]

As a matter of fact, a common complaint about the .444 Marlin when it was introduced was that, because it used JSP bullets designed for .44 Magnum velocities, its penetration was often considered underwhelming due to overly-aggressive expansion from the much higher velocities that .444 Marlin produces.

And this complaint came about because of the performance of reloaded ammunition which used the usual pistol bullets.

when Remington produced the round, their ammunition was loaded with a 265gr jacketed bullet specifically designed for the higher rifle velocities produced by the .444.

If the crimp groove on your bullets puts the OAL significantly shorter than that specified in your loading data, you will likely be generating pressures significantly higher than what the loading data tested at.

I don't see this as a given. What determines OAL when the bullet is seated to the crimp groove is how much of the bullet length is forward of the crimp groove.

What determines what changes the powder space volume (which is what raises or lowers pressure with a given charge of powder is the length of the bullet behind the crimp groove, and so, inside the case.

The only way to know if your cast bullet will change the pressure of a load (when seated to the crimp groove) is to compare the bullet used in the data with yours, and determine the difference (if any) with yours, regarding how much bullet is inside and outside the case.

With .44 Mag revolver ammo, bullets must be seated to the crimp groove, so that a proper crimp can be applied to hold the bullets in place.

IF the bullets don't move under recoil, they could be as long as to reach the front face of the cylinder and still function properly. SAAMI specs are, of course going to be shorter than that.

[Old 454]

Let me see if I can post some pics…. Noooooo not happening …. Missing security token ….. ugggg