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Re: The best .44 Magnum cast bullet?

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16 September 2004, 12:24
bfrshooter
Re: The best .44 Magnum cast bullet?
Bill, two boolits! The 320 gr. LBT WLNGC and/or the Lee 310 gr. I make mine hard by adding tin and antimony to wheel weights. I have taken a pile of deer with both, without expansion, they are so effective. Also very accurate.
I like the LBT's so much I made my own mold that casts a boolit of 330 grs. Shoots very good but the Lee is as accurate. These two boolits will do anything and everything.
16 September 2004, 15:24
Leftoverdj
Folks, have any of you gotten good accuracy from the Lee 310 in a Marlin 1894? I got a test batch from another caster and my early results have not inclined me to buy the mould.
16 September 2004, 16:21
Bill/Oregon
Thanks for the advice, fellas. Looks like the affordable Lee is worth considering, but I will keep my eye open for a used LBT mold, too. Think I have a stash of Hornady gas checks somewhere in the Fibber McGee reloading closet ...
17 September 2004, 08:17
LAH
For me it's the L-429421 hands down. I've cast and shot this bullets since 1975 and love it. If memory serves it was 1992 when I bought a 4 inch M-29. I shot little else for 8 years. The load was 20 grs. of 2400 with this bullet. Haven't felt a need for a heavier bullet in the 44.
17 September 2004, 08:58
Paul H
Bill,

I haven't shot a 44 in many years, and was just getting into casting at the time. I did have a Lee 310 rf gc mold, and it was a good bullet.

I've had and used many LBT molds, and they are good, but used ones seem to garner a premium, and many I've seen have been trashed. I would highly recomend mountain molds as a reasonable alternative, as I recall $60 for an aluminum block mold and he now has a tool steel sprue plate, which is better than his original aluminum ones, and better than the LBT sprue plates. Bullets from my Mountain Molds shoot every bit as good as the LBT's, and cast just as well too.

I might even look at a slightly lighter bullet in the 44, something like a 270 gr. I'd want a bit more speed to flatten the trajectory for silouette, and would think it would take care of anything I'd care to hunt with a 44.
17 September 2004, 11:11
bfrshooter
Lah, yes, a great boolit. I shot thousands of them with the same load. I just like the heavier boolits now for hunting and think the wider meplat does kill better.
I still shoot Keith boolits for fun.
17 September 2004, 11:15
bfrshooter
Yes I shoot it from my Marlin with 20.5 grs of 296 and get one ragged hole at 50 yds. We shot pop cans and the plastic tops of spray cans at 100 yds one after the other. Lots of fun!