Attention all you 44 Mag Handi Owners!!

[KenSel]

Well I've had pretty good accuracy out of my 44 with factory ammo so far but the Hornady XTPs' have been the most accurate (I'm guessing because they're .430 diameter)
That was until today.  I loaded up some 240gr. Oregon Trail Laser Cast (.431 diameter) bullets.  I loaded some of them to a COL of 1.645" as listed in the Lyman manual and to load them that long I had seat them just deep enough to have the lube ring inside the case mouth and then I crimped it.  I also loaded some with a COL of 1.590" they were seated all the way to the crimp groove.  I was using Magtech brass which is a little bit shorter than most brass (1.269").  Well anyway I took 3 of each to the range along with 3 loaded with the XTPs' for a comparison.  The XTPs' group could be covered with a 50cent piece and the cast bullets could be almost be covered with a nickel.  The longer loaded cast bullets hit about 3" higher than the XTPs' and the short cast loads hit about 1/2" lower than the longer cast loads.  All 6 holes from the cast loads were touching.  This was only at 50 yds, but it is still great accuracy.  I plan to load up some more and try some different powders and then test them at 100yds.  The Oregon Trail bullets are the best bullets I have found for my handi so far, so if you reload you may want to give them a try.

Ken
 

[handirifle]

I might just have to consider getting a 44 mag barrel, that is if I can ever get the 38-55 barrel project finished!

[SM Bob]

I really like those Oregon Trail Laser Cast bullets too. They are the only bullet I shoot in my 45 auto.
200gr swc with 5 gr Bullseye. Some day when I get a 44 mag Handi I wouldn't hesitate to try them!

                                                    Robert
 

[Ranger J]

What kind of load were you putting under the OT bullets?  When I had a .44 coming I had only so so  results from them.  I was afraid to push them too hard because of the possibility of leading.  Never did get that barrel to shoot anything accurately although if good reports keep coming I will probably order one of the new ones.  The new ones evidently have a more reasonable sized bore.

RJ

[KenSel]

RangerJ,  I haven't slugged my bore yet but I have one of the newer barrels and it shoot pretty good with factory ammo (.429 and .430 diameter) but it really seems to like the OTs'.   I was pushing the longer loads with a max charge of BlueDot and the shorter ones was just under max.  I'm gonna load up some more with 2400 and some W296 and try to squeeze a few more fps out of them.

[Ranger J]

Sounds good.  Please keep us informed about leading at the higher speeds.  I have quite a few of these bullets left over and need to know how fast they can be pushed. 

RJ

[KenSel]

RJ,  I got 12 rounds loaded up last night 6 with 2400 and 6 with 296 powders.  I loaded them just under max loads according to my manual and I loaded them to 1.650" COL  I was planning to shoot them today but never got the chance.  I have another baby girl being born tomorrow so it will be a week or 2 before I get a chance to shoot them.  As soon as I do though I'll give a full range report and let you know about the leading if there is any.  If all goes well, I'm gonna bump them up to max loads.

Ken

[KenSel]

Well I got a chance to take these loads to the range yesterday.  There was a lot of powder residue left in the barrel but I didn't see any signs of leading.  It was really windy yesterday so I did all my testing at 50 yds.  For my first accuracy test I fired one round and then ran a boresnake down the barrel once and fired another round and used the boresnake again, I did this for 3 shots with each load.  Both loads averaged about 2" at 50yds with this method.  For my next test I fired 3 shots with one load, ran the boresnake down the barrel a few times and then fired 3 shots with the other load.  This method opened groups up to about 4".  I'm not to happy with the accuracy with either load so I'm gonna play around with them a little and see if I can figure out the problem.  I'd also like to get them to burn a little cleaner but I'm not ready to buy more powder just yet, so I'll just have to play around with what I got.   Well, back to the bench to figure this out.

Ken 

[handirifle]

If the bullets are proper dia for the barrel, try a good heavy crimp.  Sometimes this causes just enough delay in bullet launch to effect a more complete burn.

[KenSel]

handi,  that's exactly what I was thinking.  I'm gonna put together a few more loads tonight and give them a heavy crimp and then I'll try em' out. 

Ken