.44/40 Reloading

[Grapeshot]

For all you reloaders out there here's a story that should get your attention.

When I first got my .44/40 Henry (1860) I reloaded some .44 LSWC's that were .430 in diameter.  Well I had a bunch that wouldn't fit in the chamber because the bullets were too big.  So in my own brilliant manner I ran the loaded cartridges back through my resizing die, after I first removed the decapping stem/pin, to squeez the .430 bullets down a few thousandths of an inch.

All went well with all but three.  These three colapsed and I had a shortened .44/40 casing with no shoulder to speak of and a relatively long neck.

Well, the ones that didn't colapse fired all right.  The ones that telescoped into a shorter case length fit in the chamber and I decided to fire them thinking that they would expand back to the original  size.

I fired the first one and when I ejected the empty casing it was missing the neck.  I about near panicked.  I got my bore light and checked the chamber to see if the case had separated and left the neck in the chamber.

No brass in the chamber, so I fired the second shortie.  Same thing, case separated where the case had telescoped and had gone down the barrel and into the target.  Third one did the same.  I had managed to create a jacked bullet out of the case and lead bullet. 

I have now made it a point to use only use .428 - .429 inch diameter bullets and I will NEVER attempt to use my case sizing die to size an over size bullet that's still seated in the cartridge case.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Whoa!  That's strange.
I size my MAV .44's for .44 WCF to .429".

Slim

[Stoney Pete]

What brass are you using? 

I use .430 in all my .44WCF and all rounds chamber in both my Cimarron Model P's and my '73 unless I use R&P brass.  The case wall is too thick.  Starline and Winchester work fine.

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

I use .429s in most .44-40s, but I have hit several originals that would not chamber them. Original Colt Lightning rifles won't take a bullet over .427". Some original '73 Winchesters I've tested also won't accept anything over a .427".

As far as re-sizing a loaded round, I've done it plenty of times without a problem, but based I your experiences I guess I might not always be so lucky.

[Driftwood Johnson]

Uberti 44-40 barrels can be all over the place. My '73 slugs out at .427. Actually down around .4267 if I get out my micrometer. I feed it .427 bullets. You won't really know what size bullet you need until you slug it.

If you use relatively thick brass, you can start running into trouble trying to use a large bullet, say .429-.430 in a tight chamber. My own '73 starts to balk if I try to stuff a .429 bullet seated in Winchester brass into my chamber. That's why I keep my bullets down to .427.

Resizing loaded rounds is never a good idea. By squashing the loaded round into the die, you are resizing the part of the bullet seated within the neck down farther then it was to begin with. Think about it for a second. If your bullet started out at .429, and it is seated in brass .007 thick, and then you squash the brass down again, you are shrinking the portion of the driving band that is inside the brass down even further, resulting in a kind of heeled bullet, with a very short driving band at nominal diameter.

[Dakota Dan from OZ]

I use 427 dia projectiles in rifles,I have a Colt Lightning,1894 Marlin built in 1895.and a 73 Uberti.

I load both Blackpowder and Smokeless useing R/P cases. This works well in all firearms.

Dakota Dan from OZ