Thoughts on Bullet dia.

[Festus]

Howdy all. Hey what do you folks think about the different .44 bullet diameters? Sierra @ .4295,Nosler @ .429 and the Hornady XTP @ .430? Do any of you have any reservations loading .430s for new .44 mag revolvers? Why put a bigger dia slug down your brand new bore? I could maybe see it if you had a few hundred rounds on a gun and thought the extra .001" might snug things up a bit. Having spent the last 30+ years in the machine and fab industry I know how much difference a .001 can make on a press fit. Don't know why Hornady thought it necessary to go to .430 on their .44 bullets.

 

[clintsfolly]

Tight is better with both cast and jacketed! I use .432 cast in my Redhawk Clint

 

[Rick Courtright]

Don't know why Hornady thought it necessary to go to .430 on their .44 bullets.

Hi,

I've often seen loading data directed specifically to XTP bullets. Perhaps there's something in their construction Hornady knows about that we don't see on the surface? For example, I size my cast bullets to .430" anyway, so they'll seal well. And w/ gas checks, they do. What if the XTP's are a bit "soft" and need to "bump up" a bit like cast bullets. I dunno...

I've always had good luck w/ the Hornadys I've loaded, so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing. And, whether using the "start low and work up" method for conventional jacketed bullet recipes, or doing the same w/ "XTP specific" data, I don't think I'd worry too much.

Of course, this is just academic "supposition." When you slug your barrel, it may direct you toward using smaller or larger bullets anyway!

Rick C

 

[mattsbox99]

It won't hurt a thing. As stated, you have to slug your bore to find the true diameter.

Marlin's .44 Mag and .444 Marlin bores often slug out to .432".

Copper and lead are pretty soft metals anyway, so you can't really compare press fit steel items to bores which have the variance in lands and grooves and using a relatively soft metal like lead and copper.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Jacketed bullet diameter for the .44 will usually vary between .429 and .430. I have found the XTP's usually at the large end of the spectrum in the handgun calibers that I shoot. They are also very accurate for me. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

 

[GP100man]

I shoot as big a lead boolit that`ll fit reliably into all the chambers !

Between the throats & the forcing cone they`ll "swage" as they go !

 

[steve b]

Have always heard good things about matching Hornady .430 jacketed bullets and Ruger revolvers. Believe I have 3 kinds on the loading bench now. steve b

 

[WESHOOT2]

I shoot a bullet in my gun to determione if my gun likes it.
I measure academically....

 

[contender]

As noted, dissimilar metals, (steel bore, lead or in this case copper jackets,) allows for the pressures to expand the bullets w/o damage to the steel. A tight bullet is usually more accurate. And we are talking .001 here. That's a small amount for the bullet to expand, yet allows for better accuracy.
If you really want to understand bullet fit & bore diameters, go to the cast boolits forum and start learning about WHY cast bullets are sized, lubed and the relationship of bullet diameter & bore diameter. It will become clearer as you study things.

 

[mikld]

Jacketed bullets don't "bump up" enough to make much difference. Shooting a copper alloy jacketed .430" bullet in a steel alloy .429" barrel is prolly a good fit. With jacketed bullets, groove diameter vs bullet diameter is less critical than lead bullet fit as gas cutting doen't occur with jacketed as much as lead. .001" or even .002" difference is inconsequental for jacketed bullets (I've read of shooting jacketed bullets up to .005" larger than groove dia. without any pressure problems).

 

[mattsbox99]

I know people that have mistakenly shot 8x57 Mauser in Springfield 1903s and nothing bad happened. Thats a .015" difference in bullet diameter.