1911- thanks for the offer. I have a Hornady manual as well. I will send a pm if I have any questions thought.
JUST got my press up and running after close to two years hanging out in the basement (LNL AP) and am totally bit by the bug... I havent even shot anything I've reloaded yet, which probably isnt the best way to go about things. So far I've just loaded some 45 (unique 5.9gr, hornady round nose 230gn, random cases), nothing crazy yet. I just bought more stuff though to get started with 308 (and a bunch of random other crap i realized would be handy). Never reloaded a thing ever prior to this so the learning curve is a definite factor, but totally loving it so far. I don't have any pictures of anything amusing or I'd post.
I'm oddly really enjoying my case prep. I'm doing the wet tumbling with the SS pins/lemishine/dish soap in a cheapo harbor freight rock tumbler and i'm pretty happy with the results.
PS- Only thing I have to say is damn the person who decided to make .45 with small primers..... what a PITA!
Well, my brother placed the order from Dillon, I don't know if he screwed up or they did. My 45 Colt shell plate is a 44 shell plate. Not loading any 45 colt anytime soon
Dillon is sending the 45 colt shell plate with a return label for the 44
I just finish loading the last of my Hornady 225gn FTX's. I bought a second box of FTX's a few weeks but closer inspection shows them to be 265gn for 444 Marlin. The cannelure is in the same spot as a regular bullet. They are not like the 225 in shape. The standard brass should work just fine.
I am going to ponder using them. I have load data for 265 grain 44 mag bullets. I did make a few dummy rounds and it cycles threw the rifle just fine. I even checked the distance between the bullets Ogive and the lands in the barrel. It matches the distance within a few thousands of a standard 240gn 44mag bullet. Anyone have a comment about using them? Looking for input!
Larry
The only misgiving I'd have about those would be about whether they would open up at .44 Magnum velocities since they were obviously intended for the big Marlin round fired out of a rifle.
It wouldn't matter if you don't intend to hunt with them, though.
btw...I'm a big fan of the .452 diameter version of the 225 grain FTX...used it to take three deer so far.
I still have a full box of them in my reloading cabinet.
Good point. The high end of the 44mag is pretty damned close to the low end of the 444! I didn't notice that until you said something. I just checked it out. I would not be hunting with the, Just punching paper and tinkering with loads. I figured they would be ok because I see loads up to 300 grains in the Hornady book. They just didn't show a load for this one in 44 mag. I'll have to ponder it a bit. I would be using them just to use them up and tinkering.
I am also a big fan of the 225ftx. I have been playing with different loads and powders for the last month or so and am pretty impressed too. It was going to be the round I was going to use for my first deer hunt. I was pumped up about it and then my health has pushed it back a year :-( If all goes well health wise it will be the round for next year! That is a fact!
I was thinking a lever gun would be a great first deer rifle choice.
You should have no real problem using the 265 grain with .44 Magnum.
Just go with the starting loads data for your other 265 grain bullets, then work your up while watching for pressure signs.
You'd do quite nicely with the 225 grain FTX for deer once you are better (sorry to hear that your health is only now improving), and it will extend your effetive range at least 25%.
All three deer I shot with my .45 Colt using the 225 grain FTX went no farther than 100 yards.
The first dropped literally in her tracks when the bullet struck her neck vertebrae after exiting the heart/lungs on a frontal shot.
The second, a buck, ran 100 yards even though his lungs were pulverized, but he left the proverbial "walking through the woods sloshing a bucket of blood" trail, so he was easy to track.
The third ran 25 yards, then collapsed, still within sight, this time with both her lungs and aorta blown to tatters, a testament to just how tough it can be to bring down a deer instantly.
It wasn't really an issue with all three deer since they're thin-skinned beasts, but all three bullets had core separations, with the cores exiting from all three.
It's for that reason that I would be hesitant to use these for bigger and tougher critters, namely black bear or anything from elk on up in size, better hunted using a controlled expansion bonded bullet.
It would be interesting to see how they would do if Hornady offered a bonded version of the FTX that would have controlled expansion for bigger game, but it would probably cost a bit more than they already do.
Things are slow to say the least. The 2mo old son, while he's a joy, he REALLY puts a damper on projects. SBR UZI is 100% done, have yet to fire it yet though. It was a leap of faith to finish it before testing it. Hopefully it runs well! Stens haven't progressed yet, but I'm hoping this winter. Finished a form 1 can not long ago. Reloading is proving nice because I can work slow, and work late at night when wife/baby are sleeping.
Before I do much more reloading I need to do a bit of testing.
I was thinking it was going to be ok, I feel much better about trying it now. I'll load 10 up and see what they do. Thanks for the feed back. It's much appreciated!
Glad to hear the FTX's are so effective. They sure ran well threw the Henry. I had tried the Leverevolution in my 45-70 and loved the results. So I picked up a box for the 44mag and did well with them too. That lead me to reloading with them. You probably caught the post on modifying the Lee quick trim die so I could modify some of the 44mag brass I already had. I now have a hundred pieces of brass to use. I have to mod the 45-70 die next. I think the Leverevolution is going to be my go to round in both lever guns.
Thanks again for the feed back!