I have a sealed UMC box of old .44-77 bullets (20), and also 2 old UMC patched bullets packets (20). Are these of good value? and maybe I shouldn't touch their condition?
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- pictures of .44-77 -

Life#75 wrote on May 12^th, 2017 at 9:02am:

Life#75, why are you saying the ammo is 44-77? It doesn't say that on the boxes in the pictures, is that information somewhere else on the boxes? If yes can you share a picture of it? (At least I don't see it in the pictures)
And they are very nice looking boxes and most interesting fore sure. Thanks for sharing.

Vall, on the swaged bullets, did you note the "mixture 1 to 11"?

LRF wrote on May 12^th, 2017 at 5:03pm:


Yes, I did notice the hard alloy, and that's pretty cool too! These old Rem. boxes were usually marked on the ends for caliber.

PM sent ...

Joe

early in the piece, the 44/77 case was loaded with 90 gns powder for long range. it was a stopgap measure.
the 44/90 case quickly supplanted it as a better solution.
the 45/100x2.6" and then the 45/100x 2.4" then took over from the 44 cal.
in the end the 45 cal 2.6" case was preferred by many, with the case full of powder and the bullet breech seated with an airgap under the bullet.
there were however guys who preferred the 44 cal to the end, and there were a number of options for them to choose from in chamberings.
with regards the hard alloys for long range pp bullets, they jusy plain work.
although the bullets are patched to bore, they bump up admirably into the rifling.
the old guys experimented with alloys from 1:10 to 1:14 looking to maximize accuracy.
the old bullets had optimized noses for best drag characteristics, and the harder alloys maintained that on firing.
12:1 has proven to have 1 - 2 moa less drop at 1000 yds than 16:1, all else being equal., and the same when going from 20:1 to 16:1.
this translates into reduced wind deflection.
hunting and mid range ammo was often loaded with 20:1.
interesting to see the belly down shooting position on the box.
this was much less common than the supine, as no slings or rests were allowed.
keep safe,
bruce.

Those are very cool.  Particularly as they are match bullets.  Are the boxes sealed?  Any chance of a close up picture of a bullet?

Chris.

This is a case where the paper tape is more valuable than the contents. I have seven or eight sealed boxes-mostly pistol ammo- that I'd love to see inside of. I did see one when my friend dropped a box of Winchester .38 long rimfire to the ground, exploding the pasteboard box, but leaving most of the seal intact. Strangely, the box only contained 49 rounds. Mystery, but not worth losing the nice sealed whole.
" one's missing, where'd it go?"