Shot some of the Special .44 Specials this morning ...

[JimT]

1-44 special -40.JPG

I loaded 25 of these the other day with 6.0 gr. Bullseye and made it to the Range this morning. Shooting 15 yards they hit about 12 inches low so I put an aiming point on the target and shot at it. This is typical of how they shot.

IMG_5553.JPG

Velocity was fairly low ... 700 - 800 fps is my guess. I think they need to be driven faster.

I moved back to 25 yards and fired my old standard load with the Keith bullet ... 6.5 gr. Unique ..

IMG_5555.JPG

I spent a bit of time playing with these .. .shooting clay pigeons on the bank ... then shooting the fragments ... the old .44 Special is just plain nice to shoot.

[Walt]

Not surprisingly, it looks like your "special" bullets are beginning to keyhole on your first target.

Nice shooting, Jim. Thanks for the pictures.

[GunnyMack]

These are the empty 40 S&W brass right Jim? Don't think they are tumbling as much as trying to 'right ' itself( weight forward ) .
Try filling the case with clay, caulk, window glazing?

[Bill in Oregon]

First I heard o' this Jim. Now I am wondering if you could fill that case with flour and put a wad over the mouth -- and have a little visual poof! when it hits something solid -- like the hind end of a watermelon thief ...

[GunnyMack]

First I heard o' this Jim. Now I am wondering if you could fill that case with flour and put a wad over the mouth -- and have a little visual poof! when it hits something solid -- like the hind end of a watermelon thief ...

That might get ya in trouble Bill !!

[Bill in Oregon]

Will, in that Disney movie, they used rock salt ...

[JimT]

These are the empty 40 S&W brass right Jim? Don't think they are tumbling as much as trying to 'right ' itself( weight forward ) .
Try filling the case with clay, caulk, window glazing?

If you push them fast enough they stay 'point on" quite a long ways. In the .475 Linebaugh we shot .45 ACP cases as they are exactly the correct diameter for the bore. We pushed them to 2100 fps from a 5 1/2" barrel. On the handgun silhouette range they took the chickens down nicely.

The .40 is slightly undersize for the .44 Special. I am thinking that upping the pressures might help.

[JimT]

First I heard o' this Jim. Now I am wondering if you could fill that case with flour and put a wad over the mouth -- and have a little visual poof! when it hits something solid -- like the hind end of a watermelon thief ...

That might get ya in trouble Bill !!

I am sure it would get a person in trouble since the empty .40 cartridge running 800 fps will penetrate quite a bit of pine.

[GunnyMack]

True Jim on the undersized, however if ya put some lead in them they shoot pretty well. And if you fill a 9mm with lead, Flux the 40 case and solder together ya get some deep penetrating solids.

I loaded some rock salt for a friend that had a bear always tossing his trash can. I told him to make sure to clean the barrel of his shotgun after!!

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thinking out loud……I know, that’s dangerous.

What if you loaded them base forward? Would the mouth of the .40 case expand to fill up the bore?

You could use the extraction groove as a crimping groove. Short wadcutter but it might fly more like a shuttlecock.

[JimT]

Thinking out loud……I know, that’s dangerous.

What if you loaded them base forward? Would the mouth of the .40 case expand to fill up the bore?

You could use the extraction groove as a crimping groove. Short wadcutter but it might fly more like a shuttlecock.

If you don't fill the case with something solid it blows the primer on down the bore and leaves the case stuck part way down your barrel. I found out the hard way.

[Nath]

They would throw some modern law enforcement officers if they pulled one out of a victim....
" Hey we are looking for a 40s&w, says so right here on the bullet.....!

[JimT]

They would throw some modern law enforcement officers if they pulled one out of a victim....
" Hey we are looking for a 40s&w, says so right here on the bullet.....!

laughing.JPG

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thinking out loud……I know, that’s dangerous.

What if you loaded them base forward? Would the mouth of the .40 case expand to fill up the bore?

You could use the extraction groove as a crimping groove. Short wadcutter but it might fly more like a shuttlecock.

If you don't fill the case with something solid it blows the primer on down the bore and leaves the case stuck part way down your barrel. I found out the hard way.

Would a felt wad be enough to remedy this? You are making me curious.

[GunnyMack]

Eh, just load a loaded 40 in the case and shoot the perp- then the coroner would be really cornfused!

[JimT]

Eh, just load a loaded 40 in the case and shoot the perp- then the coroner would be really cornfused!

The loaded cartridge will fire as it's being shot down the barrel.

[JimT]

Thinking out loud……I know, that’s dangerous.

What if you loaded them base forward? Would the mouth of the .40 case expand to fill up the bore?

You could use the extraction groove as a crimping groove. Short wadcutter but it might fly more like a shuttlecock.

If you don't fill the case with something solid it blows the primer on down the bore and leaves the case stuck part way down your barrel. I found out the hard way.

Would a felt wad be enough to remedy this? You are making me curious.

I don't know. You could try it. Have a good stout rod and a hammer close by in case it don't work.

[GunnyMack]

Eh, just load a loaded 40 in the case and shoot the perp- then the coroner would be really cornfused!

The loaded cartridge will fire as it's being shot down the barrel.

True so just size and seat a bullet then

[bcraig]

1-44 special -40.JPG
I loaded 25 of these the other day with 6.0 gr. Bullseye and made it to the Range this morning. Shooting 15 yards they hit about 12 inches low so I put an aiming point on the target and shot at it. This is typical of how they shot.

IMG_5553.JPG

Velocity was fairly low ... 700 - 800 fps is my guess. I think they need to be driven faster.

I moved back to 25 yards and fired my old standard load with the Keith bullet ... 6.5 gr. Unique ..
IMG_5555.JPG

I spent a bit of time playing with these .. .shooting clay pigeons on the bank ... then shooting the fragments ... the old .44 Special is just plain nice to shoot.

Now this is very interesting !

[samsi]

Thinking out loud……I know, that’s dangerous.

What if you loaded them base forward? Would the mouth of the .40 case expand to fill up the bore?

You could use the extraction groove as a crimping groove. Short wadcutter but it might fly more like a shuttlecock.

If you don't fill the case with something solid it blows the primer on down the bore and leaves the case stuck part way down your barrel. I found out the hard way.

Now you've piqued my interest.

What was the velocity/accuracy of the primer alone? Was the cartridge firing in the barrel also discovered the hard way?

[JimT]

What was the velocity/accuracy of the primer alone? Was the cartridge firing in the barrel also discovered the hard way?

Sending a PM

[Scott Tschirhart]

Jim,

I remember the old Speer half jacketed bullets (sadly long discontinued) used to carry a warning that they be shot at or above a certain velocity. I’m guessing that if they were shot at too low a velocity it would pop out the core like a cork and leave the jacket in the barrel.

[JimT]

Jim,

I remember the old Speer half jacketed bullets (sadly long discontinued) used to carry a warning that they be shot at or above a certain velocity. I’m guessing that if they were shot at too low a velocity it would pop out the core like a cork and leave the jacket in the barrel.

I don't recall much about them but I remember they had a limit on velocity also. We ran some of them really hard and the soft nose set back and leaded the barrel like crazy!