Powderburner!

[Don McDowell]

You're a genius
Don't know zactly how or what you did, but when you built that new base plug for the Old West 435 bullet. I can now shorten that bullet all the way down to 1.15.
So now all I got to do is man up and go out in the garage and cast a handful of those bad boys and see what the 44 thinks of it at that length..

[powderburner]

glad I could help yup ,, that should be five words
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[Kurt]

Don.
What are you using for bullet length now in your .44?

I pretty much settled on the 1.3 @ 475 gr and the 1.320 @ 485 gr. I don't know yet what this bullet will do yet past 200 yards and so far I have just been using the barrel sights on the .44-77 and it is shooting very good.
I also shot this bullet (the ODG profile) out to the 1000 playing around at the Lee Ranch after the Q last year and it hammered the 1K during a pretty good breeze too.

So far the ODG bullet at 1.450" long is shooting some pretty amazing groups @ 200. It remains to be seen what it will do past 200, but that longer bullet is shot through a 1/17 twist barrel.

[Don McDowell]

Kurt ,I've been shooting that bullet at 470 grs. Haven't shot it past 500 but out to there it's shot well.
Will be interesting to see how it behaves with the shorter length and such a short section of the base at .435. The nose is .431 dia.

[Kurt]

I made up some flat base buttons to replace the cup button and it gained 8 grains more weight for the same length bullet and I put a lock nut to lock the base screw down so it wont move.

[Don McDowell]

This rifle has shown a distinct like for two patched bullet lengths, either 1.1, like those ones you sent ,and the ones I made from the KAL blocks, or 1.35, beyond that it's not real picky. Altho it does seem to like the larger(.432 and up) diameter, and as far as the base it just don't seem to care hollow or flat.

[Kurt]

I just like the cup or dish base because I like to keep the fold a little heavy and tug it in the cup.

I didn't get along to well with your bullets being to tight with that 45 degree even with the thinner paper that had to seat the bullet deeper in the case neck and that cost me using my wad stack I like to use, but they shot good.
The .44-77 the way this chamber is I cant patch the .002" over bore like I do in the other 44's.

[Don McDowell]

I like the cup base for pulling the patch tight and locking it in as well. But the rifle doesn't seem to care about it much.
Yes that accurate bullet needs to be set deep, but using one of those muzzleloader speciality dry lubed felt wads, and a wad punched from that rubberized cork gasket material, wiping between shots. The last time I had the rifle out it held 5 rounds either in or on a 26 inch bullseye shooting off of the prone crossticks at 1000 yds...I took to wrapping it in that 8lb paper I got from Kenny.

[Don McDowell]

Got ten of those tankbuster shorties cast and wrapped.
Dropped them in the case on top of 80 gr KIK1.5 a felt wad, and one of the rubberized cork wads.
Them little buggers held under 2 moa on the 300 yd gong.. Think I found me a nudder bullet to play with and didn't have to order a mould yet