44/40 cowboy loads

[shotgun sam]

Tonight at the gun club I was asked about 44/40 ammo, they are considered getting one.
What they were wondering about is where in the UK can they buy hornady 44/40 cowboy loads.
They looked online and it seems that reloading this calibre is quite tricky so hence buying ammunition

[Alpha1]

https://www.cdsgltd.co.uk/hornady-ammun ... owboy.html

I think I would be reloading for it ammo is scarce and can be expensive.

[Sim G]

Reloading is the same as anything else essentially, with a couple of vagaries easily catered for. The main problem arises from very thin necks on the brass. Running it through a progressive or substantial bench press can lead to crushed cases. As with most of my old hyphenated calibers, I will load using a Lee hand press so I have complete control especially with the amount of force employed. I use Lyman M dies for proper neck expanding and seat and crimp in separate operations.

Yes it takes a little longer, but with factory ammo like that which Dave linked, how long have you got to go to work for to clear the £125 they want for 100 rounds of Hornady Cowboy ammo?!!

[FredB]

The thin brass is not a problem---it is a good feature. Neck expanding fatigues brass very quickly and causes splits and the thicker the brass the quicker this happens. Hence, the 44-40 brass lasts much longer than the 45 colt, used in many modern replicas. I bought my 1904 manufactured model '92 Winchester in the 1980s and am still using some of the brass bought with it after dozens of reloads.
I do use a "substantial bench press" and have no experience of crushing cases.
For short range gallery loads, a 200grn region bullet backed by 6 grn of Bullseye or N310 works very well.
My original rifle has quite a tight chamber and I have always resized after loading to ensure good feeding. This does slightly lift the crimp, but not as much as it would with thicker brass.
Fred

[GeeRam]

https://www.cdsgltd.co.uk/hornady-ammun ... owboy.html

I think I would be reloading for it ammo is scarce and can be expensive.

Yep, very few places in UK stock 44-40 ammo, and as said, its expensive, so reloading is the only viable option.

As per FredB post, we had a club member that had an early 1900's made 44-40 Winchester, and he had been reloading for this for 40+ years until age and ill health forced him to give up shooting a couple of years ago.

[shotgun sam]

Thanks everyone I will let the person know

[GeeRam]

Ian at ITL Shooting Supplies down in Chertsey stocks Magtech Cowboy Action 44-40 ammo, currently priced at £65/100, but that's not much use if you are in Scotland of course....

[fra150l]

I reload 44/40 on a progressive - press and dies Hornady and no problems much same as any other.