Loading the 44 mag for a single shot rifle

[rquack]

In the past past I've been fortunate enough to find really good loads with only minor variation from book specs. But with this new rifle I'm in search of a bit of guidance before I get too far from book specs.

I just picked up a 44 mag single shot Henry rifle for use in Michigan's old "shotgun" hunting zones. I was recommended to use the Hornady 225 grain FTX bullet. As I begin to develop a load for this rifle I checked the max OAL for the cartridge to seat a bullet to the lands, 1.912". The factory spec for this cartridge [with the FTX bullet] is 1.645 max OAL, and, they advise that you must also reduce the brass length to 1.255 versus the standard spec of 1.275.

I'm the guessing the reduction in brass length might be to insure feeding in autoloaders with this bullet so I anticipate no need to shorten my brass for this application. [I own no other firearms in this caliber so mixing brass should not be an issue.]

I'm a bit concerned about a .260+ jump to the lands. This seems a bit long. I have no experience with single shot rifles or rifles in a pistol caliber. So I'm a bit apprehensive before moving a bullet out that much without inquiring of wiser and more experienced minds before putting together anything this far away from recommended oal specs.

I'm speculating that shortening up that jump might help with accuracy. But I also recognize that if I have too much bullet hanging out of the brass concentricity can become a concern.

Obviously I'm hoping to maximize accuracy from this rifle as I proceed through the load development process and am optimistic about eventually getting some pretty good results. But varying a quarter inch in OAL[from book specs] makes me second guess myself before I pull the trigger on anything like that. Is it "normal to have this much of a jump using a pistol cartridge in a rifle? Will this much jump create accuracy issues? Will they improve with a shorter jump? I know the best way to find out is to load em up and make some incremental changes in search of the one hole group, but this one is far enough outside my comfort zone so as to cause me to ask a couple questions before I start the process.

Thanks for lending your experience and wisdom before I begin this mission.

 

[Yoda]

You can pretty much move that cartridge over all length anyplace you want. I do believe that all loading data for the 44 either coming out of pistol data or rifle data is are limited to saami specs, and the longest length given will still operate in a revolver cylinder. You dont have to follow the COL in your rifle, the problem you going to run into is crimping, again it is more than likely you could line up most all weights of .429 bullets and the cannular will all line up. I also hunt southern MI, I chose the 357 maximum, I also shoot .358 dia. 35 caliber bullets designed for rifles like the 35 Rem.
So to answer your question YES you can seat the bullets longer to get them closer to the lands. And I would start just under the max load in the book and work up from there. BUT unless u buy a Lee collet factory die you wont be able to crimp it, I'm thinking that the bullet cannular on that 225 ftx sets a bit higher that why they want u to trim the case, so u can put the case mouth on the cannular for applying a crimp.( Just my guess).
Where abouts u at in michigan ?


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[grry10]

If the throat in your rifle is long enough to allow you to seat and chamber the FTX it isn't necessary to trim.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with other posters- the OAL restriction is to get it to feed in a repeating rifle and operate in a revolver cylinder.You can ignore that to some degree.

I also wouldn't overly worry about bullet jump in pistol cartridges. Most of these have a significant amount of bullet jump in any application and seem pretty tolerant of it. I'd probably load some at normal brass length to the cannelure and see how they shoot. If it shoots good, I'd likely call it a day.

In a single you also don't need to worry about roll crimping since the cartridge isn't in a tube mag being compressed or being subjected to recoil forces prior to firing as it would in a repeating arm. A standard taper crimp is sufficient for this application- but I would mark them in some manner so they don't get stuffed into a lever action or revolver.

 

[1Shot]

