Powder Inc. to offer Vintage Hunting Round

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
We have talked with Powder Inc. to let them know What we need . We want a 44wcf that is like the ORIGINAL . We want it to shoot at 1300 fps and to be as clean as black powder can be . They are listening to us . Thanks everyone for the input over the last couple months . And especially w44wcf Thanks again .

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
That is good news.   Hopefully they will be using SWISS based on the targets I had sent them where it was clearly superior both in group size and fouling control with their Black Dawge bullets.

Will they be sending you some ammunition for a field test?

Always happy to help out whenever I can based on my experiences with the 44 WCF / 44-40.

Thank you for the opportunity.

w44wcf

[Wolfgang]

Ok . .that sounds interesting . . . . but . . . . why not just make your own ?   

[Pettifogger]

Real simple to make.  Fill up case with BP and use a SOFT lead bullet with BP lube.  Was digging around the closet.  I have an original Winchester bullet mold for the .44 WCF.  If anyone is interested send me a PM and I'll send some photos.

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
The test ammo from Powder Inc. is sitting in my Gun Room waiting for the trials on Sunday .

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
That is good news. Looking forward to your report.

Pettifogger, I am fortunate enough to have the same mold. It is a neat piece of Winchester history. For the very best results with the two lube groove bullets, I have found that SWISS is the powder of choice based on the number of tests I have run with other b.p.'s.

Wolfgang,
For those of us that reload, that's the best way, to date, to get good quality b.p. ammunition. For those '73 owners that don't roll their own, hopefully the new prototype ammuntion from Powder Inc. that Rowdy will be testing will prove to be equal.

w44wcf       

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
Today I got to sample the first samples of the Vintage ammo from Powder Inc.  He had 2 samples one with KIK powder and the other was with SWISS . The swiss was MUCH cleaner and the Velocities was higher . The wind was blowing at times up to 30 mph so trying to shoot for accuracy was out of the question even though I tried . Will try the accuracy on a calmer day . I was really impressed with the SWISS powder . When I looked  down the barrel after 23 rounds it was like I had been shooting a dirty Unique load . Now the KIK was a different story the barrel was fouled about a a foot and it was hard fouling . Will try to keep everyone up to date on the new project . And yes the swiss load was over 1300 fps .
                                                                 

[Grizzly Adams]

Very cool!

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
Thank you for the range report.  Your results are similar to my handloads using the Black Dawge bullets in combination with Swiss and KIK powders.

It is very encouraging to hear that Black Dawge has an interest in producing good quality 44-40 b.p. ammunition. Hopefully, thanks to your efforts, they will soon offer a new, much improved, 44-40 b.p. cartridge.

Did the test boxes of ammunition that they sent to you indicate the granulation (FFG, etc) and grs. of powder that they used in the test rounds?

w44wcf 

.   

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
The loads were 35 gr of 3f KIK and 35 gr. of 3f SWISS . The next batch of bullets will have a softer alloy . Hopefully they will bump in in the larger bores . Cleaning up the SWISS was very easy , the barrel looked as if I had a dirty smokeless load . This was my first experience using SWISS powder . It was a real pleasant experience .
Now as for the KIK powder , well let's just say SWISS kiked their a$$ . 

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
Thank you for the information.  I kind of wish that they went with Swiss FFG rather than FFFG.  Recently I tested 34/Swiss FFFG to see how it would do and the velocity averaged a fast 1,364 f.p.s.  35 grs would be close to 1,400 f.p.s. which, to me, is a bit too fast.  I find that accuracy with Swiss FFG is a bit better than with Swiss FFFG.

w44wcf 

[Rowdy Fulcher]

W44wcf
We haven't finished all testing yet . We know that the powder will be SWISS , but the final product will be perfect . A truly Premium round .

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
Just curious on what the current status might be(?). When do you expect to have more cartridges for testing?
Do you know if Black Dawge has a certain date that they want to introduce their new b.p. ammo by?

Thank you,
w44wcf

[Rowdy Fulcher]

W44wcf
Everything is still on track . We are still testing . There are different calibers too . As far as the date that it will hit the shelves
But it is on it's way . We just have to be patience . 

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
Received the next lot of ammo from Powder Inc. Not only were there 44wcf butt there were 45 lc ,45-60 , 45-70 . Can't wait to shoot these different calibers . Waiting on the weather to improve

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
Today I was able to shoot the 44 wcf with the 35 grains of 2f . The chronograph showed a velocity of 1255 average , the low was 1253 fps and the high was only 1257 fps . Today I fired 33 rounds and the accuracy was good from start to finish . After firing all 33 rounds the barrel was lightly fouled .Clean up was easy , oh I used the trick of a fired piece of brass in the chamber to keep the mess of cleaning out of the action .  I also fired a few out of a Smoke Wagon in 4 3/4 in barrel it averaged about 865 fps over the chronograph . And yes it was a handful .

[w44wcf]

Rowdy,
Thank you for the range report. Excellent!! Very encouraging!  
Did you test them for accuracy as well?
I assume these rounds were with the softer bullets(?)
If so, would you know what the bullet hardness is?

Going to 37 grs would bring the velocity to 1,300 f.p.s. but 50 fps won't make any noticeable difference of the cartridge's game harvesting ability.

w44wcf

[Rowdy Fulcher]

44
The lead was the same the softer lead is being cast into bullets now .Will have them in a few weeks . As far as accuracy it was a windy day and really didn't have a good chance to do a good test . I think the accuracy is there I hit what I was shooting at . I have saved 10 rounds to shoot the final group at 50 yards . I have loads with 3f and 2f for comparison . The one thing I can say is the Swiss is Extremely clean . I am looking forward to this Deer season to use the New ammo for Hunting . 

[Wayne the Shrink]

Do we know how the bullets are sized?  .427, .429, .430? 

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Wayne
They are .428 at present .