Henry big boy 44 mag mono problems

[limpet]

I have a Henry big boy steel chambered in 44 mag. It shoots lead ammo fairly well but has serious accuracy issues with Barnes xpb bullets. I dug some out of a berm I shot and the rifling patterns on the bullets looked like they had been going down the bore slightly crooked with an absence of rifling on opposite corners of the bullet. (I’ll post up pics if I can find those bullets). So I pulled some live ammo I still had and measured the diameter and it was .429” on the dot so I slugged my bore and sure enough it came out with a .431 groove diameter. If I didn’t live in California I’d just shoot lead but I can’t so does anyone have any bullet suggestions to try? Would 0.002” make enough of a difference that the copper won’t compress to fill the bore like a lead bullet would? I do reload so I may try to find custom copper bullets if I need.

 

[Caseknife]

Try cleaning the bore very thoroughly first and then retry the Barnes.

 

[limpet]

Try cleaning the bore very thoroughly first and then retry the Barnes.

It was a brand new rifle that I scrubbed very well before use.

 

[RockAndSage]

You might give Hammer Bullets a shot. They offer a .429, but they make a point to tell people that their copper bullets are designed in a way so that they work in looser bores, without being overpressured in tighter bores. It has to do with the radius design of their driving bands/relief cuts. If nothing else, contact them and ask directly.

 

[01Foreman400]

You might give Hammer Bullets a shot. They offer a .429, but they make a point to tell people that their copper bullets are designed in a way so that they work in looser bores, without being overpressured in tighter bores. It has to do with the radius design of their driving bands/relief cuts. If nothing else, contact them and ask directly.

That was going to be my recommendation as well.

 

[BRobertson]

If you know anyone that casts bullets around you check with them and see if they are into powder coating their cast bullets. It is a relatively new thing
12 to 14 years! It is used instead of the old waxy lubricants.
It wouldn’t be a big deal at all to put a coat of powder on the Barnes bullets.
It adds approximately .001 to each side .
With the proper powder, it is incredibly tough and easily handles the trip down the barrel!

 

[limpet]

Follow up. I talked to Steve at hammer bullets and ordered a sample pack of 200 grain shock hammers. I loaded them over a stout load of H110. This weekend it shot a 2.5” 14 shot group at 100 yards with an average mv of 2000fps.

 

[RockAndSage]

Follow up. I talked to Steve at hammer bullets and ordered a sample pack of 200 grain shock hammers. I loaded them over a stout load of H110. This weekend it shot a 2.5” 14 shot group at 100 yards with an average mv of 2000fps.

Cool to see a follow-up on here, especially with what seems like a successful outcome. Good stuff.