reloading 44 mag with lead bullets. crunch!!This is a discussion on reloading 44 mag with lead bullets. crunch!! within the The Ammo Can forums, part of the Armory Talk category; my best fishing/hunting bud has started to reload 44 magnum shells. he bought 500 SWC 240 gr. lead bullets from friendswoodsbullet.com, and hasn't started reloading ...
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03-30-2012, 05:20 AM
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#1
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XDTalk 100 Member
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reloading 44 mag with lead bullets. crunch!!
my best fishing/hunting bud has started to reload 44 magnum shells. he bought 500 SWC 240 gr. lead bullets from friendswoodsbullet.com, and hasn't started reloading those yet.
but, when he ordered cases from affordablebrassandbullets.com, the guy offered him some sample lead SWC 240 gr. bullets in order to win over his business. so he reloaded 7 shells of the 10 bullets provided, and gave up, because of the 7, five of them buckled the cases, rendering them useless. he sized his cases with Lee dies, then ran them through the case expander die to allow for the seating of the bullets.
he's reloaded shells with jacketed bullets, and no problems. perhaps he should call the dude and tell him what happened, and maybe get some more samples.
any ideas offhand? thanks
  
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03-30-2012, 06:11 AM
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#2
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It is possible that the bullets were not sized. Bullet diameter specs for a 44 mag call for a diameter between .428" and .431". If the mold the bullet was cast in a mold that was bigger than the .431 it should have been sized down. Is there visible lube in the grooves nea the bottom or the bullet or is the bullet itself appear shiny? Visible lube indicates it went through a sizer/lubricator and shiny is usually an indication there was a liquid lube. Most molds cast a bullet that falls in the tolerance of the barrel but it is hard to say that is always totally true. The other possibility is burrs on the shell mouth but from what you indicate, that is probably not the problem. If he needs any more brass let me know. I have about 270 I could sell.
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03-30-2012, 08:18 AM
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#3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by willy3
It is possible that the bullets were not sized. Bullet diameter specs for a 44 mag call for a diameter between .428" and .431". If the mold the bullet was cast in a mold that was bigger than the .431 it should have been sized down. Is there visible lube in the grooves nea the bottom or the bullet or is the bullet itself appear shiny? Visible lube indicates it went through a sizer/lubricator and shiny is usually an indication there was a liquid lube. Most molds cast a bullet that falls in the tolerance of the barrel but it is hard to say that is always totally true. The other possibility is burrs on the shell mouth but from what you indicate, that is probably not the problem. If he needs any more brass let me know. I have about 270 I could sell.
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+1 on the bullet not being properly sized.... 
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03-30-2012, 08:33 AM
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#4
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Jacketed bullets come in one size. Lead bullets are always larger and can come in different sizes.
You may need to expand the case further to get lead bullets to 'seat' without issues.
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03-30-2012, 08:57 AM
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#5
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enough bell mouth? When I first started lead, crumpled a few cases because not enough expansion.
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03-30-2012, 11:02 AM
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#6
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Yeah, soemthing isn't right here. I have loaded a ton of 44mag, at on point I was shooting about 6K a year. I have never had an issue loading even unsized bullets of 0.432" into properly prepped brass. With lead bullets, if you can't easily see the case mouth bell, it's not enough. If the bullet will start, it will fit w/o crushing the case. DO check the dia of the bullet, just in case something really odd happened like oh, they are 45s???
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03-30-2012, 01:16 PM
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#7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fredj338
Yeah, soemthing isn't right here. I have loaded a ton of 44mag, at on point I was shooting about 6K a year. I have never had an issue loading even unsized bullets of 0.432" into properly prepped brass. With lead bullets, if you can't easily see the case mouth bell, it's not enough. If the bullet will start, it will fit w/o crushing the case. DO check the dia of the bullet, just in case something really odd happened like oh, they are 45s???
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 lmao, that would suck!!
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson
"A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me."
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03-30-2012, 03:19 PM
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#8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mingansr
my best fishing/hunting bud has started to reload 44 magnum shells. he bought 500 SWC 240 gr. lead bullets from friendswoodsbullet.com, and hasn't started reloading those yet.
but, when he ordered cases from affordablebrassandbullets.com, the guy offered him some sample lead SWC 240 gr. bullets in order to win over his business. so he reloaded 7 shells of the 10 bullets provided, and gave up, because of the 7, five of them buckled the cases, rendering them useless. he sized his cases with Lee dies, then ran them through the case expander die to allow for the seating of the bullets.
he's reloaded shells with jacketed bullets, and no problems. perhaps he should call the dude and tell him what happened, and maybe get some more samples.
any ideas offhand? thanks
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Your buddy is not a very experenced reloader!
Tell him to measure the bullets, if they are over sized then don't use them! If they measure to the correct size then he is not expanding the case enough.
don
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03-30-2012, 04:05 PM
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#9
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XDm_Shooter, I had trouble with a PM to you. I was given a large quantity of loaded/reloaded ammo. Not knowing anything about how it was loaded, I am in the process of breaking it all down into components. So far, most looks once loaded, some looks unfired and a few look maybe twice fired. I'm tossing anything that does not meet my standards. The .44 brass looks once fired and is very nice. I'll list below what I have. Keep in mind that all the brass is primed, should have the sizing checked and will need the mouth expanded as all rounds were pulled with kinetic puller. Primed brass can't be shipped USPS so consider shipping prices. I also have large quantities of once fired 9 m/m and .40 Cal. along with 1,000 once fired .223/5.56 that can be shipped USPS. I also have some .284 Winchester and .22-250's that I have not yet taken apart. I have some cast bullets but I'm keeping the clad .22 and .30 caliber bullets as I reload those calibers.
270- .44 Magnum
40- 500 S&W Magnum pistol
200- .300 Winchester magnum (extra nice)
75- .45/70 (Many unfired)
61- .30/30
28- .44/40 (May be twice fired)
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03-30-2012, 04:58 PM
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#10
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reading this and knowing very little to the point of almost nothing about reloading...
I realize there would be +/- size on all ammo to be in spec. but how or rather why is lead/ hard cast larger than jacketed by an amount that would crush the case?
my practical side is saying that its because brass gets stretched as you shoot it and reloaders can take advantage of stretched brass by using a slightly larger bullet.
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reloading 44 mag with lead bullets. crunch!!
