homeloads in .44 taurus tumbling

[steve R]

pic up now lads

dprees ,many thanks ,ill get some n320 saturday ,what do think on more crimp ,im using very little?

[dprees]

pic up now lads

dprees ,many thanks ,ill get some n320 saturday ,what do think on more crimp ,im using very little?

Crimp might help a little, but it is really only needed for full-power (magnum) loads. I do crimp my target loads, with a light crimp, but really to ensure feeding through my Marlin underlever -- no requirement to do so to ensure accuracy. Try it, with another 5 rounds of otherwise identical ammo, and see if it makes a difference.

Looking at your target picture which is now up on the site, I'm pretty confident that your problem lies with the powder. The black marks on the card, showing the rifling marks, are a very good indicator of low velocities, as is the tumbling. But given the amount of powder you are putting into the cases, it is very strange that your velocity should be so low. I've seen such behaviour before with low loads of slow pistol powders normally intended for full magnum loads; they deliver terrible accuracy, and often signs of tumbling too. But from what I can see, D032 is not such a powder.

Before buying a tub of N320, is there anyone in your club you can scrounge some fast pistol powder from? Given that a tub of powder is close to £50, you might want to be cautious about ending up with two tubs of powder rather than one, in the unlikely event the gun is at fault. Then again, N320 is a very useful powder, so you can always sell it on, and from what I can see, your D032 is quite likely to be the issue.

One other thought -- are you sure your powder scale (or other measurement device) is accurate? A reference weight is a 5p coin, which weighs 3.25grams, or 50.05 grains -- the best check weight is in your pocket...pick a new one!

[steve R]

some good things to go on there ,new digi scales ,ill try the 5p tommorow, thanks again ,ill update as saga continues

[verminatormjc]

I’m using unique powder, 8.6gn with a 240gr cast bullet, at 25y I getting three touching ,maybe worth a try

[steve R]

awesome , some great help here thanks lads

[Korium]

Get one of these for removing the lead. They are really useful. It fits a standard cleaning rod.

For a .44 Mag gallery load, I use:

5.0grs of Lovex S015 (Solo 100)
Remington .44 Mag case
240gn Shellhouse .430" lead RNFP bullet
CCI large pistol primer

[steve R]

thanks mate ,some good info , i got some unique now and have loaded

2x5.5gr
2x6gr
2x6.5gr
2x7gr
2x8gr with 240 gm lead heads

gun is clean,so roll on monday eve, i saw some lead bullet heads in the shop that were PINK ,bright pink, forgot to ask ,but just looked on google in states its a hi tech coating ,range friendly to stop lead contact in the barrel

so hopefully heres a pic of my loads ,it looks like ive got a bit more crimp than the factory copper round, does the crimp look too much?