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August 4, 2011
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Anyone have tested loads for a 744 - 8 " or 6" barrel using Lyman 429421 bullet or the RCBS - 44-245 and 44-250-K ? Most accurate load target and hunting ?
March 20, 2012
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I've loaded a lot of .44 Mag loads for my Taurus and Contender pistols (my DW is a .357) and I'd suggest the following:
The 429421 and 44-245 SWC bullets should be very pleasant and accurate to shoot with 4.2 to 4.7gr of Accurate #2 which should ballpark to 700-800fps. This is a .44spl target load that I've used a lot and really like. I've never had an accuracy problem using .44spl casings in my .44 mag revolver or Contenders (you do need to clean the chamber well after shooting). If you want to load these in .44 mag brass, I'd take 4.5gr as a starting point and then work up from there. AA #2 is very close to Bullseye in burn rate and is much cleaner burning. I switched all my pistol target loads from Bullseye to AA #2 years ago.
For hunting, I don't have any personal experience with the RCBS 44-250-K or any other non gas-checked bullet being used for .44 Mag hunting loads. I was never able to push commercial hard cast, 240gr SWCs (Magnus and others) beyond mid range .44 Mag velocities (no chrono at the time, but no more than halfway between the min and max loadings shown in the Accurate reloading manual) without severe leading. The same loads and full power .44 Mag loads (AA #9), would shoot flawlessly with 240gr jacketed soft points.
You may have better luck with the 44-250-K if you slug your barrel and cylinders and then size your cast bullet accordingly. You'll still have to use a relatively hard alloy and also make sure that your bullet lube is "up to" magnum pressures. FWIW, I'm in the process of "going cold turkey" from my expensive jacketed bullet habit; I've recently purchased a Lyman 358156 DC gas check mould for my .357 Dan Wesson/.357 Max Contender and a Lyman 429244 gas check mould for my .44 Mags/.444 Marlin. I should have no problem driving any of those cast "boolits" at full speed using water dropped WW alloy and the gas checks. YMMV,
Mitch
February 17, 2010
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FWIW gentlemen, and speaking from 40yrs of casting, gc's do relatively little to reduce leading but contribute greatly to accuracy @ magnum velocities. Bore seal and lubrication are the main factors to be concerned with. Leading is almost always caused by gas cutting, or the fact that combustion gasses are getting passed the base of the bullet. If you are having lead problems in the throat or first few inches of barrel you are probably experiencing gass cutting. If your leading is more toward the end of the barrel you are either running out of lube or using a lube not intended for your purpose. Always size your projectiles at least .001 over bore size. Bullet obturation to seal the bore is paramount. Hard is not always better. Reduced loads will sometimes lead badly due to too hard of an alloy, the bullet simply will not obturate enough to seal the bore. In an ideal world your chamber mouths will all be slightly larger than your bore diameter, if not you will swage the bullet undersize before it enters the barrel and gas cutting may occur. This stuff sounds like alot of work and sometimes takes some effort but when you get it figured out you will be surprised what you can do with a cast bullet.
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