Henry Rifle Forums

I am at least temporarily retired and decided to take up reloading as a bit of a hobby. Read about it for years, did a little shotshell reloading many years ago when doing a bit of trap and bird shooting. My Henry BBS 44 is the second most expensive gun to shoot that I own. The 270 isn't really something to play with at the range. It makes my shoulder sore. Anyhoo, I got a Lee Classic turret press and a kit of reloading doo-dads. I am a bargain shopper. If it does the job at a lower price I am all over it. I have it all set up on my bench it it seems like a pretty nicely built unit. I will probably be lurking around here a bit.

with a bit of searching you will find there are a good number of 44 caliber reloading threads on our forum .... should you have any questions, please bring them up .... we have a good number of our members who know what they are doing and are more than happy to help

Good Luck, rwortman.
I'm sure you will enjoy it once you get started.
I'm sure it adds a new dimension to range trips as well.

Glad you made this move. If you are like me, it may not save you a lot of money but you will be able to do a lot more shooting for the same dollars.
When reloading - never be in a hurry.

Congrats on your new sub hobby. I think the Lee classic turret is a real bargain. It is well built, sturdy and does the job quite well. I've had one for several years and loaded many thousands of rounds on it.

Unless you are one of those who weighs every charge, I would highly recommend getting a powder check die. With the four hole turret, it will mean you must seat and crimp in one operation. For most calibers I don't see this as a problem. The powder check die will allow you to quickly, easily and accurately determine whether your charge is within a reasonably safe range. Much easier to spot a problem than just eyeballing the charge, which is difficult in deep cases without stringing up a light to your press.

Follow the guidelines and be safe. It is a rewarding experience.

When you 1st get started I suggest weighing every charge till you get a feel for it and the different powders. Take your time and enjoy the process.

Get your info from the powder or bullet manufacturers. Also the Lyman cast bullet Handbook is a great resource.

Curious to follow this thread. I too am considering it.

Loaded up my first batch and shot them all off at my friends farm this week. Berrys 240g plated FP over 9 grains of Unique, Starline 44 mag brass, CCI large pistol primer. I cycled the drum powder measure a bunch with just some graphite lube on it. Then I dropped about 20 charges after setting it up. Almost all of them dead on 9g with once in a while a 9.1 or 8.9. I checked every 5'th dispense while loading up 25 rounds. Small batch just for fun and testing. I also bought a cheap chrono from Midway with a Bluetooth adaptor. Shot the first string of 5 over the chrono and got 1079,1082.1059,1096,1130. Average velocity of about 1090 plus or minus around 40. Then I shot some at paper and readjusted the scope. At 50 yards, after the first 5 or 6 shots they were all going into previous holes. Plenty accurate for fun practice. Brass a little smoky on the outside (low pressure?) and the barrel seemed a lot dirtier than when shooting factory JHP ammo. I wonder if 44 special brass would seal better under light loads. Maybe they'd just dirty up the part of the chamber they don't cover.

P.S. The press came with the Lee manual. I bought a Lyman manual and I got a small book on .44 mag only that is a compendium of data from all the major bullet and powder manufacturers.

we use a bunch of Unique and it is a dirty powder ... I don't know if you tightly crimp your 44 ammo or not .... if not, we have found that using a Lee Precision Carbide Factory Crimp Die ===> https://www.amazon.com/Precision-44Sp44 ... +crimp+die <=== with a tube feed rifle, a good crimp pays dividends

I use the same press. Good choice!

JEBar wrote:we use a bunch of Unique and it is a dirty powder ... I don't know if you tightly crimp your 44 ammo or not .... if not, we have found that using a Lee Precision Carbide Factory Crimp Die ===> https://www.amazon.com/Precision-44Sp44 ... +crimp+die <=== with a tube feed rifle, a good crimp pays dividends

I am using that die for crimping. Not crimping real tight because there is no groove. I did check for setback while shooting and did not see any. I was only loading 5 at a time though.

now that is interesting .... I've been reloading 44's since the '60's and don't recall ever loading a (jacketed or cast) 44 that didn't have a crimp ring ... please continue to post reports about the ones you are using

Jim
Hes using Berrys Plated bullets and most of the copper plated bullets dont have a crimp ring. I think Xtreme does make some with a crimp ring but quite a few dont have them from various bullets companys. You also dont want to crimp copper plated bullets to hard or it breaks the copper plating. Al

guess that explains it .... I've never loaded any of Berry's bullets .... without a good crimp, how do they stand up to use in tube fed rifles

Xtreme 44 plated bullets have a canelure. Unfortunately, they only seem to have one weight and profile.

I have used a lot of Xtreme bullets and really like them. If you keep an eye on their website, and have a little patience, you should be able to get them on sale within a fairly short period of time.

I use their 158 grain HPs in to load for .357 magnum for my Henry. The HPs are rated for 1500 fps vs the max of 1200 for the normal plated they sell. The .38/.357s also have a canelure and I have had no problems with bullet setback.

JEBar wrote:guess that explains it .... I've never loaded any of Berry's bullets .... without a good crimp, how do they stand up to use in tube fed rifles

Ive used alot of Berrys in 45acp as well as all of my other pistol calibers. I have used them in autos and leverguns. I havent ever experienced any issues with them or with Xtreme. I like the Xtreme bullets just as well if not better than Berrys. Matter of fact in the 357 the xtremes shoot better for me than the berrys do. Ive not ever had an issue with the crimping of them as when I set my crimp for them I adjust it a little at a time being careful not to over due it. After while it becomes more of a feel than a setting. Im sure you do the same thing. Al

BigAl52 wrote:After while it becomes more of a feel than a setting. Im sure you do the same thing. Al

understood on it being more of a feeling .... I use Lee crimping dies ... once I set them, I just pull the lever and they take care of everything else

rwortman wrote:Loaded up my first batch and shot them all off at my friends farm this week. Berrys 240g plated FP over 9 grains of Unique, Starline 44 mag brass, CCI large pistol primer. I cycled the drum powder measure a bunch with just some graphite lube on it. Then I dropped about 20 charges after setting it up. Almost all of them dead on 9g with once in a while a 9.1 or 8.9. I checked every 5'th dispense while loading up 25 rounds. Small batch just for fun and testing. I also bought a cheap chrono from Midway with a Bluetooth adaptor. Shot the first string of 5 over the chrono and got 1079,1082.1059,1096,1130. Average velocity of about 1090 plus or minus around 40. Then I shot some at paper and readjusted the scope. At 50 yards, after the first 5 or 6 shots they were all going into previous holes. Plenty accurate for fun practice. Brass a little smoky on the outside (low pressure?) and the barrel seemed a lot dirtier than when shooting factory JHP ammo. I wonder if 44 special brass would seal better under light loads. Maybe they'd just dirty up the part of the chamber they don't cover.

P.S. The press came with the Lee manual. I bought a Lyman manual and I got a small book on .44 mag only that is a compendium of data from all the major bullet and powder manufacturers.

Sound just about right! I've loaded a lot of Berry's with Unique. Yep it's a little dirty. Wouldn't worry about the sealing thing. The berry's bullets take a little getting used to crimp wise. No Cannalure. I just lighten the crimp ever so slightly and seat the bullet to the same depth I would with a similar profile lead bullet. You don't want to crimp so tight that you penetrate the copper plating. That ruins the finish and exposes the lead bullet to the rifling.