.44 Henry Rechamber To .444?

[NKBJ]

Saw the .44 Henry single shot in the sale ads. Got me to wondering.
Can't one of those be rechambered OK to .444 and the brass made Indiana compatible ?

 

[Leadeye]

I hunt with both, and a 444 is a pretty stout cartridge by comparison.

 

[NKBJ]

In about '76 I saw a fella get a lovely scope cut from his brand new .444.

Kazoowie!

 

[NKBJ]

Was looking at the SAAMI dimensions.
If a fellow wanted to invent the .43 Indie maybe he could just run the .444 chamber reamer far enough in to make a length compliant cartridge, trim some .444 brass and load with .44 dies. Haven't sat down with the calculator and picked it apart. The initial brass sizing might need lots of lube and a few steps. Maybe might work OK.

 

[Disposable Heart]

If trying to focus on Indiana, our asinine hunting laws pretty much make .444 out (case length) and the concept of a .43 Indy (considering the time involved in pressure testing, load developments, extensive hand loading steps to make .43 Indy brass) would be better served in getting good with, handloading for and using .44 Mag at distance. Find low BC rounds and move on with life (or keep writing the DNR and tell them that their restrictions are not rooted in logic). .44 does do well in rifle length barrels with slow powders (akin to using 300MP in .357 mag: terrible and not suggested in a pistol, awesome in a rifle and nips at .30-30 ballistics with just powder and no changes to chamber or components).

Given the relative strength of the H&R/NEF/Henry design and that it comes in .45-70 and some rifle calibers, I'd imagine .444 reaming would be okay in terms of technical strength. You're running into the same ballistic coefficient (bullet is too stubby for long distance) issues with .444 as .44, but then again, I've personally seen a guy take a doe at almost 200 yards with hot handloaded Hornady FTX .44 mag. You're adding complexity, another caliber, load development even with .444 when you can do what you need in Indiana with a .44 mag or hotrodding a .357. Heck, with good powder and crossed fingers, your .43 Indy concept is nothing more than a hot .44 mag.

 

[IndyDave1776]

This looks like at least a partial cure for the stubby bullet problem.

https://www.brownells.com/reloading/bullets/pistol-bullets/ftx-bullets-prod38542.aspx

Here is a homebrew of the same general idea which may work for you:

HMLhunter-Blog - NORTH AMERICA'S NO. 1 MUZZLELOADING WEBSITE!

 

[IndyDave1776]

If I am understanding your need correctly, this looks like a ready to use solution with the math already done.

https://loaddata.com/Cartridge/445-Super-Mag-445-Super-Magnum-Hodgdon-Pistol-Data/4373

 

[NKBJ]

If trying to focus on Indiana, our asinine hunting laws pretty much make .444 out (case length) and the concept of a .43 Indy (considering the time involved in pressure testing, load developments, extensive hand loading steps to make .43 Indy brass) would be better served in getting good with, handloading for and using .44 Mag at distance. Find low BC rounds and move on with life (or keep writing the DNR and tell them that their restrictions are not rooted in logic). .44 does do well in rifle length barrels with slow powders (akin to using 300MP in .357 mag: terrible and not suggested in a pistol, awesome in a rifle and nips at .30-30 ballistics with just powder and no changes to chamber or components).

Given the relative strength of the H&R/NEF/Henry design and that it comes in .45-70 and some rifle calibers, I'd imagine .444 reaming would be okay in terms of technical strength. You're running into the same ballistic coefficient (bullet is too stubby for long distance) issues with .444 as .44, but then again, I've personally seen a guy take a doe at almost 200 yards with hot handloaded Hornady FTX .44 mag. You're adding complexity, another caliber, load development even with .444 when you can do what you need in Indiana with a .44 mag or hotrodding a .357. Heck, with good powder and crossed fingers, your .43 Indy concept is nothing more than a hot .44 mag.

Yes, that's exactly it, adding a little over half an inch of powder space to a an off the shelf single shot .44 mag without custom equipment. That would put you about half way between a .44 mag and a .444. So if you happened to have a .44 mag single shot (I don't but somebody does) and lived in Indiana and also happened to be a reloader then yeah, it might be worth looking at.

My solution was to use a bore rider design in a .45 Colt single shot that put the lead up the barrel instead of inside the case.


But the .43 might work for .44 shooters.