44 mag and SWC?

[Dr. A]

I do have a new 24 inch R92 in 45 Colt with an octagonal barrel. Its strictly a plinker, and hard for me to believe that I would hunt with it. It handles SWC just like it does a RN. I do shoot alot of 44 mag as well. Mostly what i load is .431 sized SWC and wondered how this load would do in a 44 mag. My Marlin 444 has always needed sizing of .432, and figured this would be a real pain. Two loads for different 44 mags. Much like my 357's. Anybody try try this?. Is the 44 mag the same way?, or should I stick with the good old 45 Colt?

[deaddoc4444]

Just some random thoughts, as you were not all that specific on what you want . First 45 Colt it is by far my favorite cal . AND I love upping its performance in HANDGUNS . I have several Ruger's in this cal and they can handle very hot loads and do well . Numerous threads in several places INCLUDING HERE recently on bulged cases in 45 COLT lever guns which give cause to think about heavy loads n the Rossis and Marlins . I had a Win 94 trapper years ago in 45 colt and do NOT remember that as in issue but apparently it has become one so "I" would not go that route for heavy hunting loads and keep it a plinker .
44 Mag has been a much better round for hunting in the lever carbines for decades . I do not know why you couldn't size all bullets to 432 for everything IF NEEDED. YOU would have to see what size the carbine needed to be accurate . I have NO PROBLEM shooting bullets sized either 358 or 359 in both my Rossi carbine and Ruger Black Hawk . These are full house cast loads from a group buy of the LEE 180 FP from a few years ago and a recent purchase of the 358/175 RD mold . BOTH shoot well in both guns and will handle them nicely . If you are using two extremes like the Ruger SP101 where heavy LOADS can NOT be used, both for strength and over all length, then that is something that no one can fix .
MOST guns are subjects unto them selves and need some attention . EG: I had two rifles in 38/55 for many years ( still have one ) ONE was extremely accurate with bullets sized to 377 ( and would not chamber anything wider ) the other will shoot its best with bullets sized to 379 . NO WAY to load for both guns with one load OH WELL !!!!!!!!

[pricedo]

Just some random thoughts, as you were not all that specific on what you want . First 45 Colt it is by far my favorite cal . AND I love upping its performance in HANDGUNS . I have several Ruger's in this cal and they can handle very hot loads and do well . Numerous threads in several places INCLUDING HERE recently on bulged cases in 45 COLT lever guns which give cause to think about heavy loads n the Rossis and Marlins . I had a Win 94 trapper years ago in 45 colt and do NOT remember that as in issue but apparently it has become one so "I" would not go that route for heavy hunting loads and keep it a plinker .
44 Mag has been a much better round for hunting in the lever carbines for decades . I do not know why you couldn't size all bullets to 432 for everything IF NEEDED. YOU would have to see what size the carbine needed to be accurate . I have NO PROBLEM shooting bullets sized either 358 or 359 in both my Rossi carbine and Ruger Black Hawk . These are full house cast loads from a group buy of the LEE 180 FP from a few years ago and a recent purchase of the 358/175 RD mold . BOTH shoot well in both guns and will handle them nicely . If you are using two extremes like the Ruger SP101 where heavy LOADS can NOT be used, both for strength and over all length, then that is something that no one can fix .
MOST guns are subjects unto them selves and need some attention . EG: I had two rifles in 38/55 for many years ( still have one ) ONE was extremely accurate with bullets sized to 377 ( and would not chamber anything wider ) the other will shoot its best with bullets sized to 379 . NO WAY to load for both guns with one load OH WELL !!!!!!!!

