Extra long .44 mag brass for shot shells?

[BigBlock]

I'm not much of a reloader but I will be now that I brought home a new .44 mag Blackhawk. I intend on loading some shot shells but hate to waste that extra space in the chamber where the bullet sits. I know about the speer shot capsules but I don't like them...no particular reason, I just don't.

Anyway, is there any way that I can make some extra long brass somehow necked down on the end to fit in the chamber? Maybe some cut down .444 or .44-40 brass? (not sure if that would fit or not)

 

[CZ57]

BigBlock, your .44 mag. brass is fine. Most everything I've ever seen on this would indicate that the best patterns will come at between 1000 - 1100 FPS, give or take, so I don't go any faster. Load 'em like a shotgun shell. Powder charge, something you have handy to make a wad to seperate the powder from the shot, add shot and cover with a thin disc of plastic, or whatever your preference is, then heavily crimp over the disc. There are many methods and I'm sure you'll see several.

 

[PotatoJudge]

How about some 445 SuperMag brass?

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.ex...470&categorystring=9315***652***670***9014***

 

[BigBlock]

BigBlock, your .44 mag. brass is fine.

I'm not worried about the velocity, I just want to shove more shot in there.

How about some 445 SuperMag brass?

That might be an option...but how would I neck them down a bit to fit in my chambers?

 

[Jim M]

BigBlock, this topic was covered in quite a bit of detail just about three weeks ago. See:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=319529

Jim M.

 

[ReloaderFred]

You can make them from .303 British cases. Just trim to length.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Walkalong]

Dang Fred. I still have not tried that.

 

[rcmodel]

Speer shot-caps work way better!
No leading, and much better patterns!


rcmodel

 

[ReloaderFred]

Walkalong,

The reason I know this works is I bought a bunch of stuff from a really clever old gent who is now in his mid 90's, and was a life long gun nut and inventor. Among some of the stuff I got from him is about 50 .303 British rounds sized and loaded with shot for .44 Magnum. I haven't shot any of them, since the only .44's I've got are Marlin and Winchester carbines. I should just send them to you to try out.

Fred

 

[Walkalong]

You know I would give em a try.

Like I have posted before, I tried it with .444 Marlin cases but there is too much work involved turning them down since they are so thick. I also had the problem of the brass backing out and locking up the cylinder with to high a charge since it was cylinder length. Same problem bottlenecked revolver rounds were sometimes plagued with. They did hold a lot of shot though.

I'll have to round up a few .303's and give it a go.

Anybody have a few fired .303's laying around? I'll pay shipping. AC

I also used straight .44 Mag brass with cardboard wads and plastic "keepers" over the shot. They worked just fine. About as well as the capsules. I just wanted a way to use a heavier shot load. This was back when we did a lot of swamp and creek walking. Snakes were plentiful.

 

[PTK]

I have some twice fired (in a SMLE) .303 brass that I'm not loading for rifle again. PM me with an address, I'll pop some in the mail today/tomorrow.

 

[Walkalong]

PM Sent. Thanks. AC