Reloading for an Underlever..

[falco67]

Anything different to loading for a bolt action rifle?

I have an Henry Big Boy in 44 mag and I have made up a dummy Magnum case with a COAL of 1.600 that cycles through the rifle OK.

I have Unique and Vhit N340 available as a powder but is one better than the other?

The number of grains per case seems a lot lower than I am used to..do I need a filler of any kind?

As the bullets will slide into one another when loading into the tube, do I need a crimp?

Any guidance will be gratefully received :)

regards

Geoff

[David Nimrod]

I'm just about to start reloading .357 for my underlever Winchester...

I haven't bought a press yet, what are you going to use..?

If you're up there tomorrow, give us a shout

[JimJimmy]

No filler required and yes you will need to crimp.

Sent from my mobile using "An application"

[Alpha1]

Unique powder is a good place to start. Yes the powder charge will be a lot lower than a full bore rifle .308 for example. Stick to the recommended load data and you will be OK.

[WelshShooter]

Are you loading lead gallery loads or standard magnum loads? If it's the former you will most likely get less than half a case full of powder. This is normal and does not require the use of a filler. When you've loaded up your cases with powder, check them over using a torch to make sure you haven't thrown a double charge.

You will need to crimp underlever bullets. With lead boolits crimp into the canelure just enough to seal the case. For jacketed bullets without a canelure put just enough crimp on to take the flaring* out.

*straight wall pistol cases require case flaring after sizing. Do not do excessive flaring as this can adversely affect case life. Flare just enough so that you can gently start seating a bullet into the case.

[ovenpaa]

Viht 310 or GM3 are both good powders amongst many for the .357Mag at cowboy action levels and a tub last a long long while.

[Dark Skies]

I've never bothered crimping for either my .357 or .44 loads with no ill consequences.
When shooting factory Magtech loads I've noticed their .357 cowboy action loads are not crimped. Their .44 special loads have a crimp line beneath the bullet though. As I say, I've never bothered and haven't found them being pushed in when loading in the mag.

[DavidRees]

I load GM 240gr lead bullets for my Marlin U/L, and find either Viht N340 or N350 to be good powders, delivering excellent accuracy at relatively low velocities. I use a load of 4.9gr of N340 with the 240gr GM lead bullets gives me about 690fps, and 255 ft-lb, which is a nice light load for GR action shooting. It does leave some fouling on the cases, so it might not be an optimum-burning load. Since it will stay inside the 10 ring of a PL7 @25m (group <5cm, edge to edge), it's accurate enough for my needs.

A look at the Viht reloading manual (available for free online) doesn't list load datas for 240gr lead bullets in .44Mag, but it is clear from examining other loads for .44 that 4.9gr of N340 is a very light load, probably below what they would list as a minimum. Having checked my records, I see I have fired 2,049 of these over the years, without issue, so I consider it a safe load. However, you will have to form your own judgement on that.

There is room to increase that load if you want to shoot beyond 50m, though as always, watch out for pressure signs. I've experimented with more powder, and the amount of residual soot decreases, but accuracy at the distances I shoot (max 50m) does not improve, and recoil goes up, so I've stayed with 4.9gr.

As to crimp, I do apply a light roll crimp, but not because the bullets will be fired from a tube magazine: I do it imply to ensure smooth feeding when cycling the action quickly. I check for the possibility of insufficient neck tension to hold bullets in the case now and then by trying to force a bullet further into the case by pushing the tip of a fully-assembled round onto the wooden bench where I reload -- if the C.O.L. remains unchanged, the neck tension is more than sufficient to hold the bullet in place during the loading cycle, imho.

[Sim G]

Be careful with light charges of powder, double charging is a risk. Unique is a great powder and if loading for gallery loads, use Special as opposed to magnum data, but stick with magnum length cases for both feed reliability and reducing chamber fouling with the shorter cases.

Always full length resize and crimp your cases. Yes this helps prevents the shortening of cartridges in a mag tube, but generally only an issue with heavy loads, however, the feed of cartridges to chamber from a tube mag is a fairly violent and rough affair! A decent crimp will also help prevent the shortening if cartridges by the bullet smashing in the feed ramp or chamber hood. A crimp also unifies bullet release pressure from the case and consistency equals accuracy. Maintain proper cartridge overall length as the cartridge lifter timing will depend on this.

[Dark Skies]

Hmm. I have a few factory crimp dies on my shelf. I will experiment.