Long cylinders and specialized mega- loads are …

1 Pushing The Envelope Since the late 1990s Randy Garrett has been producing a 330-grain Super Hard Cast long -Hammerhead at 1,385. fps. Custom gunsmith John Gallagher introduced me to it several years ago. I have found that if you run into John out hunting, he will likely have a cylinderful of Garrett 330s in his custom Ruger Bisley. When Hamilton Bowen went hunting up in Alaska last year, he was camping out in brown bear county. At night he slept with a Redhawk on a lanyard. No, it wasn't a .475 or .500. It was, in fact, one of his 4-inch Kodiak conversions in .44 Mag loaded with Garrett's 330s.

2 long cylinders and specialized mega- ost .44 Magnum shooters may not real- revolvers allows is a longer overall loaded- I've been so impressed with the additional performance loads are keeping the .44 Magnum at ize the significance of the extra- long cartridge length. Generally, this means we afforded by having a .44 that works with this type of ammo the top of the heavyweight division. cylinders featured in Ruger Redhawk, can have an extra-heavy bullet seated to less that I now have two custom Blackhawks and a takedown Dan Wesson and a few other revolvers. What depth, thus gaining more room for powder.

3 Marlin rifle specifically built to chamber the Garrett 330. By Ashley Emerson the longer cylinder on these heavy-duty And with a cartridge loaded long and to Randy Garrett has for years specialized in high-perfor- mance .44 Mag and .45-70 ammo. All of the hard-cast bullet the top of SAAMI pressure specifications or loads he sells are loaded with bullets he's hand-cast himself even a bit on the +P side to maximize use out of molds he designed with an alloy made to his specifica- of an extra-thick and long cylinder , it works tions (he buys 5,000 pounds at a time). In the past he's fea- out well for safety's sake.

4 These are, of tured a plain-base bullet, which has shot very well in all of my guns, and he has recently added a gas check to this load. course, cartridges that, if loaded in an S&W Each gun is a different critter, and while leading was never a Model 29, would stick out of the problem in most guns, the addition of a gas check does mini- cylinder and prevent it from mize leading that might occur. rotating. Another company specializing in high-performance .44. Mag ammo is Buffalo Bore Ammunition, which has just intro- duced a long - cylinder +P .44 Mag loading using a 340- grain hard-cast, gas-check bullet with a muzzle velocity of 1,425 fps.

5 This translates to 1,533 ft-lbs of energy from an out-of-the-box 71 2-inch Ruger Redhawk. Accuracy with the Buffalo Bore load seems to be on par with the Garrett. It gets better. A while back at a John Linebaugh penetration seminar, I wit- nessed some near unbelievable per- formance from a .50 Alaskan lever-action rifle. The bullets being used were from Belt Mountain Enterprises, and they were amazing. With a profile much like an LBT- type bullet, these projectiles have thick, lathe-turned brass jackets with lead swaged in from the rear. When I ran across Belt Mountain's Kelye Schlepp at the Whittington Center I.

6 Begged him to make his Big Cartridge commonality for the 21st century: This Game Punch bullets for .44s and David Clay-customized Marlin 1894 and dead- stock Ruger Redhawk both handle Garrett's stomp- to put two crimping grooves on them ing 330-grain Super Hard Cast so they could be loaded short for guns Lynn Pedigo photo Mag load (inset), which offers a significant like the S&W Model 29 and long to get upgrade from the traditional 240-grain JSP. maximum use of the Ruger Redhawk's extended cylinder . The first of the .430-diameter Punch bullets made it to me a while back, and I imme- diately set about determining how much H110 I felt comfort- Guns&Ammo June 2005 55.

7 The outer limits of bigbore fun: The author lights off a Buffalo Bore 340-grain load in his 7 1 2-inch Bowen-customized Ruger Blackhawk. He's packing a Murray Custom Leather shell holder for extra ammo. The OAL factor illustrated: A standard 240-grain JSP is flanked by a Garrett 330-grain Hammerhead (left) and a Buffalo Bore 340-grain Hard Cast. able with behind the new 300- Puttin' The Wood To It grain bullet when I teamed it The day I received the bullets I. with WW cases, CCI 350 prim- headed out to a friend's farm to ers and 25 grains of H110. With do some semiscientific mesquite this load I averaged 1,461 fps testing.

8 Mesquite trees are super out of my 71 2-inch Bowen cus- tough, and it doesn't take a big tom Black Hawk. I was more one to stop a normal hunting load interested in penetration testing from a .30-06. Big-time penetra- tion: Belt than in shooting the smallest First off, I found the thickest Mountain's Big- group possible for a pretty pic- mesquite that the 300-grain Bore. 340s. When I sectioned the 75 yards, the load that Game Punch ture. For now I can only tell you Punch bullet would shoot tree, I found that both of those may upset at 10 feet will 300-grain .44. Mag load proved they are accurate, and only time through out of my 51 2-inch hard-cast numbers stopped after penetrate better at longer its mettle on live The right tool for almost any job: The author's Bowen-customized Blackhawk.

9 44 Mag sports a 51 2-inch S&W 629 DX barrel; a long , will tell if they are as accurate as Bowen Blackhawk. That seven- about 41 2 inches. Wondering how yardage because of its mesquite. A. heavy, line-bored six-shot cylinder ; and interchangeable-blade front the Garrett and Buffalo Bore inch-thick tree stopped both the the Punch bullet would do from my reduced velocity. recovered bullet and rear sights. (inset, far right). heavyweights. Garrett 330 and the Buffalo 18-inch David Clay custom take- If you're looking for showed only down Marlin, I looked for a bigger maximum penetration, I rifling marks tree and found a suitable 10-inch believe you need to look after 11 inches Custom Sights For Serious.

10 44s number. I shot through it, then for the hardest bullet that of penetration. T he appearance on the market of both Bowen's Rough Country rear sight and the Weigand front-sight-base interchangeable sight system is significant. The Rough hunt and want a white-outline rear sight and white-line front to ensure placing that 240-grain JSP where you want it in low light. Then, of course, you could go to a white dot with tritium found an 11-inch-plus tree and barely shot through that. I say will not break up on bone that has a sharp-edged, flat nose and got ahold of these bullets that by the barely because the bullet was is relatively heavy.