changing from cast lead to plated - 44 mag

[ipscgraz]

I thought I saw something about this but I can't find it; search function was unable to find anything pertinent.

I have run out of cast 44 mag 240 grain and am switching to plated (Berry's.) Anyone have a lead to a recipe that will work with plated?

 

[Spawn-Inc]

plated are treated the same as lead projectiles in terms of pressure/velocity limits. plated you can get a bit higher but not as high as jacketed. when i use plated i load them as hot as jacketed and don't have any issues, but i like to live on the edge!

you will very likely be able to use the exact same load (assuming same bullet weight) safely, but you should work up a new load for safety's sake. if you have one of your old cast bullets compare it to the new plated bullets. if you seat them the same depth (meaning the base of the bullet is at the same depth) there should be no issues what so ever assuming the same weight.

but since your using a different style of bullet, it may like a different load vs the cast lead.

 

[ipscgraz]

After a brain fart I looked on Berry's web site; they recommend staying with cast loads. I am gonna back off from 8.2 to 7.5 231 for the first batch.

 

[09outlander]

Your not going to have any issues with using W231, the limitations of a plated bullet is velocity and your not going to get anywhere near the max velocity of a plated bullet using that powder.

 

[mmattockx]

plated are treated the same as lead projectiles in terms of pressure/velocity limits. plated you can get a bit higher but not as high as jacketed.

In the .44 Mag a properly sized cast bullet will compete head to head with jacketed for high velocity performance, especially in the heavier weights (240+gr). Plated bullets have lower velocity limits that need to be respected to prevent problems with the plating. OP's start load of 7.5gr of WW231 should be good to go, it will be right around 950-1000fps, which is no problem for the Berry's bullets.


Mark