New 44 mag mould

[Brad]

I haven't been really happy for a while with my Lee group buy Keith style mould. It has issues with the alignment pins walking and at times I get bullets fatter from one end of the mould than the other. It also drops a bullet at almost .436, way too fat.

I bought a new 4 cav NOE HG503 mould. It is so much better. It will need a small bevel filed on the top of the blocks to improve venting but bullets drop easily and very round.


This is an as cast and sized bullet from the new mould. The bullets drop right at .432, perfect for sizing to .4315 for my revolver. The sizer barely touches the bands. Almost no effort was required.

Sorry the photo is a bit blurry but you can see the difference in the bullet bases after sizing. The one on the left is the Lee GB bullet, the right in the NOE bullet. You can see the marks left by the sizing punch on the one of the left, the one on the right bears no marks at all. I have to think the base damage on the Lee bullet isn't conducive too good accuracy. It also leaves a slight finning on the bottom of the rear band as the sized metal is displaced. Again, not conducive to top accuracy.


Here are the two bullets. Left is the NOE, right is the Lee. Front band on the NOE is wider as is the middle band. Lube groove on the NOE is also narrower, a feature I don't mind at all. With a good lube I don't need that much.

I can't wait to get out and shoot some from the new mould. Confidence will be improve as the bullets are of a far better quality.

 

[Brandon]

That sure looks like a better boolit, and sure to cast and size much easier than the Lee...

Put some downrange, and see how they work!

 

[Rick]

The lighter weight will be a benefit shooting groups also, less muzzle jump before bullet exit and a bit more velocity to get the bullet out quicker.

 

[Dale53]

Modern moulds from NOE and Mihec are better than we have ever had before. I speak from experience. I started bullet casting at age 14 (1949 or so) and have moulds from all of the major players. H&G were the best but even they pale when put up against the newer moulds. It's simply that the new makers have better equipment and still retain that "old time" attitude towards quality.

As a for instance, my Mihec six cavity aluminum mould for the H&G #68 will produce a bullet from each cavity that weighs within .2 (two tenths) of a grain and is the same size within .0002" (two tenths of a thousandth). That is almost magical.

Make no mistake, these new moulds STILL require skill in casting to attain those levels. However, NOW we can do it if we do our part.

Further, Mihec and NOE have a terrific service attitude towards their customers. It doesn't get any better than that. I don't have any moulds from Accurate, but I hear the same great things about them.

Rick,
Nice post!

Dale53

 

[James W. Miner]

I do not like a semi wad cutter of any stripe. First, the ogive does not steer the boolits into the cone or bore and pull the cylinder to alignment. The shoulder is expected to do that. It will wipe and give an off center start unless the gun is perfect.
I do not like one large GG either and there is room for two smaller ones. The base bands need not be so long either.
Recoil and barrel rise will not affect accuracy. I made my own mold for the .44 that came out 330 gr but I made the ogive to match the forcing cone angle. It has done 1-5/16" at 200 yards.
My worst for recoil is the BFR .475 but it will do 5/8" or less at 50 yards. Then my boolit in the .500 JRH at 50 made one hole. No Keith style I was sent to test ever reached rock throwing accuracy. 330 gr .44 boolit at 100 yards off hand. 3/4" for 3 shots. Recoil means nothing at all.
I have figured out boolit design. A very, very accurate boolit for the .44 is the Lee 310. Mine is better and the LBT 320 WLNGC is next. I will NEVER cut a mold for a semi wad cutter for my guns.
This is my JRH boolit and the .475 is the same. Notice the rear band is only .080" for a PB. Nothing has out shot it. Also works in the .500 S&W. Weighs 440 gr. I run it 1350 fps from the JRH.

 

[Rick]

Recoil and barrel rise will not affect accuracy.

Will recoil and barrel rise effect the guns accuracy? Most likely no. Will recoil and barrel rise effect the shooters ability to shoot groups? Absolutely!

 

[Rick]

Can't say a SWC won't shoot because they do. As for Jim's 44 bullet (bottom pic post #5) shooting so well, it's very similar to the single best grouping bullet I have ever shot out of a revolver. Simply amazed me shooting 150 meter groups scoped from the bench and the 10" FA 41 Mag literally stacks them on the steel turkey. Not a fluke, this was repeated many times. No wimp load either.

The bullet is the LeadHeads 41 220 gr. Sized to a mild snug fit in the FA's throats. No idea what the alloy is but they are 18 BHN.



19.5 gr Viht N-110 (Compressed)
CCI 200 large rifle primer
414 Super Mag brass trimmed to the FA's cylinder length
Firm but not crazy crimp

1525 fps average for 10 shots.
Extreme spread 22 fps
S.D. 8

My thoughts on why this bullet shoots so well is that it's almost all bearing surface.

 

[James W. Miner]

The gun means a lot. My first .44 in 1956 was the Ruger flat top and it shot the 429421 original very good as did many 29's. But some guns will not do it.
My model 27 S&W loved the 358158 HP. But even in my BFR's, the Keith is past usefulness.
Accuracy is in the eye of the beholder. Are you shooting for 2" at 25 yards or 547 yards?

 

[Brad]

Took the new bullets for a spin today. Loaded 50 rounds with 22, 22.5, and 23 gr of H110.
In an effort to keep Jim happy I used a harder alloy than I usually use. I need to clean up the recovered bullets and get some photos. These were water dropped and test 24 BHn. I know Rick, like diamonds.

This is what I got with 23 gr H110 at 100 yards. The horizontal is mostly me. I am having issues getting a really consistent grip these days. That will get fixed with more range time.
The chronograph stopped reading after the 22 gr loads and they ran 1275 fps or so. I suspect the 23 gr loads are around 1325 fps.

More will be loaded and different alloy will be tried. I also may make a new sizer, these ended up being a bit large for the throats, like .0005 or so too big. Mght make something as close as possible to .431, these ran .4318 after sizing.

I truly hate finger groove grips but I may try a set of Hogue grips for the revolver. The finger grooves would possibly improve consistency of grip. I just detest the looks of the things.

 

[Brad]

I may also try the 265 Ranch Dog bullet. It looks similar to the one Jim and Rick posted. I'm pretty sure Khornet owns the mould. Might be able to seat it a little long to get the nose in the throats on loaded rounds. The long cylinder on the SRH makes that a little more difficult with most bullets.

 

[Brad]

Here is a recovered bullet.

 

[James W. Miner]

Looks good to me. The rifling marks on the boolit are about perfect.
I can't shoot open sights from the bench very well, arms are 2' too short so I shoot opens better from Creedmore.
The way I rest is to put the barrel on a bag, near the muzzle and the butt on a firm bag. Only way I don't shake.
The 265 RD is a great boolit with 22 gr of 296 Fed 150 and Felix lube. It will hold 3/4" at 50 and 1-1/4" at 100.
I never bothered to work a load with it, just went with the one charge. I never checked velocity either.

 

[KHornet]

That would punch a nice hole thru a deer and leave a good blood trail.