Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. John Taffin HANDLOADING SAGE ADVICE FROM THE HANDLOADING GURUS Keith Bullets “ o the detriment of the bullet, many mold manufacturers have changed my bullet design. They have cut down both the width and diameter of the front band and have changed the squarecornered lubrication groove to one of rounded design. This cutting down of diameter and width of front band defeats the very purpose for which I designed it.” Thus spoke Elmer Keith in 1974. Today, almost any semi-wadcutter bullet is referred to as a “Keith” bullet, even though most of them barely come close. Keith did not originate the semiwadcutter, that distinction goes to a fellow named Heath, and Keith’s first designs featured a very heavy, bluntnosