Cast Bullets for Revolver with slightly tight chambers

[cynergyou]

Hi All,

I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 magnum that I would like to use for deer hunting. Up till now, I've mostly shot jacketed and copper plated loads (both factory and hand loaded) through this gun.  I am now going to work up some hunting loads using some Cast Performance .44 caliber hard cast bullets that I recently purchased.

My goal is to develop a mid range hunting load using this Cast Performance 44 caliber (.430 diameter) 255 gr wide flat nose hard cast lead bullets.  I noticed the other day that these hard cast bullets are a snug fit in the chambers of my Super Blackhawk.  The bullets get stuck at the mouths of the chambers (i.e., near the front of the cylinder) when I try to push them through lightly with my finger.  I've read that this snug fit can cause excessive bore fouling and inaccuracy.  Should I be concerned about the snug fit of the bullet in my gun if I am only planning to shoot these loads occasionally (to sight in before going into the field)?   Is the snug fit of the bullet to the chambers going to be a big problem?  Is accuracy dramatically affected or can I still get decent groups at 25 yards (good enough for hunting) with this combination?

I only plan on using these hardcast loads during hunting season.  The rest of the time, I will continue to use my lower velocity copper coated handloads for practicing and plinking.  I'm hoping to develop some moderate loads that will reach 900+ fps out of my 4-5/8" barreled gun.

Thanks in advance.

Cynery

[Graybeard]

I've read that this snug fit can cause excessive bore fouling and inaccuracy.

 

Dunno where you read that but I'd not go there for information anymore. 

The only down side to such a snug fit that I can think of would be if they stuck and were difficult to remove when you wanted to unload rather than fire them. Even then it's not a biggie. If they'll go in then you have no problem, if they don't go in and that can be a problem then you'd need to worry about it.

Bore fouling and inaccuracy are more likely caused by an improper match of bore diameter and throat diameter. If your throats are smaller by more than a half a thounsandth than the bore it can begin to be a problem. If they are way larger it's a bigger problem. Ideally throat should be within around a half thousandth of the bore and more ideally it should be larger not smaller.

[cynergyou]

Thanks Greybeard!  Hopefully I'll get a chance to work up some sample rounds next week and take them to the range next weekend.  I recently purchased a chronograph so I can get a better idea of the potential performance of my handloads.

Thanks again for your reply.

Cynergy

[Lloyd Smale]

check to see if your not over crimping them too. If you can push a bullet through the cylinder with even heavy finger pressure its fine and even if you cant it wont hurt a thing. Just make sure if your hunting with them that you can rotate your cylinder all the way around without binding. Sometimes one will stick out a bit and tie the gun up.

[Frank V]

Cynergyou, I kind of like the bullets to have a snug fit in the cylinder. I get better accuracy when the bullets are a bit snug. I think you'll be fine.
Frank