My new bullets. What should I use them for?

P

Pond James Pond

New member
Gun: Redhawk .44Mag/Spl
Use: Plinking, Competitions, Practice, but not hunting as pistol hunting is forbidden.
Bullets: an end of line end of stock box of .429 cast SWC, 200gn. 1 x box of 500.

What do you think?

Is there something that SWC would lend themselves to particularly well, or should I just work up a load similar to my existing .44Spl 200gn TC loads and add them to the mix...?
 
Plinking, Competitions, and Practice will all work with a 200 grain SWC. That is a light bullet for 44mag. You will need to watch your velocities to keep the leading down. I like running a heavier bullets and load it to spc specs if it is cast. The SWC design is very stable and with the right powder/charge it can be very accurate.

I have been running polymer coated lead for the past couple of years for my target/plinking ammo. I can push the velocities up into the the 44mag range but I usually keep them on the high spc side. The added plus is there is no smoke from the lubricant as it is not needed for the poly coated nor is there and lead build up. If I push the velocity I have noticed a slight build up of poly residue but that can be easily cleaned out with a FMJ round.
 
I don't use them that light, but your SWC usually make great paper punchers, and are usually still very accurrate a long range. They will perform best when the chamber pressure matches bullet hardness. Since you don't know what that is, start at lead starting levels, and keep going up until you don't like the results or meet jacketed published maximums, whichever comes first.
 
Well, I've just ordered another 1500 bullets. Different manufacturer and different style (straight walled: no cannelure, and a concave base which the H&Ns don't have). no idea if they are good quality but they came in at about €0.085 a bullet and that is good value over here.

Plated H&Ns are usually about €0.15 a bullet!

Given that once my sights were adjusted my scores rose significantly, I think I can say that these in .44Spl would be a good use for them!

I'll save the "High-Speed" plated bullets for mag loads.

I just need to find a decent lead-data load using N320.

7.3gn gives me about 950fps with the Plated bullets.
 
That'll prolly work, and your powder charges will be OK, but, have you measured the cylinder throats of your Redhawk? Lead bullets of .429" seem small to me. My 5, .44 Magnums all shoot bullets larger in diameter; .432" and .433". Smaller bullets, .429" have always leaded the barrels.
 
When I considered buying those .427 bullets, I measured the throats by letting my existing bullets drop through and drop through they did. It seemed that my throats were .430" wide.

I'd need to slug the barrel a second time to check that.

The good news is that all the plated bullets I've been shooting are also .429 (just like these SWCs) and they shoot fine, so the new ones should be OK in my gun.
 
A good rule of thumb and a starting place; size/purchase bullets the same diameter as the cylinder throats (but you'll have to get a good measurement. Pin/plug gauges are best but cylinder throats can be slugged just like a barrel. Calipers won't give an accurate measuring an ID like throats). "Drop through" is not a measurement, and no way accurate enough for sizing bullets...
 
"Drop through" is not a measurement, and no way accurate enough for sizing bullets...
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Slugging had been my plan; expecting to have to nudge them through. When my widest bullets dropped through, I used calipers to confirm.

.430 is not commonly sold in the places I know, so sadly .429 is about the only diameter I can get. The only .430s I've ever bought were heavy Cast Performance at almost €1 a pop!
 
Are they hard cast and if they are does the manufacturer say how hard they are. It they are up around 22-24 brnl you may be able to shoot them accurately at 44 spl speeds without leading, but the only way to tell if your revolver will like them is to try them.

Do you have access to scrap lead where you live? A $50.00 Lee lead pot, $22.00 Lee tumble lube mold, and $5.00 bottle of Liquid Alox will make you thousands of bullets on demand, if you can get recycled wheel weights.
 
Do you have access to scrap lead where you live?
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I really do need to answer that question...

Truth is I don't know and I really ought to investigate...

I can't say how hard they are, but I will probably stick to .44Spls for these new ones.
 
The good news is that all the plated bullets I've been shooting are also .429 (just like these SWCs) and they shoot fine, so the new ones should be OK in my gun.
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We have talked about the issue of bullet measurement with you in other threads, but something still seems to be lost in your comprehension. Plated or jacketed bullets do not have to meet the same size requirements as straight lead.

With copper sided bullets, a bit of blow-by does not melt anything, so as long as the bullets can grip the lands, they shoot fine. Lead bullets must obturate enough to completely fill the grooves or else the hot blow-by will melt the lead and foul the barrel. And that is why we keep telling you that you need to know TWO different measurements - the groove diameter must be just slightly smaller than the bullets, and the throats of your cylinders must be at least as big, and should be just a bit bigger than the grooves.

A lead bullet that is a bit larger than ideal for specific gun is MUCH better than one that is too small. Too-small lead bullets start out shooting just fine, but the accuracy deteriorates rather quickly with the built-up of lead fouling in the barrel.
 
We have talked about the issue of bullet measurement with you in other threads, but something still seems to be lost in your comprehension. Plated or jacketed bullets do not have to meet the same size requirements as straight lead.
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No doubt it does, but then what you've just said was not stated outright in that thread, although it could have been inferred. Inference is much, much easier the more you know of a subject and this one is completely new to me. This is the first lead I have ever bought bar ready loaded .22LR and .38Spl WCs.... so I'm learning.

This being a good example:

With copper sided bullets, a bit of blow-by does not melt anything, so as long as the bullets can grip the lands, they shoot fine. Lead bullets must obturate enough to completely fill the grooves or else the hot blow-by will melt the lead and foul the barrel.
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The issue of leading was indeed raised but never how it came about. In fact the only time a cause of leading was brought up was when discussed lead SWC at mag velocities. I guessed that the speed would shave the lead off on the lands, but perhaps it is the gas blow-by issue.

Either way, now that I know the above I can well understand why and how size is as important an issue as you describe.

So... thanks for explaining.
 
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You are welcome. Leading is a complex issue, and there are numerous things that contribute to it. Blow-by is not the only cause, but it is certainly a big one. When it occurs with lead bullets, lead fouling will ALWAYS happen too.

Bullets that are too small to seal the grooves will always have blow-by. Bullets that are the right size but too hard for the pressure generated will almost always have blow-by, since the pressure is not sufficient to obturate the bullet and seal the bore.

Bullets that are the right size AND loaded with the correct pressure to match the hardness and seal the bore will still cause leading if the lube used is not sufficient for the speed the bullet is traveling.

That is a relatively simplistic explanation, but should be enough to allow further research if desired.
 
Right. The good news is that I have slugged a chamber throat (not all of them) with a .454 round-ball lightly rolled down to about .433".

It came out at between 0.4315 and 0.432".

The bad news is that one one stroke my little 14oz hammer slipped off the rod I was using to drive the round-ball through and it left a small but horribly visible crescent ding in the mount of one of my chambers, just above the ejector star recess. Noooooooo! :mad::mad::mad:

I was livid... Now I'm just sad. My previously immaculate cylinder face has a blemish. :(

As the slug hadn't seemed to be moving with lighter taps, I upped the pressure a bit and of course that is the time it ricocheted off the edge of the drift I was pressing into the back of the round-ball. :rolleyes:

So, now I'm going to use the same ball to slug the barrel given that it is now very near the diameter of the barrel.
 
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