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44 caliber cast bullet weight

3K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Martman 
#1 ·
I am new to the forum and am looking for some advice. During the past 15 years most of my reloading has been for rifles. However, I recently purchased a S&W 329PD. Although I reloaded 44, 45 and 357 many years ago, I am just now getting back into pistol reloading. I have Unique and 2400 on hand. I also have some lswc hard cast bullets listed at 255 grain, 430 diameter. In weighing the bullets they are all 260 to 265 grain in weight. I haven't found any current data for this bullet weight. What do you recommend for starting loads with these powders and bullet weights. What I want to work up to is some medium and heavy magnum loads for the 329pd.
 
#3 ·
Thanks, that gives me a good starting point. I still have some questions about cast bullets. I have some jacketed flat points that measure .429. The cast bullets measure .430 - .435. If the barrel groove diameter measures .429 then the .430 cast bullets will be sized down when entering the bore. How much of a higher pressure is experienced at this point and what effect will this have on maximum allowable pressures when loading nearer the maximum for the bullet weight. I guess what I am trying to determine is would it be better to load cast bullets that match the groove diameter or is the pressure spike from over sized bullets significant enough to consider as a factor at near maximum as outlined in the manuals. I am familiar with pressure signs in rifle reloading, flattened primers, hard extraction.and I generally step up in 1/2 grain or less when nearing recommended maximums.
 
#4 ·
You are fine up to .432".

Pressure "signs" are not reliable, if you don't have pressure trace equipment it is totally unreliable to go on any sign. I have a 38 special load that flattens primers, and its only launching 125 grain RNFP lead bullets at 800 FPS.
 
#5 ·
First, welcome.

The advice given above is great. Lead bullets are "slickerier" than jacketed, and they also need to be a bit oversize to seal the bore. Otherwise, they'll leave more lead in the barrel than they deliver to the target!

Cast bullets are listed with a nominal weight, but the actual bullets will vary above and below that depending on the alloy used to cast them. In general, the harder the alloy, the lighter the bullet will be because there is proportionately less lead in harder alloys. Yours may be heavier if they they have more lead and are a tad softer. That's good unless you intend to launch them at warp speed. So if you truly need those magnum loads, you might need to find harder bullets, or bullets equipped with copper gas checks. For up to 1200 fps or so, what you have should work fine.
 
#6 ·
As my standard load in 44 Mag, I use 9.5 to 10 grains of Unique for the 240 to 260 grain bullets. This pushes those bullets in the 900 to 1100 fps range out of most of my 44' Mags (dependent on barrel lenght of course). It is a nice load to shoot and practice with....it still kicks a bit, but is controllable...it is accurate...is ideal for a self defense load....and, I have taken two deer with that load as well. I dont see a need for anything more powerful, unless you need a dangerous game "last ditch" load, and for that, Elmer Keiths load of a 250 grain bullet at 1250+ or so, will get the job done at handgun ranges.........Also, I own a few Smiths, and they do not like a staedy diet of "hot" loads, so for most of your general purpose shooting needs the 9.5 to 10.0 Unique loads that I stated above are ideal, and, that Smith will last you a long time!
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the input. I loaded 25 of the 262 grain with 8.0 grains of unique and shot them yesterday. MV averaged around 800fps. I'm going to kick it up couple of notches with the next batch as I want to get around 1000 - 1100 fps with this bullet. With regard to the higher velocities, the main reason for purchasing this pistol was the light weight. I don't plan on running a bunch of high velocity loads through it. My son and I are planning a bow hunt in Montana this year and the light weight of the pistol appealed to me. I figure it will be a good carry during the bow hunt and be there if needed. Towards that end I will want to work up some heavy defensive loads. Something stout enough to stop the unexpected.
 
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