different 44mag bullet size?

shootsafe · July 28, 2008, 04:21 PM

Why are some 44mag bullets .430 and some .429?

What difference does it make?

Thanks,
Shootsafe

VaFisher · July 28, 2008, 04:57 PM

Some have a copper jacket and some are lead.

AlaskaMike · July 29, 2008, 10:49 AM

Even just among lead bullets you'll see variances, although most are either .430 or .431. The reason is that bore and throat (the front of the chamber) diameters vary much more so than gun manufacturers would like to admit. Many cast bullet shooters will "slug" the bore and throats in their revolvers with a soft piece of lead (and then measure that slug with a micrometer) to determine the best bullet diameter for that particular gun, among other things.

Mike

SL1 · July 29, 2008, 01:04 PM

Even jacketed bullets vary in diameter. Hornady makes .430" bullets, while most other jacketed bulets are 0.429" So long as your chambers allow the .430 bullets to fully chamber (i.e., the action closes so that the gun will fire), it really doesn't matter. The larger diameters MIGHT be more accurate if you have large throats.

There really isn't much pressure difference between cartridges loaded with bullets of the two different diameters, SO LONG AS THEY HAVE THE SAME SHAPE AND CONSTUCTION. But, bullet manufacturers don't tend to make identical shapes and identical jackets, so USE LOAD DATA FOR THE BULLET YOU HAVE instead of just substituting it in somebody else's data. Or, if you must substitute, learn now to properly take the differences into account.

SL1

July 28, 2008, 04:21 PM	#1
shootsafe Member Join Date: March 2, 2008 Location: Lincoln, NE Posts: 86	different 44mag bullet size? Why are some 44mag bullets .430 and some .429? What difference does it make? Thanks, Shootsafe

July 28, 2008, 04:57 PM	#2
VaFisher Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2006 Posts: 596	Some have a copper jacket and some are lead.

July 29, 2008, 10:49 AM	#3
AlaskaMike Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2005 Posts: 947	Even just among lead bullets you'll see variances, although most are either .430 or .431. The reason is that bore and throat (the front of the chamber) diameters vary much more so than gun manufacturers would like to admit. Many cast bullet shooters will "slug" the bore and throats in their revolvers with a soft piece of lead (and then measure that slug with a micrometer) to determine the best bullet diameter for that particular gun, among other things. Mike

July 29, 2008, 01:04 PM	#4
SL1 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2007 Posts: 2,001	Even jacketed bullets vary in diameter. Hornady makes .430" bullets, while most other jacketed bulets are 0.429" So long as your chambers allow the .430 bullets to fully chamber (i.e., the action closes so that the gun will fire), it really doesn't matter. The larger diameters MIGHT be more accurate if you have large throats. There really isn't much pressure difference between cartridges loaded with bullets of the two different diameters, SO LONG AS THEY HAVE THE SAME SHAPE AND CONSTUCTION. But, bullet manufacturers don't tend to make identical shapes and identical jackets, so USE LOAD DATA FOR THE BULLET YOU HAVE instead of just substituting it in somebody else's data. Or, if you must substitute, learn now to properly take the differences into account. SL1