I have this old roller with a great condition bore that I'm in the process of loading for. I got the 44-77 cases from Track of the Wolf and bullets from Buffalo Arms. The bullets are from RCBS mold #446385. The same one M. Venturino speaks of in his chapter on the 44-77 in "Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West". I was wondering if any 44-77 users here had experience with this round and what your opinions were regarding it's use from the shooting bench. Thanks for any help and guidance you give, it's much appreciated. Doug

I have an original Rem No.1 Mid Range in 44/77 with a 0.452" nominal bore diameter, and another early Model'74 Sharps with a 0.448" bore. What does your bore measure?  FWIW, I've had best success shooting bore diameter paper patched bullets out of each rifle.

I did slug it and it has a .442 groove diameter. I thought I could size down. At least I was hoping to!

Well, the bottom of the barrel in front of the fore end is stamped 44. I'll slug the barrel again and see what I get for a measurement. Doesn't seem right that there's so much discrepancy, but I suppose that's how they were made. I'll report back. Thanks to you all.

questions to ask.
the 44/77 is from the days of bore diameter paper patch bullets.
the old chambers would not take a cartridge loaded with a groove diameter bullet, because the neck diameter of the loaded round is larger than the chamber neck.
many of these poor old rifles have been violated by enlarging the chamber necks to take groove diameter bullets.
if this rifle has not been raped, please leave it in its original form for history sake.
either way some homework on chamber neck dimensions might well save spending money on an unuseable mould.
if original and untouched, bullets patched to bore should shoot well.
20:1 alloy is a good place to start, increasing to 16: 1 with trials for targets, or stay at 20:1 for hunting.
ideally 2 wraps of paper will be the depth of rifling or a little less.
tru seth cole 55w as a start. wet wrapped it will add 0.005" to the bullet, and dry, 0.006"
accurately establish your bore diameter and you know what sized bullet to make.
bore diameter of those old 44 cals was usually in the 44 range, but sometimes groove diameters could go into the low 45s, although not necessarily.
was mlv's rifle a moder or original chambered one.
modern ones are usually around 0.446" groove diameter.
keep safe,
bruce.

Ok, so I used one of the .446 Buffalo Arms bullets from the RCBS mould and slugged the bore. Went through the bore using hand pressure only with nice rifling engraved on the bullet. Sadly, my $8.00 el cheapo digital calipers have decided to pass on, so I have no real idea of bore size! However, I think that the bore size is closer to .446, and that this bullet will work fine without sizing, just going by the rifling imprint on the bullet. I'm curious what you all think, as this subject is new to me. Thanks again for all your collective help, you guys are great! Best regards, Doug

My .44-77 is a Shiloh Sharps with a .446” groove diameter and a 19” twist.

For 200 meters, it seems to like a 350gr. bullet from a Rapine grease-groove mould that casts at .446” diameter over 65gr of Swiss 1-1/2Fg.  It’s a little stubbier and pointier than your RCBS, but pretty close.  I’ve also had promising results out to 400 meters with a Buffalo Arms 536gr grease groove bullet over 74gr of Olde Eynsford 1-1/2Fg.

For 300 m and beyond, a paper-patched bullet of either 475gr or 490gr from an Accurate mould, patched to bore diameter over 85gr of Swiss 1Fg works well.  I’m currently using the 475 gr Accurate bullet with 80gr of Olde Eynsford 1Fg, which seems to “hit stuff” regularly out to 500 meters.

I used the Rapine bullet mostly to blow out the shoulders of Jamison cases.  Right now I’m using Buffalo Arms cases, made from .348 Winchester brass, because the necks are so thick that they’re a perfect sliding fit for paper patched bore diameter bullets.  All the paper patch moulds I use cast in the .427”-.431” diameter range.  I use 16:1 lead:tin.

None of the references I’ve found mention any factory loadings for the .44-77 cartridge that used grease-groove bullets.  All were paper patched.  So most of the grease-groove shooting I’ve done has been to get sights zeroed, cases blown out and general orientation/messing around.  The “serious” load development has been with paper-patched bullets.

Once you get your bore diameter (not groove diameter) figured out, Accurate will cut you a mould of their design but your specified diameter for remarkably small cost.  (If you have a design of your own that you are sure will work, I think they will accommodate you, but the cost will be higher.)  Find a source of tracing paper .0015” thick, subtract 4 times that thickness from your bore diameter, and you will have your patched bullet diameter.

If your rifling twist is 19” or longer, you probably will be happier with bullets 1.35” or so in length.  I noticed that anything in the 500-gr range and above tended to make oval holes in the targets at 385 meters; not a good sign if farther ranges are contemplated.

Yes this Remington head stamp brass and bullet will chamber in my roller. Also, I think I might be heading into the world of paper patching, kicking and screaming.