I am fairly new to pistol shooting. I am looking for a hardcast bullet for my 44 mag for use in bear defense. Can anyone recommend a good hardcast to reload with.

As well, I have never reloaded for pistol but have reloaded lots of rifle so any tips on reloading hardcast bullets would be appreciated as well.


Thanks

check with mt. baldy bullets. Frank sells a great bullet. He will gladly talk with you and help you pick the right bullet for the job.

I would use a 300-310gr LFP w/ or w/o gas check. They penetrate like crazy, even at 1000fps. Do a search for hardcast bullet. There are several good suppliers out there, Performance Cast, Mt. Baldy, Beartooh, etc.

In a revolver, 240 gr. is about max on a 44 mag. The larger bullets won't clear the cylinder. Unless they're seated deep -- which is new to me.

I had some 265 gr. loads that wouldn't clear the cylinder in a Ruger SBH -- seated to the cannalure.

44 mag. is a "backup" for bear.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
In a revolver, 240 gr. is about max on a 44 mag. The larger bullets won't clear the cylinder. Unless they're seated deep -- which is new to me.
I had some 265 gr. loads that wouldn't clear the cylinder in a Ruger SBH -- seated to the cannalure.
44 mag. is a "backup" for bear.

I have yet to see a 44mag NOT be able to efficiently handle bullets up to 300gr w/o deep seating. If you have a short cyl. the 270grLFP should work well.
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/wst_page6.html

Shooting cast lead bullets in your revolver will require that you flair the case mouth just enough so that you don't shave lead off the bullet while seating. Also, you will need enough crimp on the case mouth so that the cartridges in unfired chambers don't have their slugs move during recoil from firing another chamber. If you are loading these straight walled cases with carbide coated sizing die you won't need any lube on them. I like H110 Hodgdon powder for full power loads in my 41Mag and think it would be an excellent choice for the 44Mag as well, but if you should choose this powder don't reduce very far under max load as the pressure drop off is dramatic and can result in a stuck bullet in your revolver's barrel. Good luck with your pistol loading and hunting.

Look at Oregon Trail Bullets. I've used their cast bullets in 44 mag 240 and 300 grainers; in a 45-70 for 350 and 405 gainers; in 45 acp in 200 and 230 grainers.

A 300 grain hard cast Oregon Trail under a large dose of H110 would be up to the task. IMO

Try these guys.

http://www.castperformance.com/StoreFront.bok

Hodgens H110 and 296