Cast Bullet size for 44 Mag Puma

tcomer · Post by **tcomer** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 2:29 pm

I have some 44 mag, 240gr plated bullets I bought years ago. I donâ€™t even know who made them. These bullets shoot great out of my S&W 629. Out of my Puma is a different story. Iâ€™m talking 8â€

PPpastordon · Post by **PPpastordon** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:27 pm

tcomer;
You just might have to slug your bore and go at least .001 larger. For me, .002 to .003 usually works better.
I have no idea what a minimum charge of your powder gives in fps, but I would guess you must increase your load to see groups begin to tighten somewhat.
Personally, I think your best bet is a good bullet mould in around that same weight and start casting. A semi-wadcutter design always seems to work well - especially if you get a Kieth bullet like the Lyman 429421 (listed as 245 to 255 grain in different Lyman manuals from over the years) or the RCBS 250-K, a 250 grain Keith.
Let us know how things turn out.

Grace and Peace,

tcomer · Post by **tcomer** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:22 pm

The load data is for a Nosler 240gr JHP. Starting load is 11.9grs for 1188fps out of a 8.275 barrel with a 1-20" twist. The disk I use for my Lee Auto Disk just happens to throw 12grs. I stay low for cast bullets. Bought these bullets at a gun show years ago but I can't remember who made them. Original box is gone and I stuck them in another box. Stumbled on to them last summer in the garage. I was asking cast questions about another gun in 30-30. General consensus was to go 2 sizes up for best results, so I got bullets in .310. Looking through the Midway book, I noticed the cast bullets are pretty much all over sized. Laser Cast bullets are .431. Since I don't cast my own, thought they might be a good size to try. Just picking some brains on this board. I've always heard some guns don't like certain bullets, but jeeze. At 25 yards, I think I'd get a better group if I threw them by hand.

blackhawk44 · Post by **blackhawk44** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:48 pm

T, I think you'll find that beneath that very thin plating you likely have only soft swaged lead. It is only lately that any platers are using any degree of alloying. It is my belief that you will have to slow your loads down to under 1000fps to get acceptable accuracy. Its worth a try. BOL

tcomer · Post by **tcomer** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:07 pm

The one thing that I noticed, is when I cleaned the gun, there was absolutely no lead or copper fouling of any type. If I drove the bullet too fast, wouldn't some of the copper plating come off?

GANJIRO · Post by **GANJIRO** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:30 pm

Slug the bore, the Pumas are known to have oversize bores as large as .432

I bet those bullest are rattling down the bore.

Nate Kiowa Jones · Post by **Nate Kiowa Jones** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:33 am

GANJIRO wrote:Slug the bore, the Pumas are known to have oversize bores as large as .432

I bet those bullest are rattling down the bore.

If it is one of the current 44mags from puma or EMF it is, a ji said, probably oversize.

hey ji,
I'm still at the shot show and I talked to Edwardo Rossi today about this issue. He asured me that the newly shipped guns are correct.

tcomer · Post by **tcomer** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:48 am

I've never slugged a barrel. Not sure if they have sinkers that large. I'm not sure how old the gun is. Guy I bought it off of estimated it at about 8 years old. The gun did have the safety in the bolt, which I replaced with the plug from Mr. Young. With some effort, I can shove the bullet into the barrel with the heel of my hand. Not enough to measure anything but I can see shallow grooves from the rifling and can feel it when I run a fingernail over it. To me, as shallow as the groves are, it would be easy for this bullet to scoot down the barrel and not grip the rifling if it didn't expand upon firing. So, would the .431 bullets be a safe bet?

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:35 am

There's nothing to it. Go get you some hollow egg sinkers a bit larger than the bore and a length of 3/8" hardwood dowel. I think the correct sinker for a 44 are #8. I like to use at least two sinkers. I use one to get the throat dimensions, and one the length of the bore. To get the throat done you will have to remove the bolt. From the chamber drive it in till it's just in the rifling. Determine your bullet size off that one. The one you drive all the way through will show you the smallest diameter of your bore. Not as important, but will show you if there are any tight spots that need opened up, which you accomplish by firelapping. Make sure you start with a clean bore and a light coat of oil.