H&R 44 mag over size bore

[littledog]

 Hi new to forum  I just bought two used sb2 frames for 40.00 call H&R with the serial numbers . They were very helpful and said both would take center fire rifle barrels. I plan to make one a 357 max to go my wife’s ruger 357. Call Boyds stocks and order a thumb through stock. Will be sending the frame to H&R for a 357 mag barrel. The second one I would like to make a 445 super mag I have herded H&R bore are oversized in the past.   Have this improved since Remington took over H&R. I shoot only jacketed bullets in my 1894 Remlin 44mag and it shoot better than I can ring a 10s inch gong at 200 yards with opensights  .   I want to scope the H&R 445 and hope to have enough power to take deer at 200yards.   Thank you for any help.

[quickdtoo]

Welcome!  SAAMI bore spec for 44 mag rifles is bigger than for a pistol, so plan on it being bigger, on the minimum side they are close to pistol specs, just depends when the barrel is made during the life of the tooling, if you were using cast you'd want to use .432" or bigger, .430" jacketed will work fine, I have had two made since 2007, they both shot .430" jacketed just fine before they were rechambered, one to 445 Supermag and the other to 444 Marlin.

Tim

[littledog]

 Thank you Tim I shot mainly Hornaday's 200 grain and Remington’s 210 grain. Do you happen to have any ballistic information on these rounds from a 445 supermag  in a h&R  200yard is a stretch for my 1894 44mag I am hoping the 445supermag with a good scope can get me in that range thank you
  

is a stretch for my 1894 44mag I am hoping the 445supermag with a good scope can get me in nd Remington’s 210 grain. Do you happen to have any ballistic information on these rounds from a 445 supermag  in a h&R  200yard is a stretch for my 1894 44mag I am hoping the 445supermag with a good scope can get me in that range thank you
 

[Singlebarrel]

Quick, is it cost effective to rebore the 44 Mag barrel to 444?  I have a 44 Mag barrel with a lot of issues and have a couple of frames that could handle the 444.  Sorry to interupt the thread, but this just hit me.

[quickdtoo]

Rechambering the 44mag to 444 Marlin isn't one I'd do by hand again, just too much metal to remove, I'd have it done on a lathe, by hand mine took me almost 3 hours and I still ended up finishing it with the reamer chucked in a ½" drill. Cost would be $25 with the GBO 444 reamer tho. As far as the results, it works fine. 

Tim

[petemi]

My .445 is one of the older oversized barrels.  I shoot .44 Mag Hornady Leverevolution ammo in it just fine.  Target picture below.  I handload Montana Bullet Works .433s in the .445 Super Mag.

Pete

[gcrank1]

I think I'd try the .445 reamer first to possibly improve the throat and leade, then, of course, the right size bullet for the throat (which is not necessarily the same as the barrel groove dia.).
Given an only 'decent' barrel and a good chamber with a good leade, and a bullet that properly fits, it should be a shooter.

[petemi]

My .445 shoots.  Even though it's an older barrel, it still did very well with Hornady LE ammo.  I just don't use it enough.  The poor guy gets lonely.  The bigger bores I usually grab are the .357 Maxi, .45-70, .38-55, .356/.358.  Why?  Haven't got a clue.  Perhaps it is because they have more reach which is almost always a factor here.

Now that the chucks are up and about, I want to take the Maxi, .38-55, the .356 and the .45-70 out for a walk in the park.  Perhaps I ought to take the .445 too.  They're a lot more fun and challenge than the .22 CFs.  I just killed a chuck the other day with the .22-250, but it was necessary.  He had a hole in my horse pasture and I needed to put him in it and fill it.  Didn't have time to mess with him.

An added note for those of you coming to Da U.P.  The three guys I talked to yesterday all had ticks on them in the last 48 hours.....bring bug dope.  They're gonna be bad this summer.  The snow hasn't been all gone for a week.    Chucks seem to be tick vectors.  Sometimes when I shoot them I think I'm putting them out of their misery.

Pete

[quickdtoo]

An added note for those of you coming to Da U.P.  The three guys I talked to yesterday all had ticks on them in the last 48 hours.....bring bug dope.  They're gonna be bad this summer.  The snow hasn't been all gone for a week.    Chucks seem to be tick vectors.  Sometimes when I shoot them I think I'm putting them out of their misery.

Pete

Better yet, treat your clothing with Permethrin, been doing this for years, have seen lots of ticks crawling up my leg just fall off dead, it works!!  I walked thru a patch of what we call buck brush once, picked up a half dozen or so on each leg, they just fell off in less than a minute.  It's available in a spray, but I use the military soak version. It lasts 6 weeks or 6 washings, but I usually retreat after 4 washings.

Tim

http://www.sawyer.com/tech-bugs1.html

http://www.shop.biteandstings.com/product.sc?productId=106

[petemi]

Good advice Tim.  It's best to get them off before they can get to your skin.  We've had no Spring at all this year.  It went from Winter to Summer.  We had snow last week and close to eighties this week.  I forgot to vent Patty's new greenhouse yesterday and it went up to 126 degrres.  We've had excellent snowfall this winter, but it's dry as a popcorn fart now.  We need rain.  Visiting with friends last evening on the new front deck, we were pestered by black flies....about two weeks early.

Back to the topic:  I have nothing to do for an hour or so, So I'm gonna go out and see what the .445 will do at 200.  I've never tried it.  I'll try the LE's if I still have any and the larger cast Montana Bullet Works too.  If it works out, I'll be back.

I haven't made it out to the two and three hundred yard targets yet, but I think perhaps  today I might.  There's been too much mud and snow.  Not wanting to tear up the alfalfa.

Pete