I have not personally loaded for a single shot 44 mag but have for 357 mag and 45 Colt in single shot Contender pistols. You can load to a COAL that will fit into your rifle. I suggest that you do not jam into the lands as some do or I personally do not load closer that 10 thousands inch of the lands because of the chance of sticking a bullet in the barrel when unloading a non fired round. As to how far out to load the bullet out of the case be sure that you leave at least a caliber worth of bullet length in the case. As to powders used some like H110/296 need good neck tension on the bullet to burn right and that means some sort of crimp. You can put some crimp, at least enough to turn the belling of the case back against the bullet with a standard roll crimp without it being into a crimping groove. The best method would be with a taper crimp die. When you load the bullet further out of the case this does increase case volume which in some instances allows some powder addition. I would check the loading manuals that list loads for rifles or for Contender pistols in 44 mag. These loads are usually a little more than for revolvers in other calibers I have worked with but like I said not the 44 mag. With the 357 mag using Hornady 180 XTP in my Contender I could load up to "REVOLVER" starting loads for the 357 MAX by seating the bullet much more out of the case without any problems. You should not have to trim your cases shorter to use the flex tip bullets in your rifle. This operation is for revolvers so you do not have the tip of the bullet sticking out of the cylinder thus not allowing it to rotate and function. In your situation you will just have to treat it like dealing with a wildcat round. Start at a load that you know will be safe and go up SLOWLY. I would not increase powder more than 1/10th grain at a time watching for any pressure signs. If you see any signs of pressure back off to where you did not see any and that is your max. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Yoda]

Hodgdon has loads for both rifle and pistol, powder charges are the same for any given bullet. Saami max pressures are listed at 36000, and the max loads on the hodgdon site keep the pressure right around there. The case strength will be your limiting factor reloading this round not the frame. There are better bullets available for the 44 when it comes to a hunting bullet. These bullet are custom and cost a bit more. Heres a couple places to check them out. Hawk makes bullets out of pure lead and copper and get good reviews. The other company is michigan based- Fury custom bullets, I can vouch for there .358 170gr flat points I see no reason there 44 cal bullets would be any different, what's nice about fury is Dennis is more than willing to talk to you..

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[rquack]

Thanks for the replies. I very much appreciate the insights.

I'll probably be using this particular rifle when hunting at my daughter's house with the son-in-law and grandkids. They live just a few hundred yards south of M46 west of Saginaw. They're only into that "shotgun" zone by about a quarter mile or so. The son-in-law has clear cut a few spots for food plots and done some select cutting of their 55 acres. He's a farm boy with a tractor so he knows how to put in food plots, which is especially important now that Michigan has stopped baiting and feeding to try and control the bad stuff going through the deer herd. I'll probably take it along as a backup gun if I make it up to the UP. His family has a small camp northeast of Escanaba that we use once in a while; lots of state land available. I've also got a small camp southeast of Houghton Lake in the lower that sees occasional use, but there's generally a hunter behind every tree if I stay close to the shack on state land.

I'll need to begin the load development for this rifle as soon as the weather breaks and I can acquire a scope for it. The idea of getting my hands on a taper crimp die sounds like a really good one. You're right on; the cannelure is immediately at the base of the ogive on this bullet.

I also have always tried to stay away from seating any bullets up tight to the lands; I usually begin at factory dimensions and move around [not too far in the past] looking for a sweet spot but always give myself .010 -.015 jump at minimum. Especially on some of the older rifles with rougher throats I like to stay clear of running too close. [I really need to get an opinion on setting the barrel back or a new barrel on a couple of the rifles.]

My LGS recommended the FTX's as they are a bit lighter, demonstrate good expansion and would retain velocity better at extended distances with the plastic tip. I'm surely not married to them. I bought a box to start with and as time goes on and I get a bit more comfortable with the rifle, I'm sure I'll be doing some further experimenting. The Son-in-law bought a CVA single shot 44 mag for the oldest grandson last year to use when hunting in the back yard, so I'm sure I'll be working with my grandson to load up his own hunting ammo for this season and getting him out to practice beforehand. They have a great local gun club less than two miles from their house, so I'm hoping to get some time with the kids to do some trap and skeet shooting too.

The Hornady manual still recommends cutting the brass for this bullet [but I'm relatively certain its due to concern over potential legal repercussions if the ammo finds its way into a different gun]. So I'm leaving mine alone at normal length. This is true even in the section describing 44 mag loads for use in a rifle application; the pistol loads are a bit less aggressive.

I like your recommendation: start out crimping into the cannelure and if it works; great. If not, I I can always begin to move them around until I get good groups. Even out of some his elevated stands shooting across the food plot, I can't imagine a shot much beyond 120 yards or so. Most will be 30 to 80 yards. So I don't NEED bughole accuracy, but I always try to find it. That must be a curse we reloaders are stuck living with.

 

[hogginlong]

Hate to say it here but best load in my 44 contender is the 200 gr Barnes XPB. Plenty of speed and very accurate with a healthy dose of W296. Whitetail hammer!