If you had just one .44 mold ...

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Bill in Oregon
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If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Since I can't log on at Cast Boolits, I thought I would ask here: If you could have just one mold for the .44 Magnum to hunt big game, target-shoot and shoot long range, which one would it be?
I don't think a fella can go far wrong with the Lyman or RCBS version of the Keith, but there might be something with a little wore weight and a wider meplat that will do this work. I understand that if you get too wide a meplat, you can lose long-range stability with some designs.
mickbr
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by mickbr »

Another vote for the Keith designs
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fordwannabe
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by fordwannabe »

I would go with the M&P in that case. Mine is a two cavity with three sets of pins. One flat point, one small hollowpoint, and one large penta point. Right at $100 in brass and gives you some options. Buuuit I shoot a lot of the Keith too.
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JimT
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by JimT »

There's only one "Do It All" cast .44 Bullet as far as I am concerned.
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Rockrat
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Rockrat »

Keith design. I have an Arsenal mould I use nowadays as my old Lyman 4 cav gets pretty heavy after awhile.
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JimT
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by JimT »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:53 am I understand that if you get too wide a meplat, you can lose long-range stability with some designs.
I did extensive shooting with the WFN bullets using the .454 Casull many years ago.

I once set a 5 gallon bucket full of rocks at 300 yards on a nice open hillside. Then I proceeded to shoot at it with various bullets and loads using my Freedom Arms 454 Casull.

- The 350 gr. LBT WFN would not stay in a 10 foot circle at that distance when fired at 850 fps.

- Neither would the 330 gr. LBT WFN.

- The LBT LFN's of all weights that I had were very accurate at that velocity.

- So was the Keith 260 gr. SWC. If I did my part the bucket got thumped regularly.

When I kicked the velocity of the 330 and 350 gr. LBT WFN's up over 1400 fps they shot more accurately. To get top accuracy from the 350 gr. bullet I had to run it around 1600 fps. This was outside the parameters of the test. What I was trying to see was the accuracy of bullets at velocities such as were normal in the early part of the 20th Century. Or what you would get from a .38 Special or Colt SAA or some other firearm that was not intended for extremely high pressure high - velocity loads.

Tests run using my Ruger .357 Magnum and a S&W Model 10 and full-wadcutters only confirmed what other had written years before. Full-wadcutters are not normally good long-range bullets.

The Keith SWC's in .357, .41, .44 and .45 all work well at extended ranges. They also perform well as game bullets and as target bullets. I got good accuracy over a wide range of velocities with the Keith bullets. Fast or slow they shot well. They are pretty much an "all-around" bullet.
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mikld
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by mikld »

I used a Lyman 420421 for many years until I got a Puma and had feeding problems. I discovered Ranch Dog's design molds (via Lee) and bought 2, one 240 gr. RNFP and a 265 gr. RNFP. Very good, accurate shooting in all 5 of my 44 Magnums. My Rossi 92 seems to "prefer" the 265 gr bullet (cast from my 12-13 BHN Mystery Metal and lubed with 45-45-10).
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Twodot
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Twodot »

don't know how this one would feed in a levergun, but shoots lights-out in a revolver when loaded over some 2400.
429244_Lyman.jpg
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piller
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by piller »

LBT style with the Wide Flat Nose in my .480 give great accuracy if I push them to about max loadings. At moderate velocity they give a group that is not worth posting about. For short to medium range and heavy loads, they work well and hit with authority. Long Flat Nose of the LBT style are a little more accepting of moderate power in my .480. Accuracy is good at 100 yards with loads that are mild kicking. I have only ever seen Keith style in other calibers. My point is that the wide flat nose bullets have not given me good 100 yard accuracy unless pushed to 1400 or 1500 fps with 410 grain or heavier bullets in .480. I have used Keith style in .357 and .44 Magnum and they are accurate enough that I quit bothering to find other designs for lead. If I find Keith style bullets in 325 grain or a little more for my .480, that is what I plan to use for the lead loadings. I don't have the trigger time or the experience that Jim T. And some others here have. Even so, I can see what works best among the limited experience I have. I like the loud smack and the immediate reaction from the LBT WFN when I want something knocked down and barrel rolled at close range, but for all around good results and not necessarily needing to be pushed to maximum ouch speed, Keith style do work well in the calibers I have tried them in.
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6pt-sika
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by 6pt-sika »

In the 44 MAG RIFLES if I only had one more than likely the Ranch Dog 432-240GC , if it’s a revolver only most likely the same thing . If we’re talking 444 rifles be it micro groove Ballard or the Ruger #3 rechamber I have it would most likely be the Ranch Dog 432-265GC . I suspect I’ve got between 40 to 50 44 cal molds and ALL sizes of the original RD molds have worked well for me as well as the hybrid RD molds I had cut in 325 , 365 , 375 and 400 grains although the 400 only works in my Ballard rifled 444 and to be honest the 375 in the micro barrels is right at the ragged edge for stabilization at 100 yards . In the 44 MAG rifles (336-44) I went up as high as 325 and again at 100 yards from the 44 rifle the 325 was right at the ragged edge .
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6pt-sika
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by 6pt-sika »

Twodot wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:39 am don't know how this one would feed in a levergun, but shoots lights-out in a revolver when loaded over some 2400.

