Last week I took stock of my .44-40 ammo stash and decided that it was lower than I wanted. I have plenty of components, so I got to work. Since Thursday, I put together 250 rounds:
- 100 full power black powder loads (Accurate 43-215C bullet on top of 2.2cc of Scheutzen 3Fg)
- 50 .44 Henry rimfire-equivalent loads (same bullet but 1.9cc of powder, with a 1/8" thick nitro card in between to take up the air space)
- 100 smokeless loads (200 grain RNFP from Desperado Cowboy Bullets on top of 8.3 grains of Alliant Unique)
The smokeless loads should push the 200 grain bullet north of 1,200 FPS from a 24" rifle, a bit less from a 20" carbine, and somewhere in the 900s from a revolver.
I also put together 3 functioning dummies in Starline cases with the DCB bullets sized to .430" (as they came from DCB). Previously, I'd sized them to .429". They feed and chamber just fine in all my .44 WCF guns so that's one less step I need to take with the second box of these bullets I have. I'm hoping that they'll give better accuracy as well. Groups in the rifles have been mediocre although my Uberty Bisley shot them well.
After wrapping up I ordered a 500 count box of 215 grain .430" RNFP bullets from Matt's Bullets. The design looks very similar to the Accurate Molds 43-215C so I am hoping they shoot as well. Unfortunately, they are lubed with Carnauba Red. This is an outstanding bullet lube for smokeless powder but it's not suited for black powder AFAIK. So, they'll be reserved for loading on top of Unique, Reloder 7, IMR-4227, or Herco if I can find a pound at a reasonable price.
Loading the 150 black powder rounds mostly depleted my stash of 43-215Cs, so it'll be time to cast soon. After I cast a bunch I am planning to borrow my brother's RCBS Lube-A-Matic to size them at .430" and lube them with SPG, which should be quicker than pan lubing them.
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