.44 Rem Mag

tetra

tetra

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
14   0   0
Location
Ontario
I just purchased a Chiappa Mare's Leg in 44 mag. I knew ammo for this thing would be expensive but wow, 45 bucks for a box of 50? Has anybody found anything cheaper than that?
I seen a few boxes around 35-38 for S&B but most are always out of stock. Any tips?
 
It is sickening, I know. The last great deal I received was some Wolf ammo from BullsEye Sports in London, for about $36.99/50 rounds. They only had three boxes a few months back but are receiving more once in a while. You just have to keep your eyes open. Since then I have faced this new reality head-on. I now have dies, powder and primers for reloading. I just need bullets from the Bullet Barn.
 
44 mag. ammo is pretty expensive.....I have a Redhawk 44 mag. , and it gets very little use because of ammo costs.......reloading is the only solution......
 
Yup, 44 Mag....That's what got me started in reloading. Going from $1.65/round to $0.30/round for premium ammo was worth the investment alone. Now that I've fallen into casting as well, my 45ACP cost has dropped to $65/1000 rounds not including my time. I shoot a lot more these days. :)
 
Hi guys,

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember reading "somewhere" (two or three years ago) that using reloaded ammunition in a lever-action rifle was not advisable. I'd bought a .44 Ranch Hand from the first batch to arrive in Canada, and was aware of the expense of factory ammunition.

I may have even read it in the Rossi owner's manual, but I cannot seem to lay my hands on it right now. I think that the recommendation may have been accompanied by the rationale, or it may just simply have been CYA lawyer-speak.
 
Some manufacturers state that shooting handloads will void their warranty but I've never heard of companies saying handloads are dangerous. I have no idea what could be dangerous about it. I know Pedersoli lists maximum recommended pressures for ammunition used in some of their rifles but whether it's factory ammo or handloads doesn't matter.
 
boomer49 said:
Hi guys,

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember reading "somewhere" (two or three years ago) that using reloaded ammunition in a lever-action rifle was not advisable. I'd bought a .44 Ranch Hand from the first batch to arrive in Canada, and was aware of the expense of factory ammunition.

I may have even read it in the Rossi owner's manual, but I cannot seem to lay my hands on it right now. I think that the recommendation may have been accompanied by the rationale, or it may just simply have been CYA lawyer-speak.
Click to expand...

I use reloads in my .44 mag Browning '92 all the time with no problems. Just load to reasonable rifle loading data and not too hot. I've loaded some pretty hot rifle loads with no problems. Pistols loads are usually much lighter loads so you shouldn't have problems.

I use Starline brass at $22/100 and have found it works great.
 
so who are you going to believe- there's lots of folks on here with levers that have reloaded for years- a good manual is all you need- and if you want, you can always use 44 SPECIAL loads if you're suspicious of the action- look at it this way- is that same rifle also chambered in 30/30?- if it is ( and most of them are) then you should be able to use up to that pressure in that action- the 44 mag gets nowhere near that- it's more likely I would be cautious of POINTY BULLETS ( ie spitzer types) in tubular magazines than higher pressure rounds
 
Hey guys,

All of your responses make complete sense.

It took just a minute to go online to find a PDF of a Rossi Owner's Manual ( http://www.rossiusa.com/pdf/Rossi_Manual_Rio_Grande.pdf ) and they say

2. The use of reloaded, “remanufactured”, hand-loaded, or other non- standard ammunition voids all warranties. Improperly loaded ammunition voids all warranties. Improperly loaded ammunition can be extremely dangerous. Severe damage to the firearm and serious injury to the shooter or to others may result. Always use ammunition that complies with the industry performance standards established by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute, Inc., of the United States, (SAAMI) or the equivalent from other countries.

but they give no real reason. I think that it's just lawyerly boilerplate ... they probably use the same comment for every firearm they make.
 
Some guys try to hotrod their handloads to get more velocity out of them and some factories in the US even produce hot ammo with liability warnings or firearm recommendations on the box. With the huge variance in action strength in various lever rifles and revolvers, especially for a cartridge like 45 Colt, it can get dangerous pretty quick. 44 mag isn't as much of an issue but could still be loaded above max to dangerous levels.

The 45 Colt for example is chambered in most lever rifles that are also chambered in 44 mag (but not always the other way around). Some older actions or reproductions of weaker designs are only meant to hold the black powder pressures of around 14,000 psi. In firearms designed for it the 45 Colt can be loaded over double that to nearly 44 mag pressures (36,000 psi). It's similar for the 45-70 as well. Technically the official max pressure is 28,000 psi or something like that but handloaders go up to 50,000 psi safely in the right firearms. Some factory 45-70 ammo is available at 36,000 or 40,000 psi which would be very unsafe in, say, am 1873 Trapdoor Springfield design (even a modern recreation of one).
 
The main issue with reloads in a lever action,or anything tube fed,is making sure the bullets are properly crimped so the spring pressure from the follower in the tube mag doesn't push the bullet deeper into the case creating an over pressure situation.
 
caperaway said:
The main issue with reloads in a lever action,or anything tube fed,is making sure the bullets are properly crimped so the spring pressure from the follower in the tube mag doesn't push the bullet deeper into the case creating an over pressure situation.
Click to expand...

Probably more so to prevent the forces of recoil from doing this I'd think
 
44 Russian and 44 Special can be fired from a 44 Magnum chamber but in lever rifles the shorter cartridges don't always feed well.
My Marlin 1894 is stamped "44 special or 44 magnum" on the barrel but I have seen one stamped "357 magnum" and the guy said it constantly jammed when feeding 38 specials.
 
The thing is, that 44 special an 44 Russian are at least as expensive and cost almost exactly the same to reload as 44 magnum
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom