Lee, 44 cal. , 208 gr. W/C Mould
- Thread starter Ben
- Start date
Well, that pretty much guarantees a starting point in the special case then. I'm not a fan of Titegroup for whatever reason, so I will start out with my precious remaining stock of Bullseye, then use that data to find a good load with my AA#2. (Unless I score a reasonably priced deal on Bullseye any time soon!). Again, thank you everyone for sharing their own experiences with loads for this bullet.
When I loaded my first .38 wadcutter, I had found and printed this out, so I guess it has ever since put a bug of concern in my head to how much reducing the available powder space can affect pressures, so I try to be cautious, especially without a published load available. Im very glad that you guys were able to share first hand experiences. I'm still a newby in casting, but have been handloading pistol cartridges for about 15 years. Always something new to learn though.
Thumbcocker
Active Member
I have a 4 cavity 190 grain button nose wc mold from either Accurate or arsenal that casts at 200 grains +- . I load it over 4.5 of Promo. Used that load in a 4" 24 to qualify for the Illinois ccw license. Took a lot of crap from the instructors who were Glock fanatics until the scores were tallied. Then it was tumbleweed and cricket time.
Uncle Grinch
Active Member
Y’all are making me want to spend more money on guns again! I’ve been on a milsurp binge and now y’all are pushing me back to revolvers. I had a Charter 44 Spl and sold it to fund other needs and just traded my Smith 642 for a No.4 Mk1*. Now after reading this thread, I’m wanting another snub 44 Spl to handle these left overs.
I see I messed the alignment up on the bottom three bullets now that the pic is big.
Also, I've not seen this bullet in particular in any of the manuals I have today, so not sure where my loads came from back then. I have been rumaging in the handloading cabinet lately and will look to see if I have any loads in my old recipe box from those days.
Also, I've not seen this bullet in particular in any of the manuals I have today, so not sure where my loads came from back then. I have been rumaging in the handloading cabinet lately and will look to see if I have any loads in my old recipe box from those days.
Thumbcocker
Active Member
If you have loaded ammo, molds, dies, and brass you must buy a gun to go with it. It's the law! Ok an unwritten law in the casters unwritten code, but still....
Glaciers
Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
Well I actually sold off all the WC molds except for a Lyman 4 cavity 35891.
But in looking for a light 44 caliber bullet for light loads in my Rossi 720 and my BIL’s 4 inch CA both with adjustable sights. For the regular 3” CA Bulldog it will probably be a problem. But that remains to be seen. Across the room distances it’s probably a moot point.
But, it’s not a WC style. So I’m drifting here. It’s an Arsenal mold, 5 cavity 44-180 PB of course. Drops bullets at 178 grains and .432 diameter. Both my Rossi and the BIL’s CA have .431 cylinder throats. So a quick clean up in a.431 or .432 die add some BLL and off to the races. Basically it’s a 44 caliber Collar Button with a crimp groove.
I’m wanting to use Bullseye or 231. I’ve been using unique and having to much sooting on the cases at lower velocities.
But in looking for a light 44 caliber bullet for light loads in my Rossi 720 and my BIL’s 4 inch CA both with adjustable sights. For the regular 3” CA Bulldog it will probably be a problem. But that remains to be seen. Across the room distances it’s probably a moot point.
But, it’s not a WC style. So I’m drifting here. It’s an Arsenal mold, 5 cavity 44-180 PB of course. Drops bullets at 178 grains and .432 diameter. Both my Rossi and the BIL’s CA have .431 cylinder throats. So a quick clean up in a.431 or .432 die add some BLL and off to the races. Basically it’s a 44 caliber Collar Button with a crimp groove.
I’m wanting to use Bullseye or 231. I’ve been using unique and having to much sooting on the cases at lower velocities.
So, my old recipe box, full of loads on old recipe cards turned up and I found some data on the LEE 208 grain WC, which I used in an older 3" Bulldog. I was sure I'd used Red Dot with this bullet and here it is.
January 1994
208 grain LEE WC
6 grains Red Dot
CCI300 primers
WW Brass
Notes: "accurate, mild"
March 2003
208 grain LEE WC
5.5 grains W231
CCI300 primers
Starline brass
Notes: "Very accurate, mild, shoots VERY low and VERY left. No leading"
First of all, these were MY loads in MY gun and I do not remember where I got my "book" data to base this on, so good luck tracking that down.
I can tell you that these are both mild loads.
Bullets lighter than 240 or 250 grains always shot 4" to 6" low at 25 yards for me using 3" Bulldogs.
No lube mentioned, but I was using regular old "NRA Formula" 50/50 beeswax/Alox.
This would have been my first (and earliest-made) Bulldog and I was getting away with sizing to .430", using "old" wheel-weights, air-cooled. Since this mould cast small, I was leaving a film of lube along the length of the bullet and cleaning a mess of the Lyman 45 every fourth or fifth bullet.
I know where this mould is and could borrow it back, but I gave it away and I ain't lapping one for someone else, even though he's my best friend.
January 1994
208 grain LEE WC
6 grains Red Dot
CCI300 primers
WW Brass
Notes: "accurate, mild"
March 2003
208 grain LEE WC
5.5 grains W231
CCI300 primers
Starline brass
Notes: "Very accurate, mild, shoots VERY low and VERY left. No leading"
First of all, these were MY loads in MY gun and I do not remember where I got my "book" data to base this on, so good luck tracking that down.
I can tell you that these are both mild loads.
Bullets lighter than 240 or 250 grains always shot 4" to 6" low at 25 yards for me using 3" Bulldogs.
No lube mentioned, but I was using regular old "NRA Formula" 50/50 beeswax/Alox.
This would have been my first (and earliest-made) Bulldog and I was getting away with sizing to .430", using "old" wheel-weights, air-cooled. Since this mould cast small, I was leaving a film of lube along the length of the bullet and cleaning a mess of the Lyman 45 every fourth or fifth bullet.
I know where this mould is and could borrow it back, but I gave it away and I ain't lapping one for someone else, even though he's my best friend.
richhodg66
Well-Known Member
I have a single cavity of this one around here somewhere. I remember casting and shooting a pot of them, don't remember much about how they shot.
I finally got my NOE expander plug and loaded 5 each with 3.7 Bullseye and 4.0 AA2 (Little Dandy rotor #6). And since I don't have a diamond hone in the correct size to open up the Lee case sizing die, I took an old Pacific steel sizer and opened it up a bit, just had to lube these cases for now. Basically going through all the same trials and tribulations that I went through with my .32 long revolver with grossly oversized cylinder throats. Fun project and learning experience though. Will update the AA2 load experiences as I go along to aid anyone else.
Also, all I have currently is new Starline and a handful of once fired Starline (from this revolver). I have noticed with my .45acp and the .32 longs that RP cases seem to be thinner walled than other headstamps, so I may look for some RP cases before opening up my case sizer any further.
The RP cases in 44 Special and 357 Mag glide through the resizing die noticeably easier than the Starline too. I cleaned and sized a gallon bag of them over the past couple weeks and every time I got an RP case when resizing, I knew it. No knock on the RP brass, just a observation.
Rick H
Well-Known Member
I think that depends on the caliber. I prefer Remington brass over Winchester in my 45-70 because they are thicker and have less case capacity than the Winchester cases. If I was loading with holy black I would probably want the Winchesters but lack of case capacity is not the problem with smokeless loads in the 45/70.