[John Blalock]

Can someone please tell me if the extra length in the
cylinder can be used to create longer cartridges for the
.44 mag. My Raging Bull cylinder measures 1.75". Seems
like you could make cartridges longer and maybe add a
little more powder. Is this possible or would a person
be flirting with disaster?
Marshall, the bullets for the .444 Outfitter came today.
They look great. . . hope to get to the range soon. . . .

Thanks for the help. . .

 

[Bill Lester]

I personally wouldn't try it. The .44 Magnum is a fine cartridge as is. Trying to make it into a 444 Short may create some problems. A few extra fps aren't worth a few fingers.

 

[Contender]

John,

It's aready been done. It's called the 445 Super Mag but, you would need more cylinder length than you have there. The 445 case itself is 1.610" long.

Using the LBT/BTB style of bullets will give you the most powder space practical in your 44 Mag. Use that to it's advantage and be happy with that.IMHO

As Bill alluded to, you don't need to load cylinder bulging loads in the 44 Mag for it to be effective on game. Go for bullet design like an SWC or one of the BTB/LBT designs.

A lot of shooters are searching for a "44 Swift" and abusing their revolvers terribly as a consequence.

Don't you know this is "National Be Kind to Revolvers Week"? :biggrin:

FWIW

 

[Chris Gage]

The only other way to get what you are looking for is to use the BTB Long Cylinder Bullets designed for the long cylinder Ruger Redhawk. They have a nose to crimp length of .450 vs. .500 of the standard length bullets. With this style of bullet you gain internal powder space and and increase in velocity. My Redhawk with 26.0 gr of H-110 with the 325gr LCMNGC goes an honest 1500 fps out of a 7 1/2" barrel. Or 27.0 gr of H-110 with a 300gr LCMNGC for 1550 fps and groups of around 1 1/2" at 25yds. But , this is with MY Redhawk, your Taurus might not be able to handle this. Please start a few grains lower and work up slowly. Hope this clears up any questions you may have.

God Bless

Chris

 

[5 Shot]

I would caution you aginst laoding any amount of gun powder into a cartrige that exceeds that listed in the loading manuals.  These people do pressure testing for a living, and have far more knowledge on the subject than the rest of the shooting public combined.

Ross Seyfried wrote an article in Handloader about the 45 Colt, 5 shot load that he used in Africa.  The shells popped out of the cylinder with ease and the load was very accurate and powerful.  When the Hodgdon powder Co. tested it, it was well above the pressure for the 300 Weatherby Mag.  Ross himself said that it was pure luck that the gun did not self destruct.

Just because the shells come out easy does not mean that the pressure is within the safe working limits of the gun!  Tight cylinders can hide a ticking time bomb.

Follow the manual and enjoy the performance that you get.  If you want to hot rod, but a Casull, Clements, Bowen or Linebaugh.




(Edited by 5 Shot at 12<!--emo&:0--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'><!--endemo-->1 pm on April 10, 2001)

 

[Bill Lester]

5 Shot,

Wise words of caution & welcome to our merry band. I think there is a common misconception that pressure rises on a predictable curve. In fact it is usually a tremendous spike that can prove disasterous.

 

[CAL]

Loads like that have been in print in the rags.

Since the OAL is so long, it will only fit in the SuperRed/Redhawk series or custom. (Or 445)

As a matter of fact, those ballistics are right at the point (velocity, dont knw their powder amnts)  JDJ and Kelly used in Africa.




-CAL