New 44 mag mould

[Brad]

I just got this one from Josh today. Had some time so I put some handles on it, turned on the pot, and set it on the hot plate to get warmed up. Josh suggested a few heat cycles to get a straw color on the mould, I went beyond that and got it pretty well heat blued. It was hot enough to give good bullets from the first pour.
Bullets dropped free with little effort, a gentle tap to the handle hinge was needed on occaision.
These should do well in the 44 mag Marlin and my Super Redhwak. I will start with H110 following the data from Hodgdon. They show a max of 24 gr with a 240 gr jacketed, these weigh 242. Quickload shows a max of closer to 25 gr as this is a cast bullet. Both data sources show a max velocity in a 20 in barrel of 1825 or so, I will stop once I get into the 1800 fps range.



This is the new bullet next to a 265 RD. This bullet sure takes up a lot less powder space. Might be why Quickload shows H110 goes over pressure at under 95% case fill.

I think this is going to shoot well in the Marlin.

 

[KHornet]

Super looking projectile!

 

[Brad]

Checks go on easily. It does have a mid depth lube groove, shallower than a Keith but deeper than Lee.
It is a fat little guy

 

[Blaster]

Have you measured the nose? Looks bigger than the body in the pic. Might not be a bad thing in the Marlin.

 

[Rick]

I would start with 23.5 gr H-110 and carefully work up from there. Don't let a velocity stop you, let the groups decide what is max. Groups should shrink as you approach an optimum load, going past that even 0.5 gr and groups open up. Back it down 1/2 gr from there and you should be good to go.

What is the meplat on this bullet?

Blaster, the nose can't be bigger than the body of the bullet if it's been run through a nose first die. Pretty sure Brad uses a Star.

.

 

[Brad]

The bullet casts just over .432 with this alloy. My 432+ sizer in the Star just touches the bands, including the full diameter portion on the nose.
The bullet was designed by Badgeredd for lever actions.

 

[Brad]

Meplat measures .320 near as I can tell. That makes it 74%. It is a bit larger than a Keith but smaller than the RD.

 

[Blaster]

Optical illusion. Should work great!

 

[Brad]

Made up a dummy round, feeds great from magazine. No nose engraving in the Marlin so it chambers slick as could be.
I checked it in the SRH. The nose does not enter the throats. I can easily tell as the unsized bullet won't enter the front of the throat but the dummy round chambers fully under its own weight.

 

[Josh]

I eagerly await the holes on the target Brad, this one will be cool to watch.

 

[Josh]

In addition, Edd designed this to be a very close copy of the Speer 240 gr JHP, it has been an accurate bullet in a few Rugers I know of.