44/40 bullet dia and rloads

[Roninrlm]

I am in the process of starting to reload for my 1st gen Colt SA's (NOT Black powder Mod). Would like to know what would be a good or correct bullet Dia for these pistols. I plan on starting with 5.5 of Trail Boss with 200 gr bullet.

Ronin

[flanman]

Look kup posts by Kid sopris he has an entire article posted on how to best load the 44/40 and what materials to use.


flanman

[WIL TERRY]

TO have any success with the older 44-40 COLT SAA sixguns you absolutely should measure the ID of the cylinder throats, and slug the barrel to be sure about that. The MOST importent is knowing the correct size of the cylinder throats and they tend to be all over the map.
ON a side note i just packed the '73 carbine 44WCF and the COLT NF 4 3/4" 44-40 to go up in the hills and test more loads in both tomorrow. I have tested loads already with the correct 44-40 bullets in 200GR, 215GR, 225GR, and 240GR, all of LFN style designed specifically for the 44-40 cartridge
When we get done with this it'll be fun to run lots of 44RUSSIAN and 44SPL loads through the COLT SAA 44SPL and the NF 5 1/2" 44SPL
SHUCKS...forgot to pack ammo for the the NF 45COLT and the SAA 45, not to even mention the CIMARRON/TURNBULL 4 3/4" SA sixgun; better go do it now...
And so it goes...

[Frank V]

I agree with Flanman & Wil Terry. Good advise.
A quick down & dirty & not exact method of determining chamber throat diameter is. If you have a couple of different size bullets, drop them into the chamber. If they just fall right out they are too small. If they require a lot of force to get them through, they are too tight. If they require just a small bit of force to get them through, they should shoot ok, maybe, it's not perfect, but could give a starting point.

At some point you may want to get a set of pin gauges. Dial calipers will give an idea too.
Kid Sopris has written several pretty good articles on loading for the .44-40.
Good shooting.

Frank