.44 rem mag maximum bullet weight for lever action rifle.

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hello, I've got 2 boxes of Sierra 300 gr. Jsp bullets. (05049)
I was hopping to load them for my winchester 94AE in .44 rem mag.
When i opened the box, it said for pistol only on a cheap piece of paper in the box...
Did anyone ever load those for a rifle?
Or know what the issue is or can be?
Thanks!
Cheers!
 
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Many lever guns have quite slow rifling and might not stabilize longer bullets. I have some of the same but haven't ever tried to load them for my Marlin 94. Fun for the magnum feel in a Ruger Blackhawk!

The bigger issue is likely being too long to feed unless they are a very stubby fat nose. Might be able to get away with it depending on the particular gun.
 
You don't HAVE to seat at the cannelure. If you have a Lee factory crimp die, seat it a little deeper for a levergun. Yes, it will reduce the maximum amount of powder you can get into the case a tad, but you can work up a decent load pretty quickly with 2400 or 296/110.
 
From the link provided by stang:"When seated to the cannelure, this bullet will have an overall length that does not feed well in lever action rifles. Recommended OAL of 1.735″ in 44 Magnum."

So just seat them a bit deeper, and be aware of pressures when doing so?
 
Thank you guys! All good info! I'll try seating a bit deeper. If anybody has an idea, I should whitdraw 15% of powder?
I'll work up the ladder but just to get an idea if anybody tried...
Cheers gentleman!
 
rick357 said:
You don't HAVE to seat at the cannelure. If you have a Lee factory crimp die, seat it a little deeper for a levergun. Yes, it will reduce the maximum amount of powder you can get into the case a tad, but you can work up a decent load pretty quickly with 2400 or 296/110.
Click to expand...

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I tried them, used a lee crimp and seated a little deeper. Mimicked somewhere around a 300 xtp starting load and OAL. I’ve since found they can be seated to cannelure in the Henry single shot and now use them for the single.
I didnt get enough testing in to find out if I had a firm enough crimp using H110 in the lever.
If you have any luck, let us know and if I get a chance, I’ll try them out again and share too
Cheers
 
Most .44 magnums are a 1-38 twist instead of the 1-20 it should be.Win 94,788,336 + Ruger carbine are all 1-38"The .444 suffered the same fate although they may have rectified that.Pistols.......Redhawk,S+W+ Contender 1-20"
 
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The henry single shots are 1-20 and the chiappa levers are 1-20 as well. I'm not 100% certain but I believe the new big boy lever action has changed to 1-20.
My rossi is 1-30 and can stabilize 310 gr cast. With the long sierra you would have to push it pretty fast to get good stability with a 1-38 twist.
 
My experience mirrors the comments posted:

  • Pistol caliber lever guns are for the most part limited to a 1.6" cartridge OAL. any longer and they will jam up the action. Too much shorter is not good either.
  • Most reliable feeding bullet shape is a Round Nose Flat Point.
  • The 1:38 twist with oversized and shallow grooves is a mystery to me, (.424"/.431" min). Perhaps if you shoot soft lead bullets of about 200 grains with black powder it may work. Similar to factory 44-40 Cowboy ammunition.
  • The 1:20 twist with pistol bore and grooves (.417"/.429" min) is real easy to work with in a rifle and just about any ammo combo will work decently.
  • I sometimes load bullets in 44 Spl brass so that a crimped round is the proper length.

Deep seating a jacketed bullet may lead to feeding issues, as the tapered walls of the case may be pushed out enough to exceed cartridge max diameter. Similar to trying to seat a .431" bullet in a 44-40, the neck dia gets too big, Same as with the 38-55 and .380" bullets.

Changing the OAL of pistol ammunition changes the reloading data, significantly. I've fooled with loads in 38 LC, 38 Spl and 357 Mag brass. Each is a different caliber with unique idiosyncrasies. Unless you chronograph your loads, I'd advice not experimenting too much.

Crimping jacketed bullets outside of the cannelure isn't something I'd recommend. You can get away with crimping a cast lead alloy bullet into the bullet with a LEE FCD, but that is the limit of its capabilities, IMHO. The LEE FCD for pistols is a good design, but it's not magic. After all, so the ammo does not snag on feeding the completed round should pass the fingernail test.

tnNLR0S.jpg


This is 38 Spl rifle ammunition, crimped into the bullet body, loaded to 1.5" for my 1866 Cimarron.
 
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I'm a little confused about your comment about 1 in 38 twist being only good for soft cast 200 grain bullets when it's generally accepted that this twist rate even in micro groove barrels will do well with hard cast up to around 270 gr.
Also the last I checked the 44 mag is a strait walled cartridge and myself and many people load up to .433" bullets without a hiccup in chambering. I highly doubt a .429" jacketed bullet will cause an issue chambering in a levergun.
The OP should load a dummy round seated to the cannelure and it may cycle just fine. If not sell off the sierras and get a more appropriate bullet for a lever action. If he wants to stick with jacketed the xtp and the hornady 265 gr should work just fine.
Or switch over to the wonderful world of cast bullets
 
Below is a pic from my Sierra manual where they mention the OP's bullet and rifle, 7 lines from bottom.

gqJl1e1h.jpg


Swift 'Heavy Revolver' bullets are the same way, long on the front end with a suggested OAL 1.700".

I'm with ginsingjones on making up a dummy round.

ginsingjones said:
The OP should load a dummy round seated to the cannelure and it may cycle just fine. If not sell off the sierras and get a more appropriate bullet for a lever action. If he wants to stick with jacketed the xtp and the hornady 265 gr should work just fine.
Or switch over to the wonderful world of cast bullets
Click to expand...

Hornady has discontinued the #4300 265gn FN. :(
 
I have a B92 with the 1 in 38 twist and it spray the 265 Hornadys all over the place. 200 grain cast will work just fine in it.
 
CzyHorse said:
Below is a pic from my Sierra manual where they mention the OP's bullet and rifle, 7 lines from bottom.

gqJl1e1h.jpg


Swift 'Heavy Revolver' bullets are the same way, long on the front end with a suggested OAL 1.700".

I'm with ginsingjones on making up a dummy round.



Hornady has discontinued the #4300 265gn FN. :(
Click to expand...

Thank you!!!
 
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