44 Special bullet choice

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JustJim

Well-Known Member
With a little luck, sometime tomorrow i should be taking possession of my new Ruger flattop 44 special. I don't like the mould choices I have on hand (RCBS GC 44, Lee wadcutter), so will be finding something new. I'm leaning towards a plain base 240 grain plus-or-minus hollow point SWC. Any recommendations? I can't order til I get a chance to slug the bore and cylinder throats, but I can start shopping!

Thanks,
Jim
 
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fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
the 291 is one of the ones I use in the 44 special.
LEE makes a pretty decent 240gr. SWC that's tumble lubed and it works like a champ at the more sedate velocities you'd want to shoot all day long.
 
D

Dale53

Active Member
I use a Mihec version of the H&G #503 (250 gr Keith) in both my .44 Specials and the .44 Magnum. In the Special, the Skeeter load of 7.5 grs of Unique works extremely well in both my Smiths and my two Ruger Flattop .44 Specials. I size the bullets at .430" and lube with Carnauba Red.

FWIW
Dale53
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
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I picked up a dandy of a 44spl bullet last year! Its a custom 429421 utalizing a deep (past grease groove) and wide HP. Bullet weighs about 220g as cast in 20:1.

Im wanting the GP100 44 spl but spied a flattop 5.5 thats a real beauty!!

Good luck with yours!

CW
 
A

abj

Active Member
In my flattop, the cylinders will take a .432 pin. All my molds that throw that big will shoot great with 5 grains of Bullseye,(book says 750 to 800)?(depending on which book you use)
My RCBS-250K throws about .431 and will shoot good if I raise the pressure up. The Bullseye load doesn't shoot it well. Power pistol did well with a lot more recoil but I have a redhawk and don't need to push the flattop.
IF the RCBS would drop a .432 it would be the only mold I would need.
My flattop is very easy to get along with as long as you feed it .432 bullets. CAUTION the Bullseye load quoted is +p or tier 2 in some load manuals and max in others. It feels pretty soft in my 4-5/8 inch. That gun is my new go-to field gun, I can hit most any reasonable target out to 100 yds.(ie...yotes). It replaced my sp-101-327 and my gp-100 357 as my field piece. You are going to have a lot of fun it.
Tony
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Current HP mould selection, is pretty much limited to either NOE or MP moulds. Personally, I don't like NOE's pin placement on the bottom of the mould. Tried one and never again. I own several MP brass HP moulds in different calibers.

SWC are never a bad choice. However, if you own carbines, you may want to look into a RNFP............they feed better. The 44 caliber MP RNFP mould that I have, casts a 250 grain solid, a 240 cup point and a 238 grain HP. I went with a two cavity brass with gas checked cavities. The reason being, is the bullets will also be used in carbines. For hunting use, as well as hollow points, I prefer a softer alloy. Reduces the chance of leading.

My 44 Special is a 2 1/2" Bulldog. With fixed sights, I stay with the standard weight bullets (240 -250 grains), otherwise POI is significantly lower.
 
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JustJim

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys! In my past 44 specials (other than the triple lock and Bulldogs), I've tended to stick with 7.5-8.0 grains of Unique and a ~240 grain bullet. I've always thought a hollow point would be a useful addition.

From what I've read, cylinder throats on these flattops have been running .432-.433", so I've had that in mind. Neither of the moulds I have on hand cast that large. If a new mould is in order, I may as well get an HP mould. The problem I've had in the past with Lyman's 429421 has been bullet diameter: you never know what you're going to get.

Just got the message it has been delivered!
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
I never even bothered measuring my cylinder throats.
they [my 44's] get 430 and like it, which is good,,, cause that's the only size die I have.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
My newest Ruger 44 is the Bisley Hunter in 44 Mag. Its throats just admit a .430" pin gauge, and .431" is a no-go. Fine by me. 44s tend to vary IME. .433" is the SAAMI throat spec's upper end.
 
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Walks

Well-Known Member
I like the #429421 w/ 6.5grs Unique, great plinking in the old Bulldog. And the Colt SAA.
I also used a 200gr RNFP for Cowboy Shooting over 4.0grs TiteGroup or 3.5grs Clays.
That discontinued Lee #429-208-WC is very accurate in every .44cal I've ever tried it in.
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I use a RCBS 44-250-K and I'm happy with that. I cannot stand a gas check on a revolver bullet and prefer a plain base. YMMV
If I shot more 44 bullets, I would seek out a 4 cavity mold with a similar style bullet. RCBS makes some great molds but two cavities is most you can get.

If I need to push a bullet fast enough to need a gas check, I just switch to a jacketed bullet. I know that's blasphemy on this site but I'd rather be honest.
Now, I rarely get to the point where a gas check would be needed. You can push a plain base bullet pretty fast before you even start to need a gas check. I'm not real big on full power magnum loads, A warm 44 Special load with a 240-250 LSWC will do a lot.
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I am slowly moving off the reservation known as Keith SWC Land, and adding the round flatnose design to the revolver bullet pantheon. These shoot well and do not hang up or balk in my companion leverguns like the Keith designs are prone to do. Those long front drive bands on the Keith-pattern SWCs do NOT get along with the short abrupt throats found in most leverguns.
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I think a revolver bullet benefits from a flat nose. Whether that flat nose is on the end of a SWC or a round profile probably doesn't matter much.

I will say that front driving band can be a bit cantankerous in some actions. The RNF profile may also be slightly more "speedloader friendly" although a small chamfer on the charge hole will fix most of those problems.

I'm rather set in my ways and that includes the SWC design for me, but I will not throw stones at the RNF profile.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Petrol & Powder said:
I'm rather set in my ways and that includes the SWC design for me, but I will not throw stones at the RNF profile
Click to expand...

I rather prefer a wide RFN myself, however when I can shoot an honest 2 MOA at 100 yards with 16:1 bullets cast from a plain-base Ideal 429421 hp, fired from a revolver, that's kind of difficult for me to argue against.
 
waco

waco

Springfield, Oregon
I have two(mag not special) the 429421 and a copy of the Lee 310 minus the gas check. Tom at Accurate cut the mold.
 
CWLONGSHOT

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
Bret4207 said:
I haven't found anything wrong with the 429421 yet.
Click to expand...


I will say that front driving band can be a bit cantankerous in some actions. The RNF profile may also be slightly more "speedloader friendly" although a small chamfer on the charge hole will fix most of those problems.
Click to expand...

I was gonna comment to that. My mold has a VERY THIN driving band. We all know lyman changes its cherries dependant upon who cuts them.

I havent shot mine allot at all.
CW
 
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MW65

Wetside, Oregon
I have a few molds but i use them in a 629 & a Marlin. Unique has been my favorite cast plinker powder for a while in mid-range 44mag, and think that it would be excellent in the SPL.

The 429421/Noe 432-277/Lee 240 RN/Lee 310 work.... some i need to single-load into the lever, until i can do some tweaking on the carrier.

Cheers!
 
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