I bought the Rossi M92 454C/45LC (20" bbl) and get the best of both worlds.
I shoot a lot more 45LC than I do 454 Casull from this gun.......but if I got a toothed, clawed "nasty" bearing down on me I keep the hard hitting 454 Casull "pills" handy in my pocket.
Same weight as the dedicated 45LC model 92 with a much stronger heat treated receiver with a recoil pad and a Marlin model 39A style tube loading slot thrown in for the same money.
But I hear a lot of, "Geeze it's a 454 Casull and kicks too hard, I want nothing to do with it !!".
Just cause it's a 454 Casull model doesn't mean that you MUST shoot full power 454 Casull loads in it.
I don't have the case bulge problem with my 45LC brass either.......you can't have a "sloppy" chamber in a gun when you're talking 60K+ psi pressures.
I shoot a modified Remington Model 700 in 416 Remington Magnum (21" bbl), a Savage Model 116 (Alaskan Brush Gun) in 375 Ruger (18" bbl) & 2 Rehabilitated Remlin Guide Guns (that have turned feral ) loaded with ammo that pumps over 3500 ft-lbs of muzzle energy into a 440 grain cast lead bullet so the M92 454C/45LC doesn't even register on the Recoil Richter Scale even with "suped-up" 454Casull loads.

[Dr. A]

I have no fears of the 454, as I have 3 revolvers, and do have 5 45-70's. However, I never ever see a 454 for sale, and essentially gave up on it. I'd like a stainless 20 incher if I could find one. The plate on these 92's can be cruel. I am sure it would be nice to have a little better set up for recoil. I can load my regular 45 up to and including trapdoor speed. I have brass, dies etc. I mainly just wondered about the bore diameter of the 44 in relation to Marlins.

[dpe.ahoy]

I use both of my 454's as hot 45's most of the time, as well. Also have a Winchester trapper, 45 colt that has a much tighter chamber than my H&R 45 colt. Have never needed to check the 44 mag Rossi as she shoots the Hornady XTP's as well as any 240gr JSP I've put in her. Shoot it and see, unless it's way out of range you will still get many loadings out of each case. I see case mouths split before any other reason for a case to fail in the 45 and the 44. DP

[Ranch Dog]

...I do shoot alot of 44 mag as well. Mostly what i load is .431 sized SWC and wondered how this load would do in a 44 mag. My Marlin 444 has always needed sizing of .432, and figured this would be a real pain. Two loads for different 44 mags. Much like my 357's. Anybody try try this?. Is the 44 mag the same way?, or should I stick with the good old 45 Colt?

Sorry I missed this Doc. My R92 has a.423" .4200" bore and.431" .4285" groove. I shoot my cast bullets sized at .432". So far, it likes all of my bullets whether it be the 240, 265, or 300-grain.

[Dr. A]

That's kind of what I thought. The 45 has been so easy. It shoots the same stuff my revolvers do, that I will probably just keep with a 45. I think I need a shorter barreled one now...

[Ranch Dog]

Doc,

I decided to reslug my R92 chambered in 44 Mag. I have quite a few slugs sitting on the bench and thought I might have mixed them up. I also have a new Wizard barrel, chambered in 44 Mag, that I needed to slug. What I saw from both of them was a bore of .4200" and a groove of .4285". Sorry about the mix up.

I started to question the slug as my chamber cast of the R92 seems to measure, the little bit of barrel that the cast picks up, very close to the SAAMI spec of .417" and .429". I've been trying to tighten the groups on this R92, it is okay but about twice the MOA of my 1894P but the "P" is delivering sub MOA performance for a five shot string. I'm going to back down to a .430" bullet in the R92 and start over to see what that does. Moving my 45 Colt R92 from .454" to .452" gained the desired results and it casts to the SAAMI spec as well.

[44-40 Willy]

.4285 is SAAMI spec for a 44-40 barrel. The 44 Mag specs to a larger groove diameter.

[Ranch Dog]

.4285 is SAAMI spec for a 44-40 barrel. The 44 Mag specs to a larger groove diameter.

There are actually two SAAMI specs for the 44 Mag cartridge, a pistol and a rifle. The groove diameter for handguns is .4290" and rifle is .431". I'm not sure why there are two and they both different when still specifying the same bullet diameter, .432". A lead bullet is specified for the handgun, +0/-.0060", and a jacketed for the rifle at +0/-.0030". I think Rossi has made a wise choice with their groove diameter, don't know of a single outfit that makes a jacketed 44 bullet greater than .430".

SAMMI only lists one groove diameter for the 44-40 Win, a rifle barrel at .4285". Bullet diameter is specified at .4270" +0/-.0030".