Time to continue load development with my .44-77.

[beltfed]

I have been using 0.060 LDPE wads in my 45-70, 40-65, for years and now 38-50 more recently.
45-70 was with gg bullets, 40-65 with gg and now DDEPP bullet, 38-50 with gg briefly , now DDEPP bullets.
NO problems with brass stretching or separating after multiple firings of the brass. I never resize the brass, just run in an M expanding die of a size
just to make sure of round case mouths.
As Jim said, I make sure chamber is dry.
Arnie

[J.B.]

Thanks Jim and Arnie for the feedback. I wonder if the bore diameter benefit more with the twin wad set up being a tad smaller in diameter when the light goes on ? Still we're talking incredibly small variations but a good gas seal and no blow by is always welcome. Some of my earliest gg loadings in the 44/77 were using two .03 veg fibre wads and I had excellent groups with that combination. I went to .06 when I had stock again...perhaps I need to revisit that variable as well. I have some LDPE waiting for me now but I'm more worried about primer supply . They are pretty difficult to make oneself !
J.B.

[Distant Thunder]

Thanks to all the enablers on this forum I have ordered yet another .44 caliber mold! Don, Kurt and Gavin, you know who I'm referring to!

This one will be a straight sided elliptical at 1.400" long. I am patterning it after my .45 caliber "Lodi" bullet.

I have been thinking about this mold for quite awhile and after the spring match at Lodi I decided it was time to move. I'm not sure how much will transfer to .44 caliber but this design in .45 caliber has been the absolute best bullet I have ever used when shooting in strong, gusty winds like what we experienced again at Lodi this past weekend.

My .45-70 is a 1 in 18 twist and the bullet is 1.430" long. Since my .44-77 is a 1 in 17 and I believe that to be about the equivalent to a 1 in 18 .45 I just scaled the 1.430" down to .44 caliber and that came out to 1.393". Close enough to 1.400" for me!

I'm not sure how long it will take for Steve to turn out the mold, I'm thinking 2-4 weeks, but I should have it in plenty of time to return to Lodi in August and test the bullet there.

I loaded some bullets from my Brooks adjustable mold set at 1.400" to test soon. I'm starting with the exact same load that I used last weekend other than of course the bullet.

This is the load used last weekend:

BACO JIM430520 (recut to .433") dry wrapped with 9# 100% cotton onionskin .002" thick and sized to a snug fit in my Krieger barrel.
86.0 grains of Swiss 1 1/2, lot #18-01-2021, weighed.
(1) .030" LDPE wad seated on the powder with (1) .060" HDPE wad seated on top of that.
.050" compression.
BACO brass converted from .50-110 Win.
Remington 2 1/2 large pistol primers.

From talking to other shooters at the match and reading some postings on the forums most had some bullets, but not all, that went through the target tipped at least some. I believe this was caused by the 40+ mph wind gusts we had.

My hope is that by going to a slightly shorter bullet it will hold up in the hard winds that seem to be more and more common here in the upper Midwest. Time will tell!

[Don McDowell]

Well I have another mould in the works for the 44-77 too... Will be forth coming with the details when I get it, and if it pans out..

I've found that with the proper scaling, taking a mould design from 45 all the way to 40 generally works well, if it works well in the first place.
Looking forward to seeing how your new set of blocks works out.

[Kurt]

Jim,

I like to see a picture of that .45 cal bullet if possible.

Have you considered making this mould adjustable so you can get the most from that bullet?

[Distant Thunder]

Kurt,

I'm pretty set on that length. I have two adjustable molds for my .44-77, one from BACO and one from Steve Brooks. As much as I like the adjustable feature at some point I'll have to lock them down and stop changing the length.

I agree with Don on the 1.400", it's short enough to be well stabilized and long enough to have 500+ grains of lead so it should (will) make it to 1000 yards in good shape. I have a theory on this bullet design and the mold I am ordering will help me prove it out.

I have posted my Lodi bullet before but here it is again for those who may not have seen it.

[Kurt]

Jim,

That is just like my Sage bullet except the ogive is 700" but the same hens ball nose.
Just the shank is longer on the sage.

[Distant Thunder]

That Sage bullet shoots very well in my .44-77 every time I try it. It has shot very well for me out to 600 yards. I'm sure it would do well out to 1000.

That drawing is Rev. 1 and the picture is of a Rev. 4 bullet, but there isn't much difference. I recut the mold 4 times before getting it too big to chamber in my Hepburn. Now I size it down to fit the bore after patching and I really think that is a good thing.

[Don McDowell]

Jim that’s a good looking bullet

[Distant Thunder]

It should look pretty good in a size .44 too!