Good cast bullet for .44 mag/special?

[Mikej]

What recomendations for cast projectiles do you .44 guys have for me? I will be loading these at .44 special specs though I'll be shooting them in a 6" S&W 629. Inexpensive, lubed, and not having to buy a thousand for sure. I'm wanting to go with 200gr, and it would be nice to do SWC but it seems most that I've perused on line don't carry SWC in 200gr, only in 240gr. Or, if someone in the PDX area buys them in bulk and wouldn't mind selling me a hundred or so for a resonable price, that would be good too.

I thought I'd read mention of some local bullets? ST. Helens maybe? I wouldn't mind a little road trip, being able to talk to the source sort of thing.

Input on powders, favorite recipes gladly accepted. I'll be starting out with 231 because that is what I have and I've seen it mentioned on other sites. I also have a 1/4# or so of Unique that I'd use, that was also mentioned elswhere.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

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[ruger45blackhawk]

Look up Brian Pierce of Wolf Publishing. He has lots of info authored in the handloader magazine. Also look up John Taffin under Taffin tests. Lots of info there too!
As far as I know the cast bullets you are referring out of St. Helens is Cast Performance Bullets. I have used them in 44 magnum but are a little expensive for me to shoot casually especially in the 44 special!

Good luck in your search

 

[jib]

If you can settle for a 215gr LSWC they common.
Most 200gr cast bullets are LRNFP, LFPTC or LWC.

 

[jonn5335]

What about laser cast? They sell 180 FP's and 200 RNFP's for $60 or so per 500. That's probably who I would buy from if I did'nt cast my own.

 

[jib]

<broken link removed>

 

[HappyRoman]

Have some 200gr plated, and 240 lswc.. pm here and lets see what happens

 

[AMProducts]

There are more than a few companies out there that make cast bullets all using the same equipment. The most common/widely accepted is the 200gr RNFP bullet made out of a magma mold (the company that makes most of the commercial casting equipment). For .44mag you usually want a .429" sized bullet (.427 is also common for the 44-40WCF). Powder... for light loads I usually stick to faster burning powders that will avoid fouling the gun (slower powders need heavier charges, and unless loaded hot won't burn completely). Titegroup, HS6, and clays are all good powders that will perform, if you want heavier loads, try 2400 or unique.

There is are more than a few places out there... D&D bullets located in ontario ca, is the primary bullet supplier for a few places I used to work. Looks like his website is down though. I'll give him a call tomorrow and see if it's ok to post his number.

 

[Mikej]

For .44mag you usually want a .429" sized bullet (.427 is also common for the 44-40WCF). Powder... for light loads I usually stick to faster burning powders that will avoid fouling the gun (slower powders need heavier charges, and unless loaded hot won't burn completely). Titegroup, HS6, and clays are all good powders that will perform, if you want heavier loads, try 2400 or unique.

I'm a little confused on the diameter thing. In setting up my seater/crimping die I've seated (without crimping) a .430 Hornady XTP It felt just purrfect going in. In looking at various cast bullets on line a majority are sized at .430, but some are .431? Some manufacturers will make custom for your gun if you slug the barrel and tell them what you want. I don't imagine I would have an issue with either, but my ID of the shell is .427 below the expanded mouth. Question would be, is there an issue with squeezing a .431 cast bullet into a .427 case?

I also have HS-6 and Titegroup, I have come to consider W231 to be very close to Titegroup though.

I'm probably just writing to much into this, after all, I've been loading plated/jacketed into four other calibers and have about 3000 rounds under my belt now with only TWO goofs in the first 200 rounds! I just need to "Bite the Bullet" (bad pun), and order up 500 and get going I suppose!

Thanks all!

Mike

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Cast your own.. super cheap. I highly recommend the Lee Tumble Lube design molds, their 6 cavity molds are very efficient and the bullets are extremely easy to lube with Lee lube

 

[bullethead]

Like Blitzkreig, I cast my own, sizing them to .431. However, I have used both LaserCast and Missouri Bullet and they both seem to to be have good bullets. I use 231, Titegroup and Unique for my loads, depending on what kind of loads I want.

 

[jonn5335]

Cast your own.. super cheap. I highly recommend the Lee Tumble Lube design molds, their 6 cavity molds are very efficient and the bullets are extremely easy to lube with Lee lube

This is what I do as well for all my pistol calibers that I shoot a lot. The mold that I have for my .44 allows for a gas check for hot loaded hunting rounds. I size to .431 for my 44 mag and am getting 2-3" groups at 60yards.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

This is what I do as well for all my pistol calibers that I shoot a lot. The mold that I have for my .44 allows for a gas check for hot loaded hunting rounds. I size to .431 for my 44 mag and am getting 2-3" groups at 60yards.

