Advise needed

I just bought a H&R model 155 44 mag handi-rifle. Mine is one of the first generation. Mine, after spending 2 hours removing the leading, appears to have very shallow rifling. The twist rate is 1/2 revolution of the cleaning rod in the length of the barrel. Due to the amount of leading I am assuming the previous owner shot cast or the lead factory pistol loads. Any advise on this rifle with cast bullets will be greatly appreciated. I have shot cast for years, but this is my first 44 mag rifle.
 

Ian

Notorious member
An impact impression of the chamber and throat would be a good place to start, as well as looking for a 200-grain bullet mould.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
An impact impression of the chamber and throat would be a good place to start, as well as looking for a 200-grain bullet mould.

And get that lead out. Chore-Boy copper scrubber wrapped around a bronze bore brush is pretty effective.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
That sounds a whole lot like 1-38" twist made famous by Winchester in their 44/40 WCF Model 1873 lever rifles, and now perpetuated by Marlin in their 44 caliber rifle barrels. H&R followed suit, it appears. I agree with Ian entirely, and I suspect that your throat and groove diameters will run larger than the idiot-wind .429" "standard" hewed to by a lot of bulletmakers. FWIW, the 44 Magnum's SAAMI chart shows a maximum throat and groove diameter of .433", and a large number of 44 Magnum revolvers of my acquaintance run that large--especially S&Ws of the 1970s and 80s. Leading is a classic indication of under-sized bullets and/or under-sized expander spuds. Make those 200 grain 44 caliber projectiles shorter, fatter, and harder to work well in that barrel you are describing.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
..........I suspect that your throat and groove diameters will run larger than the idiot-wind .429" "standard" hewed to by a lot of bulletmakers.............

And I have some 265 grain .433", .434" bullets cast up that I could donate should this H&R barrel turn out to be about par (large) even though the twist seems slow for the weight. It's a pretty stubby bullet for the weight and has worked well in a couple H&Rs and one Marlin 94.
 
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I found a great way to remove leading, although a little late in the process. The brass screens the weed smokers use in their pipes, 1" in diameter fit over the jag. I saw a package at the local one stop store for .99 cents. The brass is pretty soft and it brings large hunks of lead out.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Those Lewis Lead Removers are right nice to have when needed. Of course, that tried & true "Chore Boy copper fibers wrapped around a played-out bore brush" method if pretty effective as well.
 

Ian

Notorious member
From what I understand the crack-heads use the copper scrubber pads to stuff in their pipes.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have gone all Bret on this and use an old bore brush and some OOOO steel wool.
Luckily I have learned to avoid leading a barrel in the first place but knowing how to remove it is a worthwhile skill. And all to frequently used skill.
 

Ian

Notorious member
4-O or 6-O steel wool or even bronze wool are what I use more than anything if I happen to get a little leading or wash in the bore.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
that's where mine ended up.

airc the 44 mag rifle barrels are specced to 431 to begin with.
shallow rifling and small bullets are a 100% sure way to leave behind half a bullet per trigger pull.

I'd start shopping around for a 200gr bullet that pours out at 433-434 or thereabouts, and gather up some lino-type to start mixing an alloy with.
big fat soft slow bullets will clean out a barrel in just a few shots.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I really hate to sound like all the tacticool powder-coat fanbois but I have to mention that it would solve both the (probable) large throat and bore with standard-sized production moulds as well as the shallow rifling problem.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I'll second on
Slug it
And
0000 wool on a spent brush .

I'll also note that , not recently , I too have needed the lead removal skills in fact I fouled up a brand new 223 last awful mess I made . Turns out it's a pretty raggedy barrel .......
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I would try .432 bullets. If a .433 will chamber try them too. Staying at 240 gr and under is likely best.
 
I found my soft lead sinkers today, my barrel is 6 groove. The grooves are shallow, and the barrel slugged .433+. I slugged from the muzzle end and the slug loosened up at the chamber. the grooves are so close it was hard to get an accurate measure, but I am certain it is at least .432, as I said the measurement window is small. I do not have a mold yet but I can buy a small amount of .433 slugs from Penn Bullets and try them. I have a .432 H&I die if they are tight in the chamber. Am I on the right track?
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I bet a .433 chambers fine but your seated and crimp die won’t be happy.
What brand Seater are you using? My Hornady seater needed some mods before it would handle a .433 bullet.