Um..proper ball size in .44 old navy revolver?

littlekid · 03-28-2010, 12:20 PM

Three weeks ago I finally got my Traditions Old navy out; after about 6 years. To preface, I enjoyed shooting this pistol but was disappointed with its accuracy, thus the long storage.
I cleaned and lubed it (boiling water and Crisco, of course) and set about finding my powder and rounds. When I pulled every thing out I realized I had 2 different sized balls. One box of Speers .454 (nearly empty) and one box of Hornady .445 (full). Long story short, when I loaded the .445's (w/25gr of fffg Pyrodex) it shot 2.5-3" groups at 20 yds(freehand) and loving it again!
Well, the other day I go to my trusted gunstore to buy some stuff, and in the mist of purchasing, I tell the owner about my experience. He gives me a funny look and goes to telling me .445 are rifle rounds and I shouldn't have done this.(?) So he says, "These .451 rounds will be better and you'll achieve better accuracy". I bought a box to support him(plus a $105 of other stuff); he's never let me down in the past, but now I'm starting to wonder.
Question...are the .445's the wrong size and/or was the pitch about the .451's a sales pitch? Please advise.
littlekid

MountainDevil54 · 03-28-2010, 12:24 PM

for a .44 revolver you want the .451 or even the .454 round ball. The 454 loads a lot tighter but i always liked that as i felt it sealed better and my accuracy actually was better.

445 is kind of a loose fit and if it moves off the powder charge and you pull the trigger, you could be looking at surgery on your hand.

Be sure you are also filling the cylinder cavity over with lube so it doesnt chain fire. Had one that did that once and it was damned scary.

cayugad · 03-28-2010, 03:29 PM

The .445 is TOO SMALL. You need to have that ball engage the cylinder. The cylinder will actually shave the ball when it is seated. Depending on the make of the revolver, for instance my L.L. Pietta takes a .451 on top of 25 grains of 3f powder. I like to shoot APP in my revolvers. Much easier to clean up.

The Uberti and the Ruger revolvers take a .454 ball. I also believe the Traditons revolvers used a .454 ball. Download their manual from there site and it should tell you.

Krypt Keeper · 03-29-2010, 04:17 PM

i shoot the .451 balls myself with 30gr of pyro. To cap off each ball in the cylinder I use Crisco shortening. I have a big plastic syringe that was made for poison ivy medicine. I just warm up the Crisco a little bit and put it into the syringe and let it solidify back up. Works great for the pistol and has enough Crisco in it to shoot about 40 times.

littlekid · 03-29-2010, 04:22 PM

Thanks for the replies. I was a bit hesitant when I first loaded the pistol w/ the .445's but when I saw a sliver of lead left when seating each round I thought all was OK. I backed each round with a Wonderwad. When the sucker shot 60 rounds (10 cylinders) of shot with no misgivings and with such groupings (like I said "loving it") , I'm wondering as to what luck I have. Maybe I should play the lottery!?