429244_Lyman.jpg

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It’ll feed if you work with it a bit . I’ve killed deer using lever action 444’s using every commercially manufactured SWC GC mold Lyman and RCBS make that’s 215-300 grainers . Now don’t expect to work the lever at Jack off speeds like the SASS do but it works fine in a hunting situation .
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
Ray Newman
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Ray Newman »

Another vote for the Keith design!
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Grizz
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Grizz »

this is beartooth bullets heaviest 44 mag bullet. it is shocking the kind of penetration it can produce at around 1000fps. one enthusiastic adopter penetrated 13 one gallon jugs.

my load is running 960-ish and penetrates like crazy. it's the only load I shoot in my 5-1/2" redhawk.

a LOT OF THE PERFORMANCE is due to Marshall's alloy.
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TomF
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by TomF »

429421. If I have only 1, no gas check to scrounge for. Plus mine throws large enough without additional tin.
I'm feeding a pair of 44 Specials. Have not tried it in 44 long gun yet.
Bill in Oregon
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Looks like a feller can't go too far wrong with the good old Lyman 429421 or the 429244.
Bronco
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Bronco »

One vote for LBT LFN 280 gr gc !
By the time it goes into the case it weighs 300grs ! Accuracy is good over a pile of 2400.
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6pt-sika
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by 6pt-sika »

Bronco wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:47 am One vote for LBT LFN 280 gr gc !
By the time it goes into the case it weighs 300grs ! Accuracy is good over a pile of 2400.
I’ve got an LBT 433-280GC mold now which nose it has I couldn’t tell you . I know I had Veral cut me four at one time a 260 that 280 a 375 and a 400 all GC and all .433” . I’ve since picked up a couple used ones that came in the shop and again 44 cal . There was a time I had over two dozen Micro Groove 444’s and I loaded a different cast bullet for each . So things to get screwed up I had a piece of masking tape on each one with the bullet and load written on it . That LBT 433-280GC was the bullet I used in a 444 to kill my first black bear . He was at nine lasered yards looking up at me sitting in a ladder stand , he wasn’t big but we were doing damage control and were told to shoot uhm as you see uhm so I brained the guy .
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
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earlmck
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by earlmck »

Bronco wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:47 am One vote for LBT LFN 280 gr gc !
By the time it goes into the case it weighs 300grs ! Accuracy is good over a pile of 2400.
Yep. Though I use a pile and a quarter of something called H108 (a scosh faster than H110) that I got a lifetime supply of through some bargain deal about 25 years ago.
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Bill in Oregon »

That LBT was tempting, but I ended up ordering the RCBS version of Elmer's slug -- the .44-250 K. Expect it will do what I want done.
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by 3leggedturtle »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 8:10 am That LBT was tempting, but I ended up ordering the RCBS version of Elmer's slug -- the .44-250 K. Expect it will do what I want done.
I was gonna say a Keith type 240-255gr SWC. I do like looking at all the options on the custom mold makers website.
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

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Grizz
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Grizz »

oddly enough I recently found the one 44 mold I have, a 6 hole RD432405, which I have in case I ever run out of Marshall's 405gr bullet. the RD has a slightly rounded ogive, like the cast performance 460. I prefer the truncated cone but it wasn't offered when I bought the mold..

I hunted in Alaska for many years with a 325gr truncated cone, close in shape to Marshall's 405TC and took somewhere between 50 and a hundred plus blacktails with a superblackhawk, so I got to see a lot of wounds of every description. these were shots made from nearly contact distance to something like 70 yards, plus or minus. head shots, heart shots, general boiler room shots, spine shots, I only ever recovered one bullet which exited the back of the skull and tracked along the spine, wiping out several vertebrae. Holes thru bones were round with no splintering, "eat right up to the hole" type of wounds. The 405gr out-performs, TKO and penetration-wise, the 325 with margins for perhaps a charging bear or moose. It's the redhawk load and won't stabilize in the crippling 1:38 barrels common to 44mag rifles.

I did plink at cans at "long range" with a 4" smith 66 shooting white box 357s. by long range I mean distances that I would not try to shoot a deer with that revolver, although it did take some deer closer in.... so, at distances where the can appeared far smaller than the front sight, once I found the elevation I could hit the cans well enough to know the windage was on at that distance.

BTW, for my version of hand gun hunting, I sight in for windage and find the load's natural trajectory and worked with that. If a deer is not alerted or paniced I can walk a shot in because I am certain of the windage. IOW, hold on the hair of the spine I will break the spine, or take out both lungs, or blow up the heart, which is the consistent result of that load.

I have never shot cast bullets at what would be considered scope ranges, mostly because those setups are hard to find in SE Alaska. Long range would be something like plinking starfish from the boat with the scoped 338.

Of course all of this was Then, the Distant past, glowing memories, and maybe unobtanium hoy dia . . .
Bill in Oregon
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Just broke in the RCBS 430-250 K this morning.
Some of Veral's designs might be a bit better at doing some tasks, but gee I get a warm fuzzy feeling casting Keith bullets for a .44. 8)

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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by 3leggedturtle »

I like the Porcupine chewed Custom Sprue mallet too!
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
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Re: If you had just one .44 mold ...

Post by M. M. Wright »

I agree that the Keith bullet works great in revolvers but I need a bullet that feeds smoothly in my 73s. Also needs to carry enough lube for 20" barrel when propelled by black powder. I've got a 2 cavity mold that works but I can't find it right now. Throws a 200 grain round nose flat point of .429 dia. that has a single big lube groove and a crimp groove in just the right place for 44-40 to be the right length for 73s. Nah, I don't even own a 44 Mag any more.
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