44 Mag/Laser Cast Bullets

[Flynmoose]

I am getting ready to try Laser Cast bullets in my Encore 44 carbine. I have loaded Hornady XTPs for my Marlin with SR4759 powder and found them to be accurate. My question is should I reduce the amount of powder for a cast bullet? I found a load on Steves pages but it does not specify whether the load is for cast or jacketed bullets. I got the new barrel today and want to shoot it on Saturday...not excited at all!
FM

[Bigeasy]

Bullet weights and powder charges being the same, you will generally get higher velocities with a cast bullet compared to a jacketed bullet.  You can push them just as fast as a jacketed bullet.  The limiting factor is leading.  A lot depends on how smooth your barrel is, bullet fit, lube used, bullet hardness, etc.  Best to start off low, say 1200 fps., then increase until you start to see leading.  A bullet with a gas check may help if leading is a problem.  Unless you really need max. velocities, I would work on finding an accurate mid-range load that did not lead, say a 240 grain in the 1200 - 1300 fps range.
 
Larry

[Flynmoose]

Thank You Big Easy. I am an old guy and 1200 to 1300 suits me fine. I have gone to Trail Boss powder to be able to keep shooting my 45-70s. I have a large quantity of SR 4759 and hoped I could use it for cast. I will load a few tomorrow and shoot them Saturday.
FM

[mdi]

For any lead bullet load data I use Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook. I don't recall any load data for .44 Magnum loads with SR4759 and lead bullets. IMR 4227 being the slowest I've seen...

[Dand]

I have had good results w Laser cast in my 41 mags but like others recommend here I kept them at moderate velocities.  Have you checked Laser's website- they may have load data too.  http://www.laser-cast.com/LoadManual.html


Overall, when going to cast bullets I'd strongly recommend going to manuals and loads for cast instead of just substituting a lead bullet in a jacketed load. Often you'll find slightly faster powders recommended for better balanced loads.  There's TONS of cast bullet data for the 44 mag - have fun - be safe.

It is usually pretty safe to substitute a lead bullet in a Jacketed recipe but NOT the other way 'round - that can be very unsafe at max loads (depending on the gun too).


Oh yeah and what kind of rifling is in your Marlin? Sometimes its tricky to get cast bullets to work well in microgroove rifled barrels - used to be a lot of discussion of that on GB you might want to search it out.


Also, while the Lasers should be no problem in the Encore, nose profile can be an issue in Marlin levers.  If I'm real careful I can get some SWC bullets to work ok in my Marlin but those sharp shoulders can be a problem feeding. And I've read of others having real troubles. Now to keep things easier I just load non SWC bullets for the Marlin and keep them for my revolvers.  HTH

[Flynmoose]

I use Hornady XTPs in my Marlin 1894 and they work well. I just got an Encore carbine barrel and want to shoot Laser Cast bullets in it. They do very well in my 45-70s and 45 acps, pistol and carbine. I hoped to use the powder that I have in stock since I don't see any on store shelves. I did
brave the wind today and shot some XTPs I had loaded. It did great, just what you would expect from an MGM barrel!
FM