Loading .44 Game Getter Shot from Starline 5 in 1 Blank cases

The .44 Game Getter shot held 1/3 oz. of shot, about 150 grains, vs. a 200-grain bullet in the .44-40. A half-ounce .410 2-1/2" load is about 220 grains. I tried up to 6 grains of Bullseye, Red Dot or similar powders, but no more. It turns out that 5 grains patterns best. Velocity is less important than pattern effectiveness, because these loads are typically used at short range, so a handgun shot load at 800 fps actually penetrates as well at 25 feet as a .410 load at 1300 fps does at 25 yards. 

  The blank cases come tapered to fit into a .38-40. To load them that way insert a .45 cal. Buffalo Arms card was over the powder, by bending into a horse shoe shape first, poking in sideways until you get past the case taper, then turn the card wad with 5" Kelly forceps and press against the powder with a dowel.

  It is much easier to expand the cases with a .44-40 or .44 Mag. expander plug to make them more nearly cylindrical and flare them a little, so the over powder card can be thumbed into the case mouth with the thumb and then pressed down against the powder with a 3/8" dowel. Using a card below the 410 shot cup is absolutely necessary to prevent powder leaking past the obturator which causes "bloopers" and could leave a wad lodged in the barrel. A Federal 410SC shot cup is then inserted and seated firmly. DON'T cut off the wad fingers. I explain...

  Pour in about 1cc No.8 or smaller shot and insert either a Walters .36 card wad over the shot or crimp a piece of 000 buckshot into the end of the shell. If you don't have either the RCBS ".44 Game Getter Long Shot" OR .45 ACP Shot die sets, you can make your own roll crimp die by cutting 1" off the bottom of a Lee .308 Win seater die and inserting a blank Lyman or RCBS bullet lubricator top punch under the seating stem, adjusting it down to the midpoint of the shoulder in the cut-off .308 die, which positions the card squarely as you "bump" the case mouth of the 5 in 1 blank case against the shoulder of the die to form a professional looking roll crimp.

  I've found it easier to not trim off the protruding fingers of the .410 shot cup before loading the shot. I leave the shot cup long and protruding, then fill the shot cup approximately FLUSH with the case mouth, judging the fill inside the shot cup. The protruding petals of the shot cup then support the insertion of either a .36 cal. card overshot wad, or a cast .36 cal. lead round ball.

  When seating the wad or ball inside the shot cup, using either the RCBS .45 ACP shot shell crimp die, or the older RCBS .44 Game Getter Long Shot, the seating stem presses the card wad or ball flush with the case mouth as itis crimped. This is much easier than trimming the wad fingers and fooling around trying to get a good crimp. The excess plastic is trimmed off flush with a sharp knife afterwards, giving a well closed shell with professional looking appearance.

  Speer .44 (or .45 shot for the .45 Colt) capsules also work and hold about the same 1/3 oz. payload as the old .44 Game Getter shot cartridges.

  In a smoothbore barrel, the effective range of .44 shot loads is 15 yards in a cylinder bore and 25-30 yards from a full choke. Firing them in a rifled barrel disperses shot patterns, reducing sure, small game range to about 25 feet. Loading shot larger than No. 8 reduces pellet count which defeats the small game purpose. I chose No. 8, typically 410 pellets to the ounce, so 1/3 ounce contains about 136 pellets. No. 7-1/2s would be only 116 pellets in a 1/3 oz. payload. 

  For survival kit use I load "Buck & Ball" crimping a .390 (if crimped in the brass case) or .360 (if inserted inside the shot cup) cast round ball in the end of the shell instead of using a card wad. This helps make the load withstand rough handling and also waterproofs it. It also gives the load large varmint potential to 25 yards, while keeping a small game pattern effective to 30-50 feet from a smoothbore shotgun or 25 feet from rifle or revolver . 

  Shot patterns from rifled barrels are patchy, with weak center density. The slow 36" twist and shallow rifled Marlin Microgroove .44 barrels don't disturb the shot as much and produce decent patterns to 25-30 feet. Short 5-10 yard “fence line range” patterns suitable for rabbits or birds are reality. While conventional card and fiber wads with no shot sleeve permit loading a full 1/2 oz. of shot, I use the Federal .410 shot cups to contain the shot in the Starline 5 in 1 cases, because the wad is smaller than bore diameter of a .44 or .45 rifle barrel and produces more even patterns. 

A slow twist, shallow rifled Marlin .44-40 or .44 Magnum Microgroove barrel will do likewise.

But a 16" twist .45 barrel flings wide patterns and reality is only 15-20 feet. 

The 5 in 1 shot loads pattern splendidly in a cylinder bore .410 producing 90+% patterns at 25 feet striking on a 10”x10” repair center!