Reloading for 1875 Remington Revolver

[apu]

Well it appears I just acquired an early 1875 Remington revolver(sorry no pictures yet) in it's native centerfire 44 Remington caliber. I appreciate 44-40 is similar but it definitely won't chamber in the new gun. My understanding is the 44 Rem brass rim is thinner and the brass actually tapers down towards the bullet, would the shorter 44 Russian round fit with some modification? I am dead curious how folks are reloading? brass, dies? Many thanks in advance.

 

[dingus]

44 Remington is very simlar to 44 S&W/ Russian.
I have never had a 44 Remington Chambered gun but id be trying some 44 Sp and or 44 Colt brass.
44 Remington is a strait sided case like the 44 Russian that used a heeled bullet.
There is likely no chamber throat in your chamber so longer 44 sp cases might fit or 44 colt.
try them and find out let us know .

 

[apu]

Great advice, as usual Dingus , thank you.

 

[scianna54]

44 SPL cases work the best, otherwise use 44 Russian, bullets are the same as 44 Russian or SPL (.429 dia), reloading dies are 44 Russian, easy to get ahold of

 

[dingus]

44 SPL cases work the best, otherwise use 44 Russian, bullets are the same as 44 Russian or SPL (.429 dia), reloading dies are 44 Russian, easy to get ahold of

You have a Remington 1875 in 44 Remington ?
Ive never seen anyone get a remington in 1875 in 44 remington up here all the ones ive seen that were listed as 44 remington in the US turned out to be 44 40s when the sellers were asked to really check.
If you do have one can you post the chamber sizes and let us know if they are a bored thru chamber or do they have chamber throats.
The 44 Remington ammo ive seen is all heeled bullets so i asume theres no chamber throats like in the Colt DA 1892s in 41 Lc.
Thats one of the reasons i dont want one in 44 remington as to be accurate with modern bullets and cases you need a .430 chamber throat. that or find someone who has 44 remington heeled bullets for sale.
That or 44 American S&W heeled bullets.

Your statement that they use .429 dia bullets is confuseing because the orignal 44 remington used a heeled bullet like the S&W 44 American.

 

[apu]

You have a Remington 1875 in 44 Remington ?
Ive never seen anyone get a remington in 1875 in 44 remington up here all the ones ive seen that were listed as 44 remington in the US turned out to be 44 40s when the sellers were asked to really check.
If you do have one can you post the chamber sizes and let us know if they are a bored thru chamber or do they have chamber throats.

Dingus I know you were replying Scianna54, but can't help reaffirming how more likely it is to find an 1875 in 44-40. I have been looking for a while and the majority are in 44-40. The couple in 44 Remington I have come across seem to have some sort of collector following and were priced way out of my comfort zone.

This particular revolver heading my way has no tell tale 44 marking on frame or grips(appreciating grips can be changed). The revolver is definitely not chambered in 44-40, seller was unable to to come close to chambering that round. I suspect you might be right about the absent chamber throat. Anyways it will be interesting to do some experimenting once it arrives.

It's interesting see Brotherrockeye's previous post on the cartridge specs.

 

[dingus]

Dingus I know you were replying Scianna54, but can't help reaffirming how more likely it is to find an 1875 in 44-40. I have been looking for a while and the majority are in 44-40. The couple in 44 Remington I have come across seem to have some sort of collector following and were priced way out of my comfort zone.

This particular revolver heading my way has no tell tale 44 marking on frame or grips(appreciating grips can be changed). The revolver is definitely not chambered in 44-40, seller was unable to to come close to chambering that round. I suspect you might be right about the absent chamber throat. Anyways it will be interesting to do some experimenting once it arrives.

It's interesting see Brotherrockeye's previous post on the cartridge specs.

The Troble is some guys in the USA check with a fired 44 40 case which is bigger than a reloaded round.
The only way to be sure is if they use a factory 44 40 cartridge it should go in cept for about the last 1/2 inch will stick out and the cartridge will be tight in there with the 1/2 inch sticking out.
I missed a beauty that was 98% orignal nickled in 44 Remington the fellow took pics with a loaded 44 40 sticking outa the 44 Remington chamber.
Hard to get any accuracy outa a gun like that unless you buy heeled bullets.
Tho NEI makes molds so maby its not as big a deal anymore.
Let us all know once you get your 44 Remy.

 

[apu]

I could not find anything appropriate in the NEI catalog but it looks like Buffalo Arms has their own name branded heeled bullet mold specifically for the 44 Remington - .447" Dia. 250 Grn. 1-Cav Heel Base RNFP Mould. A bit spendy at $135, but who said this hobby was cheap

From their website ..,"This heel base bullet was designed with the 44 Remington revolver in mind. You may know of other calibers that this is suitable for as well. The overall length is .750" and the length of the heel is .295". The tapered heel is about .433" in diameter at the top and about .429" at the base. All of our heel base bullet moulds have a slight taper so that when you seat the bullet it will be held tight by the brass."

So looks like we have a projectile, now I just need to figure out the brass, will try the suggested 44spl, russian and 44 colt. ? Russian dies. Unless anyone who has dealt with this chambering can suggest better options. Thanks

 

[apu]

Got the old girl out today with the chrono and the new loads

Tried the 250 grain heeled bullet with 44 russian brass, fffg black powder and trailboss

21 grain of black powder will fit under this bullet without compression, this yeilded an average velocity of 550ft/sec

4 grain of trailboss gave a similar 500ft sec.
4.4 grain gave me a thumping 700ft sec with more smoke than the black powder(weird). Incidentally this exceeded published load max so I don't suggest anyone repeat this load without appreciating the risk to your gun or your self.

Once I figured out the sights were landing the projectiles 6 inches high from point of aim (15 yards free hand) I was amazed how accurate this bullet was, 4 out of the 5 points grouped within 1 inch of each other. Black powder accuracy was similar to trailboss. Man this is a fun gun.

The SWC round on the left is a schofield round for comparison.

 

[BrotherRockeye]

apu,that is a beautiful example of one of the finest revolvers of it's day,and my personal favorite.
kudos for staying true to it's roots.