Development of PP loads for the .44-77.

[Kurt]

Jim,

I hope you don't mind me adding range results using Arnies DDPPB. It seems to be a fine working bullet that just seems to shoot pretty good with just about any powder load from what I have seen to this point of my using it. This is only the second try and at this point I'm very happy with the way it's printing holes through the paper. I'm not up to your results but may results are better then yesterday's.
Today I could not shoot the 200 yard pit targets the range was very busy and all frames were filled so I set up infant of the pit at 185 yards. I just about went home and shot on my 130 yds but I want to keep it at the .22 noise level till I get to know my new neighbors better.
All my shots were 6 shots except using some old loads I had left over with the BA 430/520 bullet and the KAL Tapered Gibbs. The Gibbs has always shot well in the 19 to the 16 twist were I have it locked at 1.390" long.

I got this mould from our Don McDowell but I think he made a mistake selling it. When I got it it cast a very ugly bullet that had vent hairs and parting line fins but I reworked the mould adjusting the pins and replaced the very large sprue plate holes with a .100" diameter hole and now it's a fine mould.

This DD bullet seems to shoot very consistently small verticals with every load I have tried to this point. I made no allowance for wind and just a couple time I made a elevation change after the 6 shots starting on the next.
This time I changed the wad stack because I had some lead show up yesterday and I think this happen because the patch was not high enough up the ogive and the hard wad stack I used, one OJ card wad and a .060" polly, bumped the base pretty hard. Today I switched the polly with a .45 caliber .060" cork to give the base a little cushion and the oversized .45 caliber cork compresses flat and makes a tight gas seal and I found no lead today with 50 some rounds fired and not changing the patch hight.

I'm very happy with what I see at this point.. I want to try this bullet in the other twist rifles but they have a tight chamber and a bullet in the case will not begin to chamber so the other option is breach seating the bullet and that will also be a plus being to easily seat the short groove diameter patched bullet and not line one were the full length shank has to be pushed in. That over works the tool lineage using this hard alloy.