1894s in 357 and 44 mag?

Cast the bullets, then powder coat, then try them in your gun. You might find you need to size down, or not. PCed bullets size down very easily using the lee sizers.
 
Ok so was going to order a pound of tool blue from Emerald Coating but shipping was flat rate $99? Really seems like a bit much for $11 item. Did I miss something?
 
Just find a commercial powder coater in your area (sometimes body repair shops have a PC coating booth) and ask for any powder overruns they may have, sometimes you can get enough to last a lifetime for just carrying it out the door.

One thing tho...if they offer you the "floor sweepings" from their booth graciously accept them just as a PR attempt but don't use them, just discard them as a favor...you don't want the very fine floor dust that will be picked up along with the powder and putting it down your barrel.
 
Just a quick update. I tried the Princess Auto blue and it worked fine although at this time I have nothing to compare it to as it was first attempt.

I have two pounds of tool blue on order from Emerald Coatings and shipping was only $14 thanks to the help on CGN.
 
I am really enjoying the powder coating process. So simple it has renewed my interest in casting again.

Very pleased with my results in the 1894 44 mag as well as H&R in same cal. I bought a Lee TL 240 6 cavity mould and am very happy with the accuracy so far. Need to do some more shooting at 100 but it shoots very well at 50. Using a full charge of H110. But I just ran out and can't get any locally. I was able to borrow a Keith style 255 SWC and it shoots very well in both. No problems chambering in the lever either.

Still no luck with less than a full magnum load though. I would like a nice mid range load not powder puff. Haven't found the right powder combination yet. Anyone care to share theirs?
 
As for the 357 in 1894 I bought a Lee TL 158 SWC and it is shooting well also. Near full charge of H110. I would like a bit better accuracy out of it. May have to try to find a heavier mould as has been recommended. SWC chambers just fine with no hiccups.

As with the 44 still looking for a mid range load in the 357 as well. No luck to date. Again anyone care to share theirs?

All in all both are a lot of fun to shoot. Mainly plinking at tin cans full of water and steel gongs. Hopeing the 357 I'll see some gopher action next year.
 
I've got a Br#####h 1894 in .357 with a 16" barrel.
I have tried most of the Lee molds in that caliber and every one of them shot great but not always to the same POI. My favorite all around bullet is the 358-158 RF with traditional lube grooves, powder coated and sized to .359. Consistent good accuracy and never gives problems hanging up in the magazine.
I load the 358-105 SWC for my young nephews to shoot, still makes a big noise when it hits a steel plate.
For single loading my favorite is the 358-148 WC with tumble lube grooves, needs to be seated out quite far with .38 brass to work for the tube. Very Accurate for me. Loaded to 1700fps I call it the "Badger Hammer"
I'm loading all my carbine ammo with Alcan AL-7
 
Thanks malt. I too am having good success with the blue PA stuff. Emerald Tool blue has worked very well. Can't post pics yet as still struggling trying to replace photobucket.

I am very happy with PC for my 357. Still a bit of work to do with a 44 load but getting there. Last week had very good success in my 30-30 as well.
 
lpel said:
Thanks malt. I too am having good success with the blue PA stuff. Emerald Tool blue has worked very well. Can't post pics yet as still struggling trying to replace photobucket.

I am very happy with PC for my 357. Still a bit of work to do with a 44 load but getting there. Last week had very good success in my 30-30 as well.
Click to expand...

I cast and coat for 9mm and 30wcf. Colors that work (shake and bake) for me are blue violet (its basically light purple), tractor red, and tool blue all from emerald. I tried princess auto black today mixed with a small mount of tractor red let in the container. They are black with some red spots. They look pretty neat.

I didn't want to buy a lube sizer after seeing the cost. Didn't want to deal with lube and raw lead when loading so pc was the answer.

I get faster speeds with pc then jacketed while using less propellant. That is an added bonus.
 
Over the last few months I have been working on load development for both my 357 and 44 mag Marlins using my Cast and PC boolits. For each of them I have developed a magnum and a mid range load. Been playing with as cast and sized as well. I have finally developed loads that I am happy with accuracy wise so I cranked up the Dillon 550.

To date I have loaded 500 357 and 400 38 Spl. Yesterday I rec’d my parts for my 550 to load 44 mag. Today I converted from small to large pistol and got it all good to go. Tomorrow’s plan is to load up my 500 44 mag brass.

Sure is fun shooting levers. Maybe time for a 30-30 or 45-70 or 45LC.
 
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