.44Mag Loading Brass Prep.

hemidart

hemidart

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When prepping .44Mag brass for lever rifle reloading do you need to bell the neck on the brass when loading jacketed bullets or is this step for cast only.
And either way I assume the bell will become part of the crimp???.
I have been reloading rifle for a few years but am just now venturing into the pistol calibres any info is appreciated.
Thanks
Pete...
 
All straight walled or tapered cases require flaring of the case mouth to allow for bullet insertion. The flaring is removed as part of the crimping process.
 
hemidart said:
tjhaile said:
All straight walled or tapered cases require flaring of the case mouth to allow for bullet insertion. The flaring is removed as part of the crimping process.
Click to expand...
Best Damn answer to a question I have ever received :D
Thanks
Pete.....
Click to expand...
Problem is it isn't entirely true... Flat-based jacketed bullets require belling, sure, but beveled-base bullets don't. Like Ben said, only bell as much as absolutely necessary.
 
You should just barely be able to see / feel the belling at the case mouth. You really do not need a whole lot and as already stated... the crimp dies take care of this after the bullet is seated.

Regards,
 
This is not unique to the .44mag. The properties of brass is what makes it brittle the more it gets worked. If you load hot (I love hot .44mag loads.. I'm all about the flash and the bang:D) you will more likely see split cases before you see cracked necks from reloading. The idea is to keep it as minimal as possible to prolong case life and this is true for all calibers.

Bell the mouth a bit and try to seat.. if it shaves the bullet you need a little more belling, if it crushes the brass you need a lot more belling. Once you figure out the amount you can pretty much leave that die set as it is as it will more than likely work fine for 99% of your bullet & load combinations.

Number of reloads varies on manufacture of brass, load used, firearm used etc and everyone's mileage will vary. Hard to put a figure on it.. I have some cases that lasted 3-4 times and others that are 7 reloads or more... again there are several contibuting factors to case life.

Hope this helps and don't get too worked up on case life.. just reload and shoot!:dancingbanana:

Regards,
 
44 magnum brass can be reloaded a great number of times. I couldn't give you exact numbers, but the brass just goes on and on.
When my brass does give out, it is usually because of length wise cracks in the mouths.
As has been pointed out, they must be belled a very little amount, to achieve long brass life.
In my opinion, the power of the load has little, or nothing to do with case life. My 44 mag loads are loaded either full up, like 22 of 2400, or 24-25 of H110, or W296, or close to full power loads.
The straight walled 44 cases have almost no stretch with use. Thus, the load just swells the brass to the chamber and the lightest of loads will still do this.
 
Here is a piece of brass that is slightly belled, just enough to be able to seat a bullet without shaving lead &/or damaging the case if using a jacketed bullet.
601px-Belled_casing.jpg

Too much flare only serves to shorten the live of your brass....
 
When I looked at the picture of the belled 44, it looked like there was a roll on the top.
So, I photographed one of my 45-70 cases, expanded, ready to load a cast bullet, and the picture looks a bit the same, like it had a roll on top!
So I took a second picture of the same case from a different angle. This shows up like almost no belling, but it is sufficient and will ensure long case life.

zzz.jpg

zzzz.jpg
 
I have reloaded Starline and Winchester brass 30+- times, in 44 mag.
Starting from 4-6 full loads to mid-light loads for the remainder.
All cast. From plain base to stinking-rotten bevel base.
I use a minimal bell, enough to set the bullet "up" straight before seating.
Amazing life-span, straight wall cartridges that is, if you ask me.
Dwayner
 
Years ago, I read of a test by a gun-writer to determine difference in case life between brands of .38 SPL. He started with a box of each of about five brands, using a lead wadcutter - thereby requiring maximum belling, and a good crimp to maintain consistent bullet pull - and set to.

After all brands hit twenty re-loads, he's thinking maybe he need not shoot all fifty each time, in the interests of finishing the test sometime while target revolvers were still popular. So he trimmed it down to ten or fifteen cases of each brand, and proceeded to practice shooting PPC until his first case mouth crack, at around re-load number eighty- something. That was an anomaly, and that brand and all of the others carried on past a hundred re-loads each without failure. He kinda figured on one would care beyond that point, so he took himself to a PPC match, figuring to get something out of all that shooting.

Now, maybe a .44 case will fail a bit sooner, and if you bell anymore than necessary they will all fail a bunch sooner, but case mouth cracks are not normally a concern.
 
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