Choosing .44 cal bullets: actual bullet diameter. - Page 2

mehavey · January 29, 2016, 08:39 PM

Actually, get some basic 44 cal roundball (0.433") and lightly tap it with a plastic hammer on a flat surface to slightly oblate it

Then it's a perfect slug to start down the muzzle (using case sizing lube).

Pond, James Pond · January 30, 2016, 03:58 AM

Honestly, .454 is the best I can do locally. BP shooting is virtually non existant and getting a .433" would mean ordering a full 100 roundballs from Germany.

I want to slug my barrel properly but not for €35 inc postage!!

Jim Watson · January 30, 2016, 07:14 AM

OK, roll a .454" between two boards to prolate it down to just over throat or groove diameter so that you don't have to hammer on your gun so hard.

Pond, James Pond · February 4, 2016, 08:19 AM

Quote:

As it is those bullets are out of stock, at this moment. I did pounce on a very good deal they had for 200gn SWCs, though, so they can be added to my comp' ammo in the mean time. Those, by contrast were .429, so I felt confident in buying them. End of line stock, though.

They've arrived.

The packaging looks ancient so I guess this must be old stock: lucky that bullets don't have a sell-by date.

The lube in the crimp groove has been jostled around a bit but otherwise they look fine. Just need a load now and decide if I load them as Mags or Spls.

Pond, James Pond · February 27, 2016, 11:06 AM

I have slugged one chamber throat which came in at between 0.4315 and 0.432" (the caliper's reading was wavering between the two but seemed to settle on 0.4315"), and the bore is .429" exactly as measured using a lead round-ball that I rolled down from .454" to .433".

black mamba · February 28, 2016, 12:48 PM

Regardless of bore diameter, with your throats at .4315 - .4320, then for cast bullets the best diameter would be .4310". You ideally want them just barely under throat diameter. There is really no pressure concern with cast bullets .002" oversized for your bore.

**Unclenick** · February 28, 2016, 03:24 PM

There's no pressure concern with any cast bullet size you can squeeze into your case and still fit the result into your chamber. But for accuracy, 0.310 is the right idea. If you are allowed to case your own bullets there, you will find Lee Tumble Lube 240 grain SWC bullets come out of the mold at about that size and can be fired as-cast (meaning without sizing). This will minimize leading and maximize accuracy anyway, IME.

Pond, James Pond · February 28, 2016, 03:51 PM

OK, so I jumped 1500 lead SWC bullets because they were a very good price. I got them all for a little over what a b500 box of my regular plated TC bullets would cost, so in that respect I did OK...

The down side is that I did jump before looking and it now seems these bullets are not the best fit for my gun. They might be OK, they might not, as the are exactly the bore width of my gun and not the <bore+0.001/0.002"> that people are recommending.

So my question now is: where from here?

Do I buy a load of casting bits and bobs and smelt them before reincarnating them as .430-.431" 240gn SWCs?

Or, is there some way I can swage/size them to .430-.431 without breaking the bank? (read at a lot less than a basic casting set-up)

black mamba · February 28, 2016, 10:02 PM

Before you do anything, shoot 'em and see it they're accurate! Hopefully they're soft enough to obturate and seal the throats against powder gasses slipping around them and ruining accuracy. If they're not very accurate, try seating them out as close to the end of the cylinder as possible and load them a little hotter.

January 30, 2016, 03:58 AM	#27
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	Honestly, .454 is the best I can do locally. BP shooting is virtually non existant and getting a .433" would mean ordering a full 100 roundballs from Germany. I want to slug my barrel properly but not for €35 inc postage!! __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

February 27, 2016, 11:06 AM	#30
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	I have slugged one chamber throat which came in at between 0.4315 and 0.432" (the caliper's reading was wavering between the two but seemed to settle on 0.4315"), and the bore is .429" exactly as measured using a lead round-ball that I rolled down from .454" to .433". __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

February 28, 2016, 03:24 PM	#32
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	There's no pressure concern with any cast bullet size you can squeeze into your case and still fit the result into your chamber. But for accuracy, 0.310 is the right idea. If you are allowed to case your own bullets there, you will find Lee Tumble Lube 240 grain SWC bullets come out of the mold at about that size and can be fired as-cast (meaning without sizing). This will minimize leading and maximize accuracy anyway, IME. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

February 28, 2016, 03:51 PM	#33
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	OK, so I jumped 1500 lead SWC bullets because they were a very good price. I got them all for a little over what a b500 box of my regular plated TC bullets would cost, so in that respect I did OK... The down side is that I did jump before looking and it now seems these bullets are not the best fit for my gun. They might be OK, they might not, as the are exactly the bore width of my gun and not the <bore+0.001/0.002"> that people are recommending. So my question now is: where from here? Do I buy a load of casting bits and bobs and smelt them before reincarnating them as .430-.431" 240gn SWCs? Or, is there some way I can swage/size them to .430-.431 without breaking the bank? (read at a lot less than a basic casting set-up) __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

January 29, 2016, 08:39 PM	#26
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,894	Actually, get some basic 44 cal roundball (0.433") and lightly tap it with a plastic hammer on a flat surface to slightly oblate it Then it's a perfect slug to start down the muzzle (using case sizing lube).

January 30, 2016, 07:14 AM	#28
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,542	OK, roll a .454" between two boards to prolate it down to just over throat or groove diameter so that you don't have to hammer on your gun so hard.

February 28, 2016, 12:48 PM	#31
black mamba Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2011 Location: SW Florida Posts: 890	Regardless of bore diameter, with your throats at .4315 - .4320, then for cast bullets the best diameter would be .4310". You ideally want them just barely under throat diameter. There is really no pressure concern with cast bullets .002" oversized for your bore.

February 28, 2016, 10:02 PM	#34
black mamba Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2011 Location: SW Florida Posts: 890	Before you do anything, shoot 'em and see it they're accurate! Hopefully they're soft enough to obturate and seal the throats against powder gasses slipping around them and ruining accuracy. If they're not very accurate, try seating them out as close to the end of the cylinder as possible and load them a little hotter.