. 44 Cal. W/C mould

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I really enjoy shooting these .44 cal., Lee, 208 gr. , W/Cs.
They are deadly accurate out of my many .44 handguns and rifles.
I had to lap my mould to get a .432" bullet...but all is well now.

Ben

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Ben

Moderator
Staff member
The people that own the ones that are out there seem to think an awful lot of them....... $ $ $.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have considered a WC mould from NOE or accurate but decided my 624 does so well with the NOE version of the HG503 that it doesn't make sense. Other than using less lead it has no advantages.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
lyman made a 41 cal mold super close to that and a 35 cal mold too.
they might make a 44?
I have the 41 and the 35 versions and they will shoot, they take high speed abuse pretty darn good too.
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I once read of a N.Y. detective who was involved in several shoot outs during his long career. He carried a Colt Det. Special in 38 Spec., loaded with wadcutters.

He said that combination never let him down. I can only assume the .44 would just be more of a good thing. :):):)
 

Dale53

Active Member
I met Jim Cirillo several times. He was a real treat to be around. He was definitely the "real deal". He was also a fabulous story teller (and it was the TRuTH, too). At any rate, he told me that the only 100% "stopper" was a "wadcutter in the left eye"!

At any rate, I bought a Group Buy 200 gr. wadcutter mold (six cavity Lee) and it works VERY well in my .44 Specials. 5.0 grs. of Red Dot gives me 900 fps+ and 4.0 grs. of Red Dot makes a very nice target load:



Ben, those .44 wadcutters of yours look VERY nice, too!

FWIW
Dale53
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
People tell me that my wadcutters won't shoot accurately at 75, 100 yards +.

I won't be shooting them at those distances, so I guess I'll never find out anyway.
 

Wasalmonslayer

Well-Known Member
Ben,
I am with you on your train of thought.
Wadcutters at wadcutter distances are top notch!
Many people try to use the wrong tool for the job at hand in many walks of life.
Right tool right job with a little skill and the results are usually very good.
Yes I am a wadcutter man at wadcutter distances :)
 

Dale53

Active Member
Ben, while true, that doesn't mean that they don't have value when used within their parameters. At up to and somewhat past fifty yards they will do fine. The wadcutter uses up excess case space when using light loads to allow ballistics to be quite uniform. This helps accuracy at reasonable ranges (hence their popularity amongst NRA Bullseye shooters). Further, when driven to 900 fps or so, that wide meplat make them FORMIDABLE self defense loads. They are also EXCELLENT for edible small game loads as well as really good varmint loads at reasonable ranges. Ed Harris has an excellent article on "The Full Charge Wadcutter" that explains some of the advantages when used properly.

In smaller calibers (.32's and .38's) I find them very desirable for squirrel loads as somewhere past fifty yards they start to tumble and provide extra safety if a squirrel and it's tree are missed.

FWIW
Dale53
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Great points that you make Dale !
Thanks for taking the time to share.

Best to you,
Ben
 

Dale53

Active Member
Ben;
Thanks for the kind words. Frankly, I suspect I am a bit like you - I enjoy sharing my experiences with like minded shooters...

Dale53
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
dang it. just dang it! More molds in my future...! lol! Have 2 diff 38 WC molds. Yet to cast with them, but gotta! Would like one in 44 (44 SPC and 44-40). And then will need a 32, as I am hard in the market for a 32-20 (maybe not a WC caliber) and a 32 S&W Long - DEF should be a WC caliber/gun! You guys kill me!

Another ? At wadcutter velocities (not full house, ala Ed H), alloy choice? 20:1? 30:1? or WW+2%? Thanx
 

Dale53

Active Member
An excellent alloy for w/c's at target velocity is WW/pure lead +1 or 2% tin (that's 50/50 WW/lead). However, to be honest, I just use my "standard" casting alloy for all of my cast bullets except full house magnums. My "standard" is WW's+2% tin. That decision is based on my lead stock along with excellent performance.

FWIW
Dale53
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Same here Dale, CWW +2% Sn air cooled works well for me for just about everything I do. For top end magnums I use the same alloy but heat treat it to 18 BHN. For soft alloy for low end stuff and hollow points in like the 45 ACP is SWW +2% Sn at 8 BHN.