Yep, for full house Magnums a gas check is a near must.. but the OP says he's going with .44 Special velocities, and the tumble lube bullets do not require sizing, saves a lot of time

 

[Mikej]

I've only been loading for a year.....I am NOT going to cast my own bullets. I don't even shoot cast, YET. I juts decided it might be a good idea to shoot cast in this fine piece of American stainless.

That's all I need, to be sweating over a pot of molten metal! NOT!
YET.

And you guys go right ahead keep up with the banter, I enjoy it and it keeps my thread at the top!

Mike

 

[ruger45blackhawk]

It is also rather expensive to get started casting your own. Start up costs take longer to recover unless you shoot a lot. It is really nice to have a friend who has all the equipment already and I had to buy just the molds.

 

[jib]

I'm a little confused on the diameter thing.

For revolvers I use cast bullets that are .0005-.001" larger than the cylinder throats.
I have a 44spl with a cylinder throat diameter of .429" so I shoot .430" sized cast bullets.
I have a 44 mag with a throat diameter of .430 I use .431" sized cast bullets.
This may seem like a pain but it isn't I use 180-215gr for the 44spl and 240 and up for the mag.

 

[never4get]

I've been casting 44 bullets (240-300gr) for just a little while, using lino-type lead, gas checks,true-blue powder.......Love it.. you should try it its so easy to do, I havent broke a sweat yet, even on a hot day, I find it relaxing, I get between 40 -45 nice hard cast bullets, little to no leading in my ss ruger bisley.One draw back is as I walk by cars, I start looking at the weights on the wheels...Isee bullets......................

 

[Blitzkrieg]

You can get started casting with a Lee pot and 6 cavity Lee mold for about $100

My last casting project was 2200 40 cal bullets. I don't understand people who don't like to be self reliant

 

[xlsbob]

you might want to check on Badman bullets. badmanbullets.com I use a lot of them in my 44 mag and 38-357s and they work well for me. Pretty sure they are based in Oregon if I remember right

 

[AMProducts]

I'm a little confused on the diameter thing. In setting up my seater/crimping die I've seated (without crimping) a .430 Hornady XTP It felt just purrfect going in. In looking at various cast bullets on line a majority are sized at .430, but some are .431? Some manufacturers will make custom for your gun if you slug the barrel and tell them what you want. I don't imagine I would have an issue with either, but my ID of the shell is .427 below the expanded mouth. Question would be, is there an issue with squeezing a .431 cast bullet into a .427 case?

The thing I found over the years is when you are sizing the bullet to .430 or above is it starts to balloon out certain cases (the area where the bullet is seated will have a noticeable bulge), which can cause some problems with off-center seating in older cases, looks like crap and can also cause feeding problems in lever-action guns.

As to some of the other comments other people have posted. If you want to get into casting, the lee molds are a great place to start (they are really cheap) however you still need to size the bullets, and if you're using the alox lube you are likely to have leading problems. If you are going to take the practice of casting your own seriously, upgrading to a set of lyman, saeco, magma, or other steel mold is a must, the aluminum molds don't hold up too well, and are pretty much spent after a thousand rounds or so.

I started with lee molds... the one mold from them I love is their 1oz shotgun slug mold. I load tons of those.

 

[Mikej]

The thing I found over the years is when you are sizing the bullet to .430 or above is it starts to balloon out certain cases (the area where the bullet is seated will have a noticeable bulge), which can cause some problems with off-center seating in older cases, looks like crap and can also cause feeding problems in lever-action guns.

As to some of the other comments other people have posted. If you want to get into casting, the lee molds are a great place to start (they are really cheap) however you still need to size the bullets, and if you're using the alox lube you are likely to have leading problems. If you are going to take the practice of casting your own seriously, upgrading to a set of lyman, saeco, magma, or other steel mold is a must, the aluminum molds don't hold up too well, and are pretty much spent after a thousand rounds or so.

I started with lee molds... the one mold from them I love is their 1oz shotgun slug mold. I load tons of those.

Thank you sir! I am not planning on casting my own bullets.

Thanks for the lead xlsbob, I'll check BadMan out.

Mike