44 mag bullet

[Brad]

I had been getting good results in my SRH with a 300 gr bullet but recoil is enough that it wears me out.
I'm looking for suggestions on an accurate 44 bullet. It must cast at .432 so Lyman moulds are out.
I want a front band/nose that is in the cylinder throat when chambered.

Let's hear it guys. I am sure Rick will have some ideas.

 

[Rick]

RCBS 240 gr Silhouette.

 

[RicinYakima]

Prime time to design your own custom bullet from Mountain Molds. Design program works well, and I have had fast good service from them.

 

[Dale53]

I have three excellent .44 bullets.

1. THE classic Keith (Mihec mould for the H&G #503 weighs 250 grs and will keep most shots on a playing card at 100 yards off a rest). As a matter of interest, the night before a hunt I realized that I was out of my hunting load. My practice load drove this bullet at a chronographed velocity of 1200 fps (23.0 grs of H110). I used the practice load on a large whitetail, as luck would have it. The deer was facing me at a paced 75 yards. The bullet struck head on just under the spine and exited the far end. The deer hit the deck instantly. So much for needed nuclear powered loads for deer...



2. The LBT 240 gr. WFN (cannot be beat for reasonable range "smack" (smack is a ballistic technical term (LOL):



3. The Lee .430-310-FN that Frank Siefer and I designed for very large game in conjunction with Lee Precision. It later was put in the regular line-up and a
similar bullet for .45 caliber was added. This is a good heavy bullet design that shoots with GREAT accuracy in a variety of handguns:
Here's a link to the catalog page as I don't have a picture of a bullet I have cast in this style:
http://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-c-430-310-rf.html

I have come to really enjoy using the LBT WFN in both the .44 Special and .44 magnum. I have several revolvers in each caliber. However, in all candor, I must admit that all of my deer were taken with the #503 (250 gr. Keith) as that was before I got the WFN. Either will shoot through a large whitetail end for end at 100 yards when properly loaded.

Both the Mihec mould for the #503 Keith and the LBT can be ordered to your specs regarding diameter of finished bullet.

Dale53

 

[Missionary]

Greetings Brad
Lapping out a mold is not hard. Have done numerous iron and aluminum (so easy) molds to get to the desired diameter.
Then there is "high temp" duct tape. Couple narrow strips of that self adhesive tape keeps the mold open about .003 and you get fatter bullets. When you size them in the proper diameter for your revolver sizing die it will squeeze them round.
Or drop a ball bearing in your 300 grain mold. It will take up space at the nose area and weighs far less than lead. It must be at least nose diameter to center properly. Dump the cast bullet and see what it weighs. If still to heavy pop out the steel bearing. If you can get aluminum balls even better.
I am very happy with 265 grainers in my 41's and 45 Colts. ILLinois corn crunchers are large with 250 pounders common anymore. An old Michigan hunter once said "Plan on 1 grain of lead for every pound of critter you want to shoot". He was real close to reality.
Mike in Peru

 

[Brad]

I have an old Lee GB for a Keith type bullet. It casts at .435 so it is certainly large enough.
Might just need to give it a good workout.

 

[Brad]

Sure looks similar to the MP 503 clone. Mine weigh 259-260 gr

 

[Pistolero]

Several different versions of the old Keith 250 work well for me. One of the finest
molds is the H&G 503 clone from Mihec. Highly recommended. Also have multiple
Lyman originals and a couple of GBs in oversized for my SBH which prefers .433 at least.
Most others get .430 for normal working loads.

10 gr of Unique is a pleasant working load under one of these and in most guns very
accurate, about 1050 in a 4" gun and 1100 in a 6" gun.

