Help getting started 44-40 Reloading

[longinosoap]

All good advice. I learn from these guys still. I started out on a Lee single stage that my brother gave me. Probably loaded 10000 rounds on it. But the knowledge gained from that process was invaluable. Now, I load 38/357, 44-40 and 45 LC on a Lee Turrett. Still load 223 on the single stage though.

All my dies are from Lee. Now that I have them set, I never have to adjust them. I use a caliper from Harbor Freight. Hornady tumbler with walnut media cleans my brass. I prime on the turret press, simply because I have all the components to do it and it's simple. For 223, I still hand prime with the old Lee primer. I still prefer it over using the press. Like many have said, read all the info you can. I learned with the Lyman book and the Lee book. The only cases I trim are the 223. I bought the trimmers for all the other calibers, but I no longer use them, so save your money. I use Lee case lube on a RCBS case lube pad and Alox tumble lube for the bullets. I cast my own with the Lee molds. I weigh the powder charge on a Cabelas electronic scale but started with the Lee scale. Again, that was a great way to learn about measuring powder charges and how each powder is different. Now, I use the Lee Pro Auto Disk on the turret and the Lee Perfect Powder dropper for the 223. I also recommend the Lee Powder Measure Kit which I use for black powder. Depending on how accurate you want to load, you may want a powder trickler to fine tune your charges.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

My reloading experience started out with a Lyman Ideal tong tool, bullet mold, pot and dipper.

Now I have 3 Dillon progressive presses, an RCBS Rockchucker single stage press, scales, bullet lubricating press, and a shop full of dies and other large and small tools. There is always something that will make loading ammunition easier, faster, more fun, or more accurate.

Don't worry it took me over 60 years to accumulate all this stuff and still expanding.

Just get used to the idea that there is always something out there you will want or need to make life or ammunition better.

My only advise is when you buy new equipment go first class even though it will cost more it will last longer. A good example is the Dillon "no BS warranty" it is no BS if it wears out or breaks they will replace it and that is from personal experience fixing a worn out part on a third hand press.

Good luck and hold center

Bunk

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

I have heard it said that the cheapest way to buy tools, without wasting your money, is to buy only when there is a need. My thoughts on reloading "stuff" is the same.  Get the basics, and accumulate the nice-to-have as the need developes.

[w44wcf]

(Bullet cited was http://www.cowboybullets.com/44-cal-200-grain_p_21.html)

If so (and at that weight), that looks like the Magma 44-200 RNFP FlatBase
http://www.magmaengineering.com/PDF/FBOct132008b.pdf

That bullet Magma drawiing appears to have a cleaning band rather than smooth transition into the crimp groove.  Is that really the case?



post script:  Looking at it, that's not a bad price.  :-)

The Magma has a full diameter base of  the nose forward of the crimp groove which goes directly into the ogive but no pronounced forward band like on the Saeco, RCBS and 427098.



w44wcf

[cpt dan blodgett]

Whether or not you will ever need to trim your 44 - 40 brass to length depends on a couple of things.  One is the head space of the gun it is fied in.  Just for grins let us say the dimension of the case from bottom of the rim to shoulder is 1.000 inches.  If the dimension of the guns chamber from the recoil shield if a revolver or the bolt face of a rifle was exactly 1.000 inches the case would generally remain the same length.  This is never the case in practice there is probably .003 - .005 difference or even more between the dimension of a fired case from bottom of the rim to the shoulder.  This happens because when the cartridge is fired pressure causes the case to essential fill all the available space between the front of the bolt to the shoulder in the chamber.  The problem is compounded by the increased diameter of the fired case relative to the unfired or resized case. 

As the case is resized the brass has to go somewhere.  It cannot move anywhere but away from the base of the case.  The larger the overall diameter change and the larger the distance the shoulder is set back the more the case will grow.  Many people will adjust there sizing die to essentially neck size the case or only very slightly set back the shoulder.  With lever action rifles and revolvers if the case is not resized sufficiently there can be loading / feeding problems.

Until the case gets past the max case length there is generally not a safety problem.  There can be problems with bulged cases if doing roll crimps and the case is longer than the case that was used when the die was adjusted.  Your rather inexpensive dial or digital caliper will tell you if your cases are significantly longer.  A couple of thousandths of an inch will not be a big deal unless the case is longer than max length then you may have a situation where the case is jammed up into the lead on the barrel and there is no room for the case to expand and release the bullet.

Others have suggested a Lee Factory Crimp die for your 44-40.  This is a collet die that pushes the crimp in from the side and does not press down on the mouth of the case like a standard roll crimp die.  This eliminates bulging of cases that are longer than the one used to adjust the die.

Get your manual read it, use your caliper and have fun.  This is not rocket science but a degree of care must be used.  Common errors that lead to problems are forgetting to add powder causing squibs that may leave a bullet in the barrel which generally gets really exciting if another round is fired or catastrophic results from putting multiple charges in a case.  Many of the faster powders have pretty small charge volume and 2 to 4 or more charges of powder can fit it the case essentially turning the gun into a grenade.

I generally charge my cases put them in a loading block in batches of 50 and visually inspect to ensure powder is present and the charges in the case are all the same height before I start seating bullets.

[Bunk Stagnerg]

I will agree that rimless bottleneck cases do require trimming after repeated high pressure reloading because the brass does flow and increase the OAL of the case. In high pressure cartridges the brass flow can lengthen the case until the case neck wedges into the leade of the rifling and result in over pressure problems.

The head space of bottle neck cases is determined by the distance from a datum reference point that is usually, but not necessarily, the shoulder of the case and the case head. For straight case rimless cartridges, for example, the .45 ACP or the .30 M1 Carbine, the datum reference point is the case mouth and careless trimming these cartridges will result in excessive head space.

Rimmed cases either bottle neck or straight cases are completely different because the head space is determined by the case rim thickness.  A couple of bottle neck rimed cases are the .30 USA, and the .303 British. 

The .30-30WCF which can be used in CAS shooting is a bottle neck case, but I doubt that CAS loads would be high enough pressure to cause the case to lengthen. The bottle neck on the .44-40 is so slight and such a low pressure round that brass flow is highly unlikely

The only reason to trim a .44-40 or most cartridges used in CAS shooting would be to square the case mouth to insure a constant crimp, otherwise it is time spent solving a nonexistent problem.

Respectfully submitted
Bunk