Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith – Brilliant Trail Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith is the answer to a problem a lot of 44 owners have: they bought a light revolver to carry, and the ammunition that makes a 44 worth carrying hurts too much to shoot well. This load runs a 255 grain gas checked Keith bullet at 1350 fps for about 1032 ft-lbs, and it does it under SAAMI pressure.

• Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith Overview
• Lower Recoil 44 Magnum Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 255 Grain Keith Semi-Wadcutter Bullet Earns Its Keep
• Specifications
• Revolvers That Take This Lightweight Revolver Trail Load

Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith Overview

Buffalo Bore item 4E belongs to their Lower Recoil line. The 255 grain hard cast Keith semi-wadcutter with a gas check runs a nominal 1350 fps for roughly 1032 ft-lbs. Twenty rounds per box.

Buffalo Bore chronographed it at 1264 fps from a four inch S&W 329PD and 1357 fps from a 5.5 inch Ruger Redhawk. The 329PD is a scandium framed revolver weighing about 26 ounces, which is exactly the kind of gun this load was developed for.

Lower recoil here means lower than Buffalo Bore’s heavy 44 offerings, not weak. It still produces about a thousand foot pounds, which is more than most factory 44 Magnum ammunition and far more than any 44 Special.

The 44 Remington Magnum has been around since 1955, and for most of that time the choice was between mild cowboy fodder and full house loads that beat the shooter up. Buffalo Bore’s Lower Recoil line exists to fill the gap in between, where a great many people actually shoot.

Lower Recoil 44 Magnum Ammo Ballistics

At 1350 fps a 255 grain bullet carries about 1032 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. A typical 240 grain factory 44 Magnum at the same velocity makes roughly 971 ft-lbs, so this load gives up nothing in energy while staying comfortably inside pressure limits.

The recoil reduction comes from how the pressure curve is shaped rather than from taking power away. Buffalo Bore keeps the load well under SAAMI maximum, which spreads the impulse out and softens the sharp snap that light framed revolvers transmit so efficiently to the shooting hand.

From a four inch barrel you still see 1264 fps, which is about 905 ft-lbs. That is a great deal of performance out of a revolver you can carry all day on a belt without noticing it.

Sight regulation is worth checking. A 255 grain bullet will generally print higher at twenty five yards than the 240 grain loads most fixed sight revolvers are regulated for, so confirm your point of impact before you rely on this lower recoil 44 Magnum ammo in the field.

Why The 255 Grain Keith Semi-Wadcutter Bullet Earns Its Keep

Elmer Keith designed his semi-wadcutter around a wide flat nose, a crisp shoulder and generous lubrication grooves. The profile has been in continuous production since the 1930s because nothing has improved on it. It cuts a clean full diameter hole and tracks straight.

Cast hard and gas checked, this bullet does not expand. That is deliberate. A non-expanding flat nose at 1350 fps will penetrate far deeper than a hollow point of the same weight, which is what you want from a lightweight revolver trail load carried against animals rather than people.

The gas check is a copper cup swaged onto the bullet base. Above roughly 1100 fps a bare lead base can smear and lead the bore. The check seals it, so accuracy holds up through a shooting session and cleaning stays simple.

Buffalo Bore sizes and lubricates these bullets carefully, which is the other half of keeping a bore clean. Gas checked hard cast handgun ammunition done properly fouls no worse than jacketed ammunition at the same speed.

The combination is hard to beat for a carry gun: enough penetration for anything on this continent, enough manners that you will actually practise with it, and gas checked hard cast handgun ammunition that will not foul your barrel doing it.

Specifications

Revolvers That Take This Lightweight Revolver Trail Load

Because this load stays under SAAMI pressure, Buffalo Bore states it is safe in any 44 Magnum revolver in normal working order. That includes the full Smith & Wesson N frame line, the scandium 329PD, Ruger Redhawks and Blackhawks, Taurus revolvers and 44 Magnum rifles.

That is the practical difference between this and the heavy +P+ offerings in the same calibre, which are restricted to a short list of heavy frame guns. If you shoot a Smith & Wesson 629 or a 329PD, this is the Buffalo Bore 44 you want.

In a lever action carbine the longer barrel adds meaningful velocity and the recoil becomes almost mild. A 255 grain Keith semi-wadcutter bullet from a rifle length barrel makes a very effective short range deer and hog load.

Gas Checked Hard Cast Handgun Ammunition Availability

This Buffalo Bore 44 Mag 255gr Hard Cast Keith is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders normally leave within one business day.

If your revolver is on the approved heavy list, the Buffalo Bore 44 Mag +P+ 340gr Hard Cast goes deeper still. For a softer shooting alternative, see the Buffalo Bore 44 Special 255gr Hard Cast SWC, and for a mid bore option try the Buffalo Bore 41 Mag 230gr Keith SWC. Tested velocities are published by Buffalo Bore Ammunition.