In what may be the worst case of timing ever recorded....

Puddlejockey

Puddlejockey

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Hey all!

So my lovely bride decided to get me into reloading, and had Santa bring me a Hornady starter reloading kit, along with the dies, to reload 44 mags ; since I shoot that in a few rifles as well as my favorite wheel gun. For some reason, I'm just enamored with that round.

So.. NOW WHAT?!?? I have a little bit of brass- in the form of currently loaded 225GR FTX's from Hornady ( which will become reloadable brass at a pretty slow rate) ; and I have a few hundred 300GR XTP bullets .

I've been trying to educate myself ; but it's all pretty darned overwhelming. And I'm having a very tough time ( obviously) getting my hands on the components that I Think I need.

How would you ( or would you even try! ) to get started reloading, given the world we live in today?

My normal SOP historically would be to find a local shop with a good reputation; and walk in saying " I have X to spend, I'm clueless, help!" and go from there. It's amazing what I've been able to learn that way. But in the world we live in now... you have to have the spybot to get the password to enable you to get an appointment to stand in line at the store, to potentially find out what you may need isn't available anyway. There's something that would maybe work, but that sold out two days before you found out you needed it...

Any and all advice appreciated!


EDIT: It's also important to understand that I'm getting the " You haven't used your reloading stuff yet. Don't you like it? " from my bride. If you're married, you get the flaming hellmouth of a potential guilt pit that question represents..
 
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Sounds like you need primers, powder and some more brass.

Way things are now, primers will be your hardest find, especially with many LGS limiting how many you can purchase.

For those XTP 300s, Win296 would be a good choice for powder. When I was loading for 44 Mag, that’s what I used.

If you’ll look through the BST reloading section, you may find what you’re looking for.
 
If "H ville" in your location is Hendersonville, I can hook you up with 100 primers, some brass and bullets. You're new here, so Welcome! If you're not an idiot or looking to rob me you can even come over and get some reloading tips.

PM me if you want to hook up.
 
I recently sold off my all of my .44 cal firearms, reloading dies and desire to ever own another .44. I seem to have an abundance of both new and spent brass, mostly Starline. Some of it nickel plated. I also have quite a few thousand federal large pistol powders. While shot mostly Vihtavouri powder, I probably have some 2400 and a bunch of Unique, which works well for reduced loads, if you don’t want to develop flinchitis. I’ll be putting this stuff up for sale ASAP, but if you are interested, pm me and I’ll get you a list of the items. Unfortunately, I just sold off 1500 hard cast lead sic from Oregon Trail, which are great bullets.
Most important, go slow and enjoy yourself.
 
Tim said:
If "H ville" in your location is Hendersonville, I can hook you up with 100 primers, some brass and bullets. You're new here, so Welcome! If you're not an idiot or looking to rob me you can even come over and get some reloading tips.

PM me if you want to hook up.
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That's very generous, ya'll are making me feel bad! ( Actually it's Huntersville... I didn't think about Hendersonville when I put that in.. oops!).
 
Yet again, I find myself amazed at the helpfulness of this forum.
Even in these times, and this market, we have folks willing to *give* valuable components to a newbie AND willing to host for sharing of knowledge.
This place really is the shiznit
 
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Amanda4461 said:
I recently sold off my all of my .44 cal firearms, reloading dies and desire to ever own another .44. I seem to have an abundance of both new and spent brass, mostly Starline. Some of it nickel plated. I also have quite a few thousand federal large pistol powders. While shot mostly Vihtavouri powder, I probably have some 2400 and a bunch of Unique, which works well for reduced loads, if you don’t want to develop flinchitis. I’ll be putting this stuff up for sale ASAP, but if you are interested, pm me and I’ll get you a list of the items. Unfortunately, I just sold off 1500 hard cast lead sic from Oregon Trail, which are great bullets.
Most important, go slow and enjoy yourself.
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Thanks, Amanda, PM Sent!
 
draco88 said:
Yet again, I find myself amazed at the helpfulness of this forum.
Even in these times, and this market, we have folks willing to *give* valuable components to a newbie AND willing to host for hands on/knowledge transfer.
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to be fair, I did qualify that he not be looking to rob me. So, you know, not exactly altruistic.
 
