Who is shooting the Lyman .44 Caliber 429348 WC?

[Wallyl]

A few years ago I acquired a long discontinued Lyman SC 429348 bullet mold. It is a .44 Caliber 180 grain WC. The bullet is quite weird for a WC as it has two very small lube grooves and the front is absolutely flat----no button on its' nose so common in other WC bullets. Also it casts out at .433~.434 w/ WW metal...if one sizes to .430~.431"...you feel some resistance when sizing them. I have pan lubed and shot them unsized, but then one must bell the mouth of your cases quite a bit ..something I abhor, as you will get more neck splits. The length of the bullet is 12mm; 8mm of which is the widest part w/the lube grooves. The remaining 4mm is it's nose, that is thinner. Thera is no crimp groove so I TC at that "junction". So how does it shoot? It is quite good in my .44 Spl and .44 Magnum pistols. I use a light charge of Bullseye. It is a superb plinking bullet both in the .44 Spl and .44 Magnum. I get around 900 FPS in the .44 Spl and about 1,000 FPS in the .44 Magnums with it using 5.0 & 7.0 grains of Bullseye respectively. Does anyone else use/shoot this bullet....what are your thoughts on it? Kind of a shame that it is not available. I am very happy that I have a bullet mold for it; but I sure wish it was a two cavity!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I use a Arsenal 45-250 FWC bullet and do like it.
I just picked up a 360344 as well. I see NOE makes a copy. I am seriously considering picking that up. The 360344 is made in 1920 ish and deserves retirement.

I dont do 43 much. But Im sure its just as good as my 35 & 45!!

CW

 

[RicinYakima]

I use this in 44 Russian with black powder in an original S&W break top. It is a fun plinker and don't have to worry about pressure. Also use the Cramer 248 grain that is just like this one in 44 Special with smokeless.

 

[Maven]

A few years ago I acquired a long discontinued Lyman SC 429348 bullet mold. It is a .44 Caliber 180 grain WC. The bullet is quite weird for a WC as it has two very small lube grooves and the front is absolutely flat----no button on its' nose so common in other WC bullets. Also it casts out at .433~.434 w/ WW metal...if one sizes to .430~.431"...you feel some resistance when sizing them. I have pan lubed and shot them unsized, but then one must bell the mouth of your cases quite a bit ..something I abhor, as you will get more neck splits. The length of the bullet is 12mm; 8mm of which is the widest part w/the lube grooves. The remaining 4mm is it's nose, that is thinner. Thera is no crimp groove so I TC at that "junction". So how does it shoot? It is quite good in my .44 Spl and .44 Magnum pistols. I use a light charge of Bullseye. It is a superb plinking bullet both in the .44 Spl and .44 Magnum. I get around 900 FPS in the .44 Spl and about 1,000 FPS in the .44 Magnums with it using 5.0 & 7.0 grains of Bullseye respectively. Does anyone else use/shoot this bullet....what are your thoughts on it? Kind of a shame that it is not available. I am very happy that I have a bullet mold for it; but I sure wish it was a two cavity!

View attachment 17788

While not an exact duplicate of the Lyman, I have a very similar single cavity B & M 170gr. WC (with integral handles) that is a tack driver from my Ruger SBH. I size it to .431" and typically use 8.0gr. Unique, but 7.5gr. is more comfortable and equally accurate @ 25 yd. It is an excellent design + the mould casts beautiful bullets from the first pour. Also, for a "vintage" mould it has two advanced features: a thick sprue plate and a small hole through which to pour your preferred alloy.

 

[L Ross]

I have two 4 cavity moulds for this bullet. One weighs 180 gr. and the other 245 gr. I have only ever cast, loaded, and shot the 180's. They are perfect for splitting playing cards when you want to show off.

 

[John]

When I lived in Missoula years ago I remember stopping by Western Bullets and visiting with Jon about this. I end up with 100 of them and they shot OK. He had a hard alloy, 2 6 92 IIRC and I was putting these threw a CA Bulldog. That Bulldog shot best with a 429421 pushed fast enough that it was a carry a lot, shoot a little gun. While I have had 7 or 8 44 molds I am now down to 2 or 3, all weighing between 230-250 gr. I shoot them in a Ruger RH, a 44 Spl BH, Model 69 S&W 44 mag and a 14" contender bbl.