Bill

 

[Winelover]

RCBS 240 SWC GC was the first mold I purchased for my RH and surprisingly accurate even when using .430 boolits in throats where .432 is a slip fit. I am not a long distance revolver shooter by any stretch of the imagination and have just recently been shooting at 100 yards. Rick has been giving me a few pointers. The other day the first six shots went into a 1 7/8" C-C group that happened to print like a revolver cylinder. Load was 18 grains of 2400 lit off by a CCI magnum large pistol primer in Federal brass. Thirty years ago, I took my first deer with the same boolit at around 25 yards using Keith's recommended load of 22 grains. Boolit took out two one inch thick saplings before striking the deer. Stalk was a mere 65 yards.

 

[Kaytod]

Here are three Keith type bullets. L to R
RCBS 245 KT. variant with the longer top band
RCBS 250 Keith
Custom 280 grain SAA/Keith type
Sadly the 245 only cast out of my mold at .430+ and 245 grains
The 250 Keith will cast out 431+ and 260 grains
The Custom 280 will drop at .434 and 280 grains exactly

I just received the custom mold a while back, it shows good promise for accuracy. Need to really wring it out, but the initial shooting was very nice.

 

[GaryN]

This is my first post. I've been reading a lot. I feel I'm in the presence of people who know a lot more than I do. I have a Lyman 429421. It was advertised as casting smaller than nominal. I bought it and had the bands opened up to .4325. My RH throats are that size. I also ended up opening one of the sprue plate holes as the taper did not go all the way down. It now casts beautifully and the bullets are some of my most accurate ones. I also have the Mihec #503. It makes nice bullets. I have the Mihec 434640 but so far it hasn't performed for me as well as the others. But I'm not done with it yet. I also like the RCBS 245 Keith.

 

[Brad]

I have been considering a Mihec 432640.
My Lyman 429421 is lucky to cast at .429. It sure made me good at removing lead from a barrel years back when I didn't know better.

Gary, sounds like you listened well and made some changes when they were warranted. Not many are wise enough to do that. I know I wasn't for years.

What kind of load are you running with that 432640?

 

[GaryN]

So far I have just shot 24.5 grains of H110 with the 434640. I like 8.5 grains of Unique and 15.5 grains of Bluedot with the other bullets. I also have some Hs6. Not enough time to play. I still have some 2400 too. I haven't seen any for sale for a couple of years.

 

[Ben]

Brad,

I really like my 640' , I weighed a few.....here are the weights :

I have several HP pins for my mould :

 

[Ben]

I decided that using g/c's on my 640 wasn't paying real big dividends for me.

So, I sent my Lyman 429640 HP to Erik for removal of the g/c shank.
He does fantastic work. The mold arrived and I made a few " test cast ".

Erik does excellent work ! !

Thanks,
Ben





Here the bullet is sized .431" and lubed with Ben's Red

 

[Rick]

Yep, Erik's work is always beyond top notch. He has worked on several molds for me, gas check/bevel base removed, HP'ing, driving bands enlarged & more. Erik is highly recommended by me.

To put in a plug for him for anyone that may not be familiar . . .

Hollow point Bullet Mold Service - http://www.hollowpointmold.com/
Email - mailto:erik@hollowpointmold.com
Phone - M-F 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Saturdays 9:00 am - 8:30 pm, Pacific Time: 541-738-2479

His turn around time is excellent and all of his work is 100% guaranteed. Erik recommends contacting him before sending molds.

 

[Ben]

Ditto ! !

Ben

 

[GaryN]

Erik is the one I had open the bands on my 429421. He hit it right on. I would not hesitate to send him another mold.

 

[James W. Miner]

429421 was a favorite long ago for me but the LBT or the Lee 310 will out shoot it.
There is no need for a HP in the .44 at all.
I have 180 revolver deer kills and most were the .44. The Lee 310 is all you need. Once you stop penetration, you will have a mess to find a deer.

 

[JonB]

I have several 44 molds...a couple were performers for me, in my Ruger SRH.
one is: MP432-640 PB, it's kinda heavy at 265gr, drops at .433" or a wee bit less.
the other is a Saeco 441 (SWC) 250gr and drops at .432" or a wee bit more.