Cast bullets and .44 Mag Rifles?

Have been thinking of adding a 1892 type lever rifle or even a Henry in .44 Mag to compliment my .44 revolvers.
From what I read some rifles prefer a larger diameter bullet than what works in most revolvers.
The bullets I load for my .44 revolvers are .430-.431 and some rifles require .432 bullets.

Was looking at the Henry rifles and discovered they have a slower twist rate than other Winchester type rifles which can cause issues with bullets over 240 gr. I hear this is same as the Marlin rifles too.

So for any of you with .44 Mag lever rifles...which brand rifles work well with your revolver sized .430-431 bullets? Really didn't want to have a separate bullet/load for the rifle.

I've found the Lead Head, 265 gr GC bullets (.430 sized) shoot really well in my 20" Rossi R92 with a 1:30 twist. I haven't slugged to barrel, but I've read/heard from those with a lot more experience than me that the Rossi barrels (more recent in the last 10-15 years) are pretty much sized at .429, which is a bit surprising. I have shot a lot of other .430 cast commercial bullets, as well as some .431's, and not had any unusual leading problems. If nothing else, it may be that Rossi got something right with their barrels.


jd

For some reason, SAAMI specs. for 44 Magnum rifles is different; .431" groove diameter for rifles, .429" for handguns. The best way to find what you need is to slug the barrel. I have a very nice Puma in 44 Mag., but the barrel slugs out at .432", still within SAAMI tolerance, so I need .433"-.434" diameter lead bullets. If I purchased any lead bullets I make sure the caster sizes them for a good fit for my gun. In the case of my Puma at least .432" and for my Ruger, Dan Wesson, Contender and S&W .430" usually works. (I often buy a particular bullet before I buy a mold for that bullet, to see if I like it). I rarely shoot jacketed bullets in my Puma and they seem to do OK, but have gotten some very good, accurate loads with my cast bullets with, no barrel leading when the bullets fit properly.

SWC don't feed in my levergun without using different case lengths and OALs, so my cast .44 rifle bullets are RNFP. Ranch Dog design molds and bullets, I use 2, a 240 gr. and a 265 gr., both are excellent and accurate in all 5 of my 44 Magnums...

I guess plated .430 bullets wouldn't work well either?

In my leverguns it is not the semi-wadcutter bullets so much as the Keith design that I have a hard time with. The J.D.Jones and other similar type seem to function ok. As to bullet size, Colt and Colt clones seem to be the smallest bullet size with Marlin rifles 1997 and below at the other end of the spectrum as the largest. Non-microgroove Marlins seem to do fine with .430. It is so easy to slug your barrels and see for yourself what you need, that I recommend you do that first. It will empower you to get the proper size. When you find what the gun likes you will no longer be in the dark and it will open up a new world of possibilities to your shooting. Good luck.

Well just wanted some input on which brand rifles might have bore sizes in the 429-430 range.
When shopping for a rifle I don't think the guy at the counter would like me to be pounding a lead bullet thru the bore.
Looks like the Rossi rifles might be in the ideal bore range with current Winchester next with Marlins the largest.
For some reason none of the big dealers,or my locals, have any Rossi 92's in stock.

In my current reload .44 stock.... I use the Matt's Bullets 235 SWC GC bullets for my new SW M69 and HyTech MB 240 gr. bullets for my Ruger SBH or any other typical lead bullet as it will shoot most anything good and clean.
Hopefully any new .44 Mag rifle I decide on will like one of my house loads!

No big deal as barrel groove diameter isn't a deal breaker. The gun will be safe as it comes from the factory and any problems shooting will normally only be barrel leading and/or poor accuracy, either of which are easily worked around. Besides, I know of, have heard of no newly manufactured gun that has been out of manufacturing/SAAMI tolerances and the majority will measure close to the .431" recommendation, some may run .429" but again no big deal once you know the dimension. My levergun with an "oversized" barrel just means I size my cast lead bullet a little larger than I do for my handguns. Same powders, same charges, st different diameter. I want to know what my guns like so I slug all my guns' barrels (no big deal, just 15 minutes) and that's just a part of shooting cast lead bullets. Buy the gun you want, slug the barrel and purchase/size lead bullets to fit (check purchased bullets with your micrometer!)...

Last spring I bought a Henry Big Boy Steel so I could shoot cast. The MBC 240 K feeds without any problems and is accurate.

You are right, I strayed from the original question. Sorry. I took it as though you wanted to get a rifle that shot the same ammo as your revolvers. The 44 calibers are a mystery. The manufacturers claim the twist rate needs to be 1/32 thru 1/38 for 44 magnum rifles yet we now have 1/20 twist rates for several brands of 444 rifles and it works fine. One well known riflesmith even states he will not rebarrel a 44 magnum Marlin to a 1/20 twist rate. Why? I don't know. If I was paying to have one rebarreled I would specify a 1/16 twist 16 to 18 inches long. Anyway. Here is the deal. Rossi 44 mag rifles have a 1/32 twist, Marlin and Henry have 1/38. The 1/38 will shoot bullets up to 300 grains no matter what the guy behind the counter may have told you. Also Marlin rifles went from 12 groove micro-groove barrels in 1998 to 6 groove Ballard rifling. If you look at the barrels side by side it is hard to tell with the naked eye the difference other than the ballard has fewer grooves. The Ballards have been reported to use smaller diameter bullet successfully. Personally I would rather have the larger bore and 12 grooves but there is no proof one is better than the other. One other thing to think about while discussing bullets for handgun caliber leveractions is case capacity. Even if you have a twist rate that will stabilize a bullet heavier than 300 grain, to get the extra weight means a longer bullet. There is not enough case capacity in that cartridge to handle enough powder to utilize heavier bullets. So I have decided to stick to bullets 300 grains and under for my rifles.
Rossi rifles shoot and cycle fine, but are light and have that steel butt plate that is hard to add a recoil pad to. You could get a stock for the 454 caliber rifle, use an after market stock, or cut the butt off past the top of that butt plate and then put on a pad. Without a good recoil pad the light 92 will kick the snot out of you with a 240 grain bullet and a stout charge of powder. You can calm them some by going to 200 grain bullets and powders like trail boss. It just depends on your intended use for the rifle. Good luck with your choice.

Jgt, that is why I sold my Rossi. It was the ONLY gun I owned that bruised my shoulder! I had to replace the sights also. Needed money, and thar she goes!
gramps