I first began my .44-40 black powder journey back in 1999. Just prior to that, I had obtained some early .44-40 black powder factory W.R.A. CO. head stamped cartridges for study. Dissecting them, I found that they contained a pure lead 200 gr. bullet with two shallow grease grooves. The 40 gr. FFG charge was compressed an average of about .20”.

In 1875, to give its readers some idea of what their .44 W.C.F. (44-40) black powder factory ammunition was capable of in their then new 1873 rifle, Winchester featured a letter they received from a E.H. Pardee, M.D. of San Francisco, CA 

Today, Lyman’s 427098 mold is a close replication of the original bullet and bullets from it typically measure around .427” - .428” diameter depending on the alloy. Most .44-40 rifles made currently usually have a groove diameter of .429” with some barrels as large as .432”. I did find that if undersized bullets are soft enough (no harder than 50/1) they will bump up and give accurate shooting.

However, it is better to have a bullet that is at least .001” over groove diameter if possible.. That is what a good friend of mine who goes by the handle “Fairshake” did several years ago when he contacted Accurate Molds to have them produce a 427098 clone mold, which, could be purchased to produce bullets in a specific diameter to fit an individual rifle’s specifications. In addition, the lube grooves would be square bottomed like the original factory bullets but with a bit more lube capacity.

I began my journey with the Lyman mold. Bullets were lubed with SPG and loaded over Goex FFG powder. All was well for about 10 rounds but accuracy began to degrade rapidly shortly thereafter as a hard ring of fouling built up from the muzzle back into the barrel. I came to the conclusion that, based on Doc Pardee’s excellent results, the early b.p.’s must have been of better quality than the Goex powder I was using. 

SWISS B.P.

I had read about Swiss b.p. made in Switzerland that was said to be a close replication of the early b.p.’s, so I ordered some. What a difference! Now I was able to shoot 50+ rounds with no cleaning with accuracy being maintained throughout. I found that with bullets from the Accurate 427098 clone (43-210B) pioneered by “Fairshake” over Swiss FFG powder, the accuracy and performance of the original factory b.p. cartridges could be replicated.

GOEX B.P.

But what about those who wanted to use a b.p. made in the U.S.? Back in 2002, a fellow with the handle PRS (Pigeon Roost Slim) had been working with the .45 Colt to develop a bullet that would carry enough lube to keep the more fouling Goex powder from fouling out in repeated shots. Lee made the mold to his specifications and it has worked very well. Following that, a fellow with the handle “Mav Dutchman” had Lee make a similar mold for the .44-40. 

“MAV D” (Big Lube) - I purchased some of the “Mav D” bullets from the supplier listed below and, sure enough, I could fire many shots in a row with accuracy being maintained throughout.

Accurate 43-215C - Being a traditionalist, I decided that I wanted a bullet that would exactly match the original .44-40 bullet nose profile and would carry enough lube for the 24” trip many times accurately using standard Goex black powder. In addition, I had found that the original nose profile is best for down range accuracy (100+ yards) which is one of the things I like to do.

To start with, I used the 427098 and machined away the middle driving band a bit at a time, thus adding a bit more lube capacity until testing indicated that I had reached the IDEAL lube capacity for the task at hand.. It is now the 43-215C made by Accurate Molds. Thankfully, it runs very well with Goex and continues to produce very good down range accuracy (100+ yards) for many rounds with no foul out. 

And still another way is to drop the charges into 50 cases in a loading block.....

POWDER COMPRESSION

To determine the amount of power compression a particular load requires, I use a fired case where the bullet is a slip fit in the case neck. First determine the o.a.l. of your loaded cartridge. Then after placing the powder charge into the fired case (pouring it in slowly to settle it) place the bullet into the case neck, push it down on the powder and measure the o.a.l. The compression is the difference between that length and the final loaded cartridge.

In the loading process, if your bullet is at least 10-12 BHN hardness, it can be used to compress the powder charge when seated. If less than 10 BHN, it would be better to pre compress the powder before seating the bullet……depending on the amount of compression and the actual hardness of the bullet. Pre compressing the powder can be done with the neck expander, a compression die, or a slightly smaller caliber jacketed bullet like a 10MM. 

Velocities recorded with different black powders loaded at the “40” setting – Lyman 55 measure. Because of the different densities, the actual weights of the various powders do vary, but by using the volume measure, the compression is the same for all.. 

Case – R-P .44-40 / Primer – CCI 300 

Bullet – 210 gr. 427098 / 43-210B