44 Mag, .429 vx .430

[Jack Ryan]

Is this trial and error which is going to shoot better?

I've got a Redhawk and a 629 do I need to just mich the bore to decide which to try? If so, so you mich to the bottom of the grooves or the minimum diameter from top to top of the lands?

Are Vernier calipers accurate enough to learn what ya need to know? They are good ones from Starret that I used in my machine shop days.

[Jack Ryan]

I just read a link suggesting they were pretty consistant and suggested .429 jacketed and .430 for lead. Would this hold true for most guns?

I did look to see what most bullet manugactures offer and there are plenty of .430 jacketed bullets available for 44 cal. Would these probably only be a better choice for shooting in the Handi rifles which are many times over size bores?

[Mikey]

jack - why don't you slug your bores first to find out what size they are?  Your Ruger may prefer a .431 diameter slug and your 29 a .429. 

The practice of using .429 jacketed slugs and .430 cast is commonplace.  You may get great accuracy from those slugs.  However, your bores may be over or undersized and you can spend a lot fo $ trying to find the most accurate load for those revolvers unless you slug your bores.   JMHO.  Mikey.

[gwindrider1]

Jack,

Mike the throats of the cylinder instead of the bore.  Try to match that dimension!

[Lloyd Smale]

some of my 44s prefer .430 some .431 but ive yet to find one that did its best with 429. Im talking just cast bullets here.

Jack,

Mike the throats of the cylinder instead of the bore.  Try to match that dimension!

[dubber123]

Another vote for measuring the cylinder throats.  Fit he bullet to that, and don't worry about the bore.  Some guns have oversized throats, some undersized, fitting he bullets to the cylinder has always worked best for me accuracy and leading wise.  It would be good information to have to know your bore.  For instance if you have a .431" bore, and only .429" cylinder throats, it probably won't ever shoot well until you get the throats opened up to be larger than the bore. The bullet gets "sized down" to the cylinder size, then kind of rattles down the bore. (This isn't that much of an uncommon scenario).  Good luck.