44-40 Henry

[4440]

For those of you that shoot the 44-40 Henry could you please share information regarding the bullet / lube / powder type / primer you are using.

Also, if possible, how many rounds are you able to fire accurately before accuracy starts to deteriorate.

Thank you,
4440

[lmcmahon]

Bullet - 427098CV Lyman Mould sized to 428
Lube - MCM Lube
27.5 grains FFFG
Winchester large revolver primer

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

Here's a link to my 44-40 Henry notes.
1. I like to get my lead as hard as I could without leaving a crater at the sprue-cutter. A Lyman #2 alloy was too hard, but BHN=12 did the trick.
2. You want to get as much muzzle velocity as you can, but you either have to find how much you can fit in the cartridge without compressing at all, or compress the entire load. Partial compression of the load degrades accuracy.
3. My load is 34 grains of Swiss FFFg using that Mav Dutchman "Big Lube" bullet & Winchester Western Large Pistol Primers.
4. These load tables are for factory rifling. I recently had the barrel relined with a slower twist. I think they make these guns to shoot a smokeless powder load with copper jacketed bullets. I haven't been to the range yet with it.
5. When I was trying to find a load, I polled the BB, and the list of everyone who replied is in below the table in this link.

Here's the link: http://acwsa.org/Pages/ShootingNotebook.htm

[bobanderson]

I have a Navy Arms Iron Frame Henry in 44-40. I use the Lyman 427098 in an alloy mixture of 3 parts pure lead to one part wheel weights. (I smelt my wheel weights in 100 lb lots to make sure it is a consistent mix.) I use a charge of 30 grains of Goex 3fg powder and any large pistol primer. The gun doesn't seem to know the difference.
I DO believe my bullet lube is far superior to the store bought ones. It's called "N" lube, for the Neutrogena soap used in it's mixture. The recipe is simple, 8 oz by liquid measure of bees wax, 8 oz of pure neatsfoot oil and one Neutrogena bar. They come in all flavors, but I use the plain. Melt all together and stir until the mix starts to cool enough to start to coagulate on the sides of your pan. (If you use it too hot it will separate.) I pour the mixture into stick moulds made from 3/4" pvc pipe with arrow shafts to form the core hole to fit in my Lyman lubrisizer.
I use this lube in every black powder application from 45-90 shooting heavy loads at 1000 yards to 45-70 shooting at steel silhouettes at 500 meters to lubing minies for the musket. It keeps the fouling soft and prevents leading.

[matt]

Mav dutchman big lube bullet sized to .429 30 grns goex 2f compressed win lg mag pistol primer primer hole drilled out with #41 drill bit. Lube is a homemade
recipe.
Matt

[4440]

Gentleman,
Thank you very much for your information. I was wondering what recipies otherr 44-40 shooters were using.

Being somewhat of a traditionalist, my goal, in part, has been to replicate the ballistics of the original 44WCF / 44-40 cartridge which was 1,300 f.p.s. with a 200 gr bullet, and to shoot a minimum of 30 rounds with no loss of accuracy with no cleaning during the shooting.

lmcmahon,
Do you use a filler with the reduced load?

Gary Van Kauwenbergh,
Interesting data. Thank you.

BobAnderson,
Interesting lube. Thank you. Have you tested the accuracy after a number of rounds have been fired? Regarding the reduced charge, do you use a filler?

Matt,
With 30 grs of Goex, and a Big Lube bullet, There is some airspace in the R-P cases I use. Do you use a filler?

Thank you,
4440

[matt]

no filler no airspace compression is such that the bullet seats right on top of the compressed powder. With the huge grease groove it is a longer bullet for the
weight.
Matt

[Gary Van Kauwenbergh, 101]

There's nothing cleaner than using FFFg Swiss powder with that 'Big Lube' bullet, and it does weigh about 200 grains. 34 grains of Swiss will fit uncompressed into a 44-40 cartridge, but you'll have to use a drop tube or tap the side of the case to settle the load before pressing in the bullet.

[lmcmahon]

No filler used, bullet compresses the powder.

[Yancey von Yeast, 8073]

My Henry is Hoyt lined and I exactly agree with everything that Gary had to say. My gun shoots the Mav Dutchman very well but it shoots the Lyman 429667 just as well. It has a large lube groove and holds plenty of lube. I have tried pure lead and tin/lead alloys and have found that something like 40/1 tin lead shoots tight groups. Pure lead shoots well and will break targets but just does not seem to do as well as harder lead. I also think that wheel weights vary all over the scale in hardness.