44 magnum 3 die set or 4?

[birddog 68]

Oh, I could add, I do have the Lee Collet Crimp Die, doesn't work on the Dillon. I could get rid of it if anyone needed it. @birddog 68

Thanks!

 

[rooster721]

My go to for straight-wall cartridges is to get a 3-die set (RCBS or Redding) then get a profile crimp die from Redding.

They may be a bit more money, but I have been very impressed with the profile crimp dies from Redding.

Redding are the dies I have too, should have mentioned that in my earlier post. Probably the best of all for dies that crimp in a single step.

 

[orcldba]

I use the RCBS carbide 3 die set in heavy 44's but crimp with the Lee Factory Crimp after seating. It gives me the most consistent crimps for the hot loads in the Redhawk.

 

[Orange Dust]

Let me add this: a roll crimp is very sensitive to case length. The three die sets are usually roll crimp. a taper crimp or a Lee FCD are less sensitive to case length, but it still matters if you are trying to build very accurate ammo. Bottom line is trim your .44 hulls. All the HP revolver rounds are very sensitive to start pressure.

 

[iShoot17]

Let me add this: a roll crimp is very sensitive to case length. The three die sets are usually roll crimp. a taper crimp or a Lee FCD are less sensitive to case length, but it still matters if you are trying to build very accurate ammo. Bottom line is trim your .44 hulls. All the HP revolver rounds are very sensitive to start pressure.

100% correct here.

All my straight wall cartridges that will see a roll crimp get trimmed to uniformity before the first loading. Otherwise, some cases will barely have a crimp, some will have perfect crimp, and others will buckle.

 

[Orange Dust]

Another tip on loading these things. Only expand just enough to start a jacketed bullet. Cast you have to expand a little more to prevent lead shaving, but less is more with this. You want a tight fit before crimping. I've seen several performance center smith's that would shoot 1- 2" @ 100 scoped. I had one that was scary accurate with carefully assembled loads

 

[birddog 68]

Another tip on loading these things. Only expand just enough to start a jacketed bullet.

Thanks Orange Dust and everyone else for these little tips. I'm sure there's going to be a learning curve with the pistol rounds but with these tips it'll make it easier with less components wasted. And I realize that you usually find out these tips the hard way!

 

[Orange Dust]

One other thing. Don't back off max very much with 296 or h110. Bad juju. No more than a grain. If you want a lighter load choose a different powder.

 

[chav0_12]

One other thing. Don't back off max very much with 296 or h110. Bad juju. No more than a grain. If you want a lighter load choose a different powder.

Yeah, I think my starting load to max is about 1g for H110. Not much wiggle room there.

 

[ARlife4me]

One other thing. Don't back off max very much with 296 or h110. Bad juju. No more than a grain. If you want a lighter load choose a different powder.

Like #9 for a lower recoil

 

[orcldba]

For warm practice loads I use Blue Dot. I like 2400 (22.5 for hard cast) and the 296/H110 twins for jacketed as well, but just for max loads.

 

[chav0_12]

For warm practice loads I use Blue Dot. I like 2400 (22.5 for hard cast) and the 296/H110 twins for jacketed as well, but just for max loads.

What bullet weights for the 2400?

 

[Orange Dust]

22.5 grs of 2400 is Elmer Keith's old load with his 250gr hard cast bullet. It is stout. It is over max in today's books if I remember right. Pushes the 250 about 1500 in a revolver. It is accurate and deadly. It is everything the 44 was ment to be.

 

[birddog 68]

One other thing. Don't back off max very much with 296 or h110. Bad juju. No more than a grain. If you want a lighter load choose a different powder.

I've read this and will heed the advice.
I plan on using h110 with 240 xtp bullets and this will be strictly a close range WT hunting load so no need to lighten it.
If I decide to load some plinking loads I will definitely look at other powder's.