Bluejay75 said:
Hornady brass with FTX bullets WILL be short. Next time you’re in Raliegh I will give you 50 pieces of brass, 100 Winchester LPPs and 100 or so LSWCGC hollow points for a 6 pack of Bud Light.
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Bluejay; thank you! That's incredibly generous. But I do have to say that as a newbie, and in this market; I'd feel obligated to be more generous than that. Is there any way that I can convince you to accept a 6 of real beer? :)
 
Tim said:
to be fair, I did qualify that he not be looking to rob me. So, you know, not exactly altruistic.
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Tim, I can't speak to the idiot part ( I'm one of my favorite people, but I may have bad taste); but I truly can't think of a more Darwinistic move than trying to rob people who're all close knit members of an educated firearms forum. :)
 
Bluejay75 said:
Are you shooting pistol or rifle?
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Man, I gotta go back to work. lol. But the honest answer is "both" . I have a Ruger M77/ 44 that's my deer gun, a few lever guns in 44, and a Redhawk. I'm not looking to get heavily into high volume reloading, it just seems like it'd be a fun thing to do- particularly with a cartridge that's been around that long..
 
In the 77/44 you’re going to need to shim the bolt. It is an MOA or close gun after that.

If the Marlins are older the cast bullets are going to shoot best. .432 sized at a minimum. Even 430 XTPs don’t get best accuracy because of bullet fit. But if they are newer the barrels are tighter but the triggers are worse. I shot a 2.5 inch 5 shot 100 yard group offhand iron sighted with XS sights with mine at the Wake County Firearms training center a couple years back with XTPs and 23.5 grains H110.

From rifle to pistol has been an adventure. By the time I get good accuracy in both I’m flinching in my pistols offhand from recoil. I have settled on developing mid range loads that shoot ok in both. Not as accurate as they could be but MO”Racoon” at 100 yards in rifle and MO”bad guy” at 15-25 with pistol.
 
@Puddlejockey , if I were you I would keep my eyes open for some decently priced components. And, I'd be patient and prepare myself to wait a while . These shortages usually run in cycles and availability should come back around. In the mean time, read all you can about reloading, watch videos, check around on the forum and someone will invite you to come watch them reload some rounds. Then, when you get some components you'll be ready to go.
As for not using your new reloading equipment, explain it to your wife like this, "Honey, imagine that you went shopping and all of the stores were all out of shoes. That's the way it is in the gun, ammo, and reloading world right now."
 
Bluejay75 said:
In the 77/44 you’re going to need to shim the bolt. It is an MOA or close gun after that.

If the Marlins are older the cast bullets are going to shoot best. .432 sized at a minimum. Even 430 XTPs don’t get best accuracy because of bullet fit. But if they are newer the barrels are tighter but the triggers are worse. I shot a 2.5 inch 5 shot 100 yard group offhand iron sighted with XS sights with mine at the Wake County Firearms training center a couple years back with XTPs and 23.5 grains H110.

From rifle to pistol has been an adventure. By the time I get good accuracy in both I’m flinching in my pistols offhand from recoil. I have settled on developing mid range loads that shoot ok in both. Not as accurate as they could be but MO”Racoon” at 100 yards in rifle and MO”bad guy” at 15-25 with pistol.
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If I could get close to MOA from that little Ruger, I'd be dancing at the range. :) JIC I get there, I'm going to watch Rosie the reloader religiously until then!
 
Puddlejockey said:
EDIT: It's also important to understand that I'm getting the " You haven't used your reloading stuff yet. Don't you like it? " from my bride. If you're married, you get the flaming hellmouth of a potential guilt pit that question represents..
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Honey it's a process, I don't want to blow myself up.

Generous folks on this forum. I'd help you out if I could but don't reload anything close to 44.
 
"The best time to plant a tree is yesterday." Old Chinese proverb. Same could be said for reloading. So you only missed by a few days. Once you get started you will probably expand to other calibers seeing how you already have powder primers scale etc. Then you will start buying in bulk to save money. In about 4-6 years when the next ammo shortage hits you will be very popular with your shooting friends. Your wife may get mad cause you spend all your time shooting or reloading but remember, she got you started. Be safe and take your time.
 
I just recently found this site and haven't explored it fully. They are running 4 week lead time.

500 260gr kieth style lubed hard cast for $61 + shipping seems like a good deal.

rimrockbullets.com

.44 260 gr. Keith SWC-FB per 500

In-Stock .44 260 gr. Keith SWC-FB (sized .430 - .431) OAL 0.780, Meplat 0.324, Nose to crimp groove 0.376
rimrockbullets.com rimrockbullets.com


If you'll send me your address in pm, I'll send you some cast bullets that have been tumble lubed. They are made of wheel weights.
 
