I have to get rid of that BIG loop lever..cant see the purpose of it..I guess you could put the thing around your neck to carry it when your hands are full :grin:
The purpose is two-fold: it looks like one of the guns that John Wayne used, and you can fit your hand in the lever while wearing a glove the size of a catcher's mitt. :-D
I crimp over the driving band of my Lyman/Ideal 429-421 bullets (the original, my mould dates back before the 44 mag) when I use them in my 444, because lever actions' throats just aren't cut for wad cutters. I use a compressed powder charge under them, which prevents bullet set back. They also work fine in low velocity, low recoil loads. Just make sure that your cases have plenty of neck tension, maybe make sure your resizing die has a minimum dimension expander, which can help as much as a crimp. I've got a set of RCBS dies that crank out Coke bottle shaped 44 mag rounds if I full length size, so you know that sucker will hold a bullet in place. I mostly just size the forward portion of the case, to avoid overworking the brass.
If Wilbe Lead reads this thread, maybe you can buy him a Rainier Ice, and sweet talk him into mailing a sample of that Lee bullet to make a dummy round for your rifle. I expect it will work, but every gun is different. He's used it in pistols, but I don't know if he's gotten around to running them through a rifle.
