Jump to content
SASS Wire Forum

Variations in spent .44 Magnum brass


H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619

Recommended Posts

 

I have a bunch of .44 Magnum brass that was given to me by a couple of different pards because they knew I reloaded for it, and they either not interested in reloading, or were getting rid of their guns in this caliber.   Some of it was once fired brass that I found at gunshows.  Some of it was leftover stuff from my father.   All in all it is an "eclectic" mix of brass from different manufacturers.

Today, I was loading some of it up for eventual use at a future match, and I quickly determined that you can more or less "tell" what kind of loads were fired from out of these cases.   If downloaded "cowboy" loads were in the brass, it goes through the resizing dies very easy.   If it had "powerful" loads shot out of it, you really have to pull hard on the lever to get them to go through the dies.  Did not matter what make the brass was, and like I said, they were all mixed up.

Maybe this also has something to do with the chambers of the guns the stuff was fired out from, but it was an interesting observation.  

 

Anyway, I thought it might be amusing to share this anecdote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I find great differences in .44 brass also especially in case length.  Case in point is Hornady Brass.  I have found Hornady to  as much as .020" short when once fired factory load.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the hardest to size 44 mag brass is the occasional 45 Colt that got mixed in and I missed while sorting.  I quickly learned to stop sizing and check when encountering extra resistance.  Fortunately all my 44 mag brass is the same length and I can easily seat and crimp in a single step.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Deadwood Miner, SASS # 45575 said:

Yes, I find great differences in .44 brass also especially in case length.  Case in point is Hornady Brass.  I have found Hornady to  as much as .020" short when once fired factory load.

 

AFAIK all Hornady LEVERevolution ammo uses brass that is shorter than SAAMI spec.  They have to use the shorter brass to allow for proper crimping of the FlexTip bullets due to their longer ogive. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have some 30-06 brass that I bought here. Most goes through the die easy. A few absolutely will not. I can only assume it was shot in a gun that was really oversized.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

I find the hardest to size 44 mag brass is the occasional 45 Colt that got mixed in and I missed while sorting.  I quickly learned to stop sizing and check when encountering extra resistance.  Fortunately all my 44 mag brass is the same length and I can easily seat and crimp in a single step.

.45 Colt should not even fit into your .44  shell holder.

OLG 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I lube all brass I size as it just makes for easy pull of the handle.  I can tell when sizing if it was my Rossi, Uberti or USFA that shot the brass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others have mentioned, it helps to slightly lubricate brass even with carbide dies.
I didn't do it generally, then decided to load up some 9mm and felt the much more force needed, so I lubed them and it really helped.

So now I lube everything, just to save my arm and my machine.

 

Yes the pressure of the load and chamber size makes a big difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

 

And some calibers need a LOT of lube.   I recently resized some .30 Mauser.   Oh man that was...  Not fun.

Broomie? And yes, the Mauser is a pain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Aye, that's all true.

 

Oddly, the .30 Tokarev in spite of being remarkably similar, is relatively easy to reload.  Go fig.

Hmm, I wonder if the Tok brass is made to different specs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, DeaconKC said:

Hmm, I wonder if the Tok brass is made to different specs.

 

There are slight differences.   You can safely chamber and fire the Mauser round in the Tokarev, but while you can chamber the Tokarev round in a Mauser, actually shooting it will blow up the gun, as the Tok has much higher pressures.

I have a Tokarev pistol and a reproduction of the Russian "burp gun."   Both are fun to shoot.  I have two Broomhandles, also fun to shoot.   I am pretty sure the bore on one of them is either shot out or oversized as bullets start to tumble out of it before to long.   I have also read that the Mausers tend to have oversized chambers.  It may just be that the brass has swollen quite a bit in them.  I did notice that some brand new unfired Mauser brass went through my resizing die relatively easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/14/2021 at 11:54 AM, Sedalia Dave said:

 

AFAIK all Hornady LEVERevolution ammo uses brass that is shorter than SAAMI spec.  They have to use the shorter brass to allow for proper crimping of the FlexTip bullets due to their longer ogive. 

 

I wonder if this is why leverlution would not feed in my 45 colt rossi mod 92.  Tried to take it hunting one year and it was basically a single shot with the leverlution.  Haven't tried the ammo in any other lever actions. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.