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You have asked for help.
One thing NOT mentioned above,,, is this;
BUY MANUALS! If you got a Hornady manual then you are off to a good start. If not BUY ONE! Then,, buy a few other manuals to go along with the others. The Hornady manual is an excellent one with a good tutorial in the front. Load your ammo according tot he charts in these manuals,, and not necessarily off internet recipes. Published data from reputable manufacturers is backed by actual testing.
Next,, as noted,, find an instructor. Not just a "good old boy" handloader. If one isn't close,, then be willing to travel to one,, or have one visit you. (I'm an instructor,, but I'm NOT advocating for you to hire me. )
As noted above,, finding components is the biggest issue currently. Primers will be the hardest to find. Yet,, just yesterday,, I spoke with a nice guy who has 2 bricks, (2000) Winchester Large Pistol Primers he'd sell to help someone at a price that's fair according to the current market. $100 for the 2 bricks. (That's $50 each,, and he paid $46 for them. he's gotten out of calibers that use that size.)

For the 44 mag,, In general,, there are a lot of powders that will work,, but in general,, 2400, HS-6, IMR or H 4227 have all been long time well accepted powders by many handloaders.
Bullets,, many available,, so make choices according to your needs.

Lastly,, I'm available for phone consultation if necessary. PM me if you wish.
 
cold1 said:
I just recently found this site and haven't explored it fully. They are running 4 week lead time.

500 260gr kieth style lubed hard cast for $61 + shipping seems like a good deal.

rimrockbullets.com

.44 260 gr. Keith SWC-FB per 500

In-Stock .44 260 gr. Keith SWC-FB (sized .430 - .431) OAL 0.780, Meplat 0.324, Nose to crimp groove 0.376
rimrockbullets.com rimrockbullets.com


If you'll send me your address in pm, I'll send you some cast bullets that have been tumble lubed. They are made of wheel weights.
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I've bought 357 and 44 bullets from Rimrock before. Good looking bullet, not too hard like alot of the commercial stuff. They were @14-15 if I recall. The lube was a little smokey. But good boollits.
 
I'll cast, powder coat, and size you 1k bullets for an NOE mold of your choice. Choose weight, profile etc and order it. I'll make you 1k bullets from the mold. Then cut you a deal on future bullets.
 
As @Geezer stated, the key word in today's world is patience. While primers are definitely a problem not only to find but to afford as well, other components are out there and you gotta keep looking. You can't catch fish unless you have your hook in the water. I'd rather load jacketed or plated bullets just because they look prettier, but I have pretty much gone to coated lead for most of my loading. Brazos Precision has fantastic 38 wadcutters for less than .06 each as well as 115gr 9mm but you have to catch them in stock. I recently bought 4000 plated 125gr 9mm from Hoosier bullets for .07 each. Not quite as pretty as plated or jacketed but function just as well and are just as accurate. Keep looking, there are deals out there, you just have to catch the when they are in stock because they sell out quick. When you find bullets be ready to buy. Its just like gun shopping. I don't know how many times I've heard people say I found a gun I really wanted at a great price but couldn't pull the trigger only to go back later and it was gone. These days especially, you can't wait if you find something you need or want for loading because it will be gone quickly. I prefer Federal primers and for the last 2-3 years I have bought all of the SPP I run across at stores and gun shows no matter what the price as long as it was fairly reasonable because Federal has a history of being out of stock during the good times for months at a time .In the last year or two I have bought as cheap as 15/1000 and as much as 40/1000 and almost got to the point where I was going to quit buying because I had so many. I'm glad I didn't. Thankfully I should be covered for a long while. It is really going to be a shock to my system when I have to buy more. After the panic and things settle down I think the new norm will be around $100/1000, but .10 for primer, .07 for bullets, .02 for powder and even if you buy brass at .03 each that is $11/box. Looks pretty good when the going rate to 9mm now is close to $50/box.
 
Kinda on the same topic as @Etruett was talking about, if I don't have enough money in my "play money" account, I don't even look at ads. I don't check Gun Broker, Armslist, this forum's ads, other forum's ads if I don't have the cash available. It seems that when I have found the best deals is when I am not prepared to buy. So, now, I make sure I have the funds available so when that deal pops up, I can immediately jump on it.
 
Rimrocks are good bullets. They are the ones Buffalo Bore uses in a lot of their cast loads.
Start loading with jacketed. There are a few extra steps with cast and some nuance to getting good loads. Start with jacketed to boost your confidence a bit. There are some in stock. I just bought 200 x Speer JFP myself in the last week.
 
If you want to trade out of some of the 300 grain XTP to some 200 or 240 grain let me know.
My Henry 44 doesn't like the 300 too much but my 444 Marlin absolutely loves them.
 
tarheelshooter said:
If you want to trade out of some of the 300 grain XTP to some 200 or 240 grain let me know.
My Henry 44 doesn't like the 300 too much but my 444 Marlin absolutely loves them.
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Just curious, what is the twist rate of the Henry? I've seen both 1:20 and 1:38 quoted. If it is 1:38, that may be the reason it does not like 300gn bullets.
 
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