C.O.L. , for 215+240 grn. Bayou SWC bullets, 44spcl + 44mag

[osprey902]

COL obviously affects pressure, charge, velocity and ballistic efficiency. Developing new loads for Bayou bullets in S&W Mod 69 , 44mag-4.25" barrel:and 44special CharterArms Bull Dog 2.5'' barrel. Loading Unique and N105 powders.

In the S&W 69 ,have calculated that the Bullet Jump ( excluding that in the cylinder) is 0.853.For a 240grn. swc@ col of 1.610. Diameter is 0.430. Have loaded other bullets out to 1.680 and as short a 1.580. Have mocked up 2 dummys 240 @1.576 and 215@1.500. Seat depths are 0.433 and 0.433. Case capacity is now the same . Charges will now only vary only slightly ,because of bullet weight.

The real question is do you need to seat these Swc's down to about 0.030 down from top of swc's widest point or should you go below top ring and crimp in that groove? Seems going on to top of the widest point is more for semi auto's. What about pushing bullet way out as long as your crimp will hold and not deform the bullet. What really matters here? Have not loaded these shorter COL's to date.

Was surprised when Ranier 200 grain plated flat point bullets loaded @col =1.610, 16.5grns N105,.starline case, WLP primer. Was very accurate and comfortable to shoot. Other good load was Sierra 240 JHP =Col 1.610,17 grns N105, starline case, WLP primer.

For the N105 powder what is the minimum case fill % that has been experienced? With this slower powder have set my lower limit @ 80% fill? Have not gotten there yet.

44 special 2.5 inch barrel--- any suggested accurate loads COL? Unique? N105? for the Bayou 215 and 240 ? or other better bullet? my old school experience is that @ these velocities lead SWC perform well in a carry gum . opinions?

all bullets are Hi-Tek Super Coated ,color gold

Thanks for reading. Osprey

[Hi-Power Jack]

Welcome aboard.

Have you tried reading some old postings - click of FORUMS (top

left of screen), and scroll down to RELOADING, and then down

to .44 caliber.

You can read hundreds of postings about reloading over the past

couple years in a half hour ....

[osprey902]

Hi-Power Jack,

Thanks for your reply!

Had previously done as you suggested and just went over it again. Did not find specific posting regarding my Questions and topic. Much of it was 45 acp.Did search for 44 caliber and 44mag only your reply and my post came up.

My topic is somewhat specific: it is only related to revolvers: max- min COL Vs. seating depth max-min: best place to locate crimp on lead SWC bullets. also I'm using N105 powder which the closest I could come to R123 which is no longer available. N105 comes up in discussion infrequently.

Also brought topic of Bullet Jump which is not often discussed in hand guns and may be a mute topic as hand guns function differently than rifles. Was very surprised at amount of bullet travel in a revolver to contact of ogive to barrel throat. That can be lessoned to some degree . But is there any real positive gain in accuracy? and there are a host of problems that are created the first being will your crimp hold. My preliminary tests were inconclusive . Crimp hold was a problem and used more powder,accuracy unchanged.

Did prove it is very easy to finely adjust pressure and velocity using COL rather than adjust powder charges in tenths of grains which may have a greater range of tolerance or error. Do this for rifles when looking for accuracy nodes.

Using a Gem Pro 250 electronic scale placed on a grounded anti static mat and ferrite beads on scale power wire, Rcbs Uniflow? powder dispenser/ with adjustable micrometer measure, Unflow has an aquarium air pump attached to add a small amount vibration for consistent metering. Back up is Ohaas 10-10. All charges for test loads and all my 44mags are done this way. Accuracy is less than 0.005grains deviation. Final charges are spot checked for consistency ,scales can drift.

COL is checked with Brown and Sharp dial calipers and micrometers calibrated with gauge blocks.