Time to continue load development with my .44-77.

[Distant Thunder]

Kurt,

I have had the best results with any style bullet when the ogive is around 43-45% of the OAL. The one exception is my Lodi bullet, which this new bullet is patterned after. With my Lodi bullet the ogive is over 50% of the length and that is because when I first made that mold it was longer and it was made for my .45-90. With 100+ grains of powder I was pushing it at over 1400 fps and it shot well out to 1000.

When I moved to my .45-70 for long range I used that same bullet but it didn't seem to hold up as well in the when the wind was up. With 83 grains I wasn't quite up to 1300 fps. So I shortened that mold a couple of times and the ogive that was 50% became a higher percentage as the shank got shorter. I think the reason it works is because it is an elliptical and the beginning of the ogive is heavier than a radius ogive would be. I hope I'm explaining that in a way that can be understood.

Shortened to 1.430" it shoots very well at 1290 fps and holds up better at 1000 yards when the winds are up.

With this new bullet I thought I would favor a more balanced ogive but still use the advantages of the elliptical form to my advantage and I went with 48%. I actually think this will be a bit better than my .45 caliber bullet is.