44-77 Sharps paper patched load

[Eric Johanen]

This cartridge/rifle combination is accurate, hard hitting and just a whole bunch of fun! Cut with Orville's paper patch chamber and Brook's .431 Medford style mold 2 fg 74-75 grains KIK or 73 grains OE it is a very good shooter. Shell holder, universal de-capping die, Meachem bushing neck sizing die with a .448 bushing and a Buffalo Arms 43 Spanish compression die makes reloading very simple. Bullets are a tight slip fit in the neck sized Jamison brass and with the slight working this brass will probably last forever. The thin .450 card wads and DGL grease cookie leave it all in the bore. Recovered cards show no lube sticking to them so it appears that all the lube is deposited in the bore. There is a lube star at the 30 inch barrel muzzle. I may experiment with slightly more than a 1/8" lube wad to see if fouling will be softer at the case mouth. Working towards a dirty shooting load with enough accuracy for a lot of shots that will stay in the heart/lung area of a northern Whitetail deer out to 200 yards. No fly's or complications with a paper patched 44-77. Fogman01 keep working up your loads. I find generally that the more powder the better the accuracy.