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Reloading the new factory .44-40 ammo...
Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:14 pm
by fortyshooter
Well have 150 rounds of HSM .44-40 and the procedure goes like this.... load one in my hammer bullet puller.....dump undersized bullet and unkown powder in a bucket and put nice new case with primer in the box. After 50 are done return to loading room and fill with Unique or Red Dot then top off with a 200 gr. plated .430 bullet ...and repeat process. Finished up 50 loads with Red Dot and next 50 will be 8.5 Unique. Have a Lee sizing die and a 44-40 RCBS shell holder coming so as to reload the 35 I shot couple days ago. Hopfully Starline will have some brass soon.
Re: Reloading the new factory .44-40 ammo...
Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:43 pm
by JEBar
I have literally no experience with a 44-40 .... looking forward to following your load development
Re: Reloading the new factory .44-40 ammo...
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 11:56 am
by daytime dave
JEBar wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 10:43 pm
I have literally no experience with a 44-40 .... looking forward to following your load development
One of the first handguns I ever shot was a 44-40 Colt SAA a Scout leader had. He brought that and a .32 revolver of some type to a camping trip. That Colt was in great shape and was a real treat to shoot. That was the first and last time I have held a 44-40 anything.
Re: Reloading the new factory .44-40 ammo...
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 7:56 pm
by Travlin
Duelist 1954 has a lot of info about loading the bottle necked 44-40.
Re: Reloading the new factory .44-40 ammo...
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2023 11:01 am
by fortyshooter
Well so far my way of loading the 44-40 is working well. I am using what I can of my 44 Special/ Magnum dies with exception of the sizing die which is a Lee 44-40 die. Interesting is that the Starline brass that the factory HSM loads were in does not show that taper neck but you can slightly feel it with your finger. However looking at the loads that were fired in the rifle clearly show the true profile of the 44-40 cartridge. After running them thru the sizing die the neck is brought back to size with most of sizing done in the top half of the case.
With the Xtreme plated bullets I am using the Dillon .44 taper crimp die as usual and it is needed with these bullets without a crimp groove.
Same deal like I use for the 44 Mag loads using same bullet for my Uberti/Winchester 1873 and have no issues with that.
What you want to do is use as little case mouth flair as possible as too much will cause a bulge after crimp.