Used 44 mag

[Ten Ring]

I'm looking at a friends 44 mag he wants to sale. Can anybody tell me what year period they had the oversized bores? It's an ejector model hy(2008).
thanks Jim

[thejanitor]

Ask him if you can slug it. (drive a lead egg sinker through it with a wood dowel) and measure it, You will want to after you buy it anyway then you would know for sure.  He should let you....
It would be good to know either way,  for jacketed bullets  it wont matter much, but if you want to shoot cast it is a HUGE deal.   thejanitor

[gcrank1]

The quick-n-dirty way is to drop a .429 jacketed bullet in the bore and see if it wants to fall through. Try it from the muzzle and the breech to see if one end or other seems bigger. Dont try to slug it through with a jacketed bullet though  .

[petemi]

I can't tell you anything about serial number prefixes because I put my .44 together.  It's not factory original.  It is one of the older barrels.  When it was a .44 Mag. all I shot in it was Hornady LE ammo, and it shot fine.  Tim reamed it to .445 for me and slugged it.  Since then, I've been using a .445 Super Magnum load with Montana Bullet Company's 240 gr. .433 Gas Checked Semi Wad Cutter.  They're not a cheap bullet, but they shoot well being pushed to near 2000 fps.  I may, one day, buy a standard size barrel, but I won't get rid of this one.  It may be over sized, but it shoots.

If I were doing the buying, it wouldn't matter much if it were the older barrel.....if the price was right.  Either shoots....just depends on what ya feed em.

Pete

[gendoc]

I too have found tha bullet for my 445SM. a sierra .4295 300gr jsp.
tha bore isa lil' over but it shoots very well.  and my specs are closer than most............
 
ain't gotta need for cast boolits in this'un 

[petemi]

John, I didn't know about that bullet.  I'm gonna give it a go.   Thanks.

Pete

[Ten Ring]

Thanks for the reply's I don't have this rifle in hand to do the checks but will probably go ahead and buy it and then deal with it.
thanks Jim

[gendoc]

John, I didn't know about that bullet.  I'm gonna give it a go.   Thanks.

Pete

sierra # 08630...............

[LaOtto222]

HX (2007) was the first year that H&R produced the 44 Magnum with the smaller bore. It was on the SB2 frame that year and is an extractor. That is when I bought mine, because I knew it was the smaller bore and it was on an SB2 frame. To be sure you should slug, the barrel.

Good Luck and Good Shooting

[hoytcanon]

I have an older "sloppy bore" .44 Maggie that shoots pretty darn good with jacketed and also with .432 cast... I wouldn't worry so much about the bore size... you will find something to work in it.

[45-70.gov]

i size  to 431  now.......430 didn't work  n the over bore


431  works in every thing  else just fine too

[glockmeister]

hoytcannon, that is one very nice Handi you have there. Love the walnut stocks and the buttstock especially. Lot of work but it was worth the effort from what I can see. Take care, John.

[ironglow]

I had an old .44 Shakari..(mid 70s) which I gave to my grandson.  I never tried cast bullets, but it sure shoots good with jacketed bullets.  I got 4 deer with it over the years, and he has gotten 3 since..

[gcrank1]

Jacketed bullets arent all that finicky to bore size as long as the rifling can still grab some jacket to impart spin and they dont gas cut on the base, which is wicked to lead alloy. Once they gas cut the hot gasses and melted lead alloy go up the gap and into the rifling continuing to cut the bullet, lead the barrel and make off center ejection of gas pressure at muzzle exit (no wonder undersize lead bullets wont group!).
Most find accuracy quicker and easier right off with a new gun or barrel with jacketed loads and can then establish what a barrel is capable of to compare the cast bullet reloads to. Ive been doing this long enough, and generally have enough different bullets on had to make my cast reloads from the git-go (I know, Im lucky).
I suggest you buy a box of 100 of a good jacketed hunting bullet in the weight most often recommended for a caliber to do initial trials with and 'just to have on hand'. You can always load up some premium hunting loads from then on for yourself or a friend.
Remember, successful cast bullet shooting is somewhat of an advanced reloading technique with its own learning curve beyond 'regular reloading' (and cast bullets with black powder is advanced beyond casts with smokeless).