Cast bullets

[BigAl52]

You will probably be fine but the only real way to know is slug the bore. Oregon Trail are ok bullets I have shot some of theres. Have you thought about copper plated? Xtreme bullets are good and they seem to have some of the ones I have been using in stock. Might check them out if that is something you would consider

[BigAl52]

Just checked there site they have lead cast but no copper plated at this time in 44

[fortyshooter]

If those are the Laser cast bullets you should have no leading issues in the rifle. They are a hard cast bullet with a special alloy added. I think they are 20+ Bhn. I have used those before in .45 Colt and .45-70. Shouldn't have any issues with a coated cast lead bullet like the Missouri Bullets either.
Those shoot very well in my Henry Carbine.

[BruniX]

i dont cast 44 magnum bullet, but 38, 357 , 45-70 gvt.

Last year i have found an interesting formula to calculate bhn hardness , from pressure :

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But for 45-70, (28 000 PSI Max) bhn 19 -20 is more than enough.
therefore this diagram is perfect for low pressure , but cannot be followed exactly for high pressure.

Pressure of a 44 magnum is near 36 000 Psi, so alloy must be very hard to resist.
as fortyshooter say, 20+ BHN seems to be enough.

velocity is also very important: beyond 1,480 ft / s, gas checks must be considered ...
They are often used with 357 Magnum.
but i don't know if it is possible to found manufactured bullet directly with gas check in 44 Mag.

however,
the barrel leading is often due to an inappropriate diameter of the bullet, more than to an insufficient hardness...

i shoot 45-70 gvt and 38 special without any barrel leading ...

hope this will help...
BruniX

[JEBar]

wish I could be more help but while 23.8 g of H110 has been our go-to load for 44 Mag ammo since the mid 60's, we only load jacketed bullets .... with 240 g bullets it generates a muzzle of 1720 +/- fps .... 22.8 g generates 1650 +/- fps .. that might give you place to start in adjusting the powder charge for what you are looking for

[BigAl52]

9 to 10 grains of unique should be in the ball park. I went and got my Lyman 49th manual. Here is some pics from that manual. Maybe that will help.

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[BigAl52]

You better make sure it will cycle through the action after doing that. It might chamber but it might not cycle.

[Pitchman1968]

Best results I have achieved in my .44 Mag Henry Big Boy is with Bear Tooth 250 grain hard cast, 432" diameter bullets,which come with gas ckecks, atop 16.5 grs of AA#9 powder. At 75 yds. this combo shoots 3"- 4" groups. Only problem is there about a 3 month wait for shipment from the order date. Bear Tooth "produces to orfers" which causes this delay. Because of their twist rate, Henry's technical department advises not to reload any heavier than a 250 grain bullet in their .44 Mag Big Boys.

[fortyshooter]

9 to 10 gr. is a nice mid level shooting load for .44 Magnum. Alliant 2400 is another well recommended load that works well with .44 Mag and use standard type primers to get to the higher levels of Magnum performance.
Do you have a load manual like Lyman or Speer?

[Vaquero]

PJM, I found data for 255, and 265.
Maybe this will help a little.

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RP

[BigAl52]

Sent some similar to that Randy but those look good. But Im bettin 10.0 grains of unique will do great