MP Molds 433-640 Light
A Doozy of a Dual-Purpose Mold
Test guns included from top, Ruger Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum, Henry 1894 .44 WCF, Cimarron 1890 Outlaw, and Ruger Flat Top .44 Special.
A few years ago, I became smitten with the .44 WCF, aka the .44-40. I confess to initially avoiding the cartridge case. It’s slight bottle-neck profile didn’t intimidate me; it was not being able to use carbide resizing dies for resizing spent brass that made me reconsider. But after shooting and handloading the cartridge for a Cimarron Remington 1890 Outlaw a few years back, I discovered there was nothing to fear but fear itself. Especially when using Starline brass!
This revelation led to shooting all the hyphenated cartridges — with pleasure I ran the .32-20, 38-40 and obviously the .44-40. The Remington 1890 was followed quickly by a Henry 1860 lever gun, also chambered in .44 WCF. I initially used a LEE .44 200-grain six-cavity mold for my slugs, sizing them down to 0.430″. I found 0.430″ shot the most accurately in both guns.
These bullets, when loaded over 8-10 grains of Unique powder, shoot beautifully in both guns. While the loads are accurate, I wasn’t satisfied with my bullet selection, wanting a bullet with a big, nasty, mean meplat (nose flat). Bullets with wide, flat noses hit harder, creating humongous permanent wound channels in meat of any kind. So, I kept my eyes peeled for the perfect slug.
MP Molds bullet molds are works of art! Tank’s mold is easy to cast with and a joy to use.
MP Molds
Not too long ago I received an email from MP Molds with some overstock molds on sale. Lo and behold, the perfect .44 WCF mold was amongst the lot. It cast a 0.433″ diameter bullet weighing 225 grains with a beautifully hard-hitting wide meplat. I knew when I saw it, it was perfect.
I quickly ordered the mold and it was on my front porch in 2 days — from Slovenia! MP Molds must use the same drive-thru business module as Chick-Fil-A’s drive-thru for expediency. Mihec Previc, owner of MP Molds does a spectacular job on mold design, production and shipping of his products!
Two .44 WCF cartridges (left) next to two .44 Special cartridges (right).
The LEE Precision 200-grain slug is on the left, next to the MP
Molds 433-640 Light on right.
The .44 WCF Load
I switched to Alliant Power Pistol powder for two reasons. One, because of the scarcity of Alliant Unique, and two, because Power Pistol meters better. I worked up to 10.3 grains, using Winchester Large Pistol Primers in Starline brass. Five shots averaged 1,030 FPS from the 5.5″ barrel of my Cimarron 1890 Outlaw.
From the 24″ barrel of my Henry 1860, velocity jumped to 1,443 FPS. Having superb accuracy, this bullet/load combination is hard hitting and could easily take a whitetail deer. Groups ran 1-1.5″ at 50 feet with the fixed blade front sight/hog trough rear sight of the Remington 1890. At 50 yards, the same sized groups were shot from the Henry 1860 rifle with Skinner Sights peep sight added.
Typical accuracy from the Cimarron 1890 Outlaw (above). Five shots running around 1.5 inches with fixed sights. Tank’s 5.5" Ruger mid-frame flat top (below) proved accurate with the MP Molds bullet.
.44 Special
This dual-purpose mold is also perfect for the .44 Special. While I’ve shot a truckload of “Skeeter” loads consisting of the Lyman/Ideal 429421 250-grain cast slug, a lighter, faster bullet with bigger meplat is always another good option depending on needs. Working up to 9.5 grains of Alliant Power Pistol provided me with an average of 1,108 FPS from my 5.5″ Ruger mid-frame flat top. Five shot groups were just over an inch at 50 feet with sandbag rest.
When working up to 10.3 grains of Power Pistol, velocity increased to 1,204 FPS in my flat top. Extraction was still easy and primers showed no signs of pressure, but I felt the extra velocity, recoil and pounding of the gun wasn’t necessary.
Shooting the same 9.5 grains of Power Pistol .44 Special load out of my Ruger Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with 20″ barrel increased velocity to 1,430 FPS and accuracy was just over an inch at 50 yards for 3 shots.
Typical accuracy from the Cimarron 1890 Outlaw (above). Five shots running around 1.5 inches with fixed sights. Tank’s 5.5" Ruger mid-frame flat top (below) proved accurate with the MP Molds bullet.
Summation
I couldn’t be happier with the results experienced using the MP Molds 433-640 Light. I powder-coated the slugs, sizing them to 0.430″ which I’ve learned shoot best in my .44 WCF guns. For .44 Special, I sized the bullets 0.432″ as experience has proven this is best for both Ruger and Marlin guns accuracy-wise. Also, not a speck of leading was present in any of my barrels when bullets are sized to these dimensions. All loads were assembled using Lee Precision dies with my Lee Classic Turret Press.
If you’re looking for a heavier .44 WCF bullet or a lighter .44 Special slug, look no further. MP Molds 433-640 Light is a dandy at doing dual-purpose work. You won’t be sorry, but what you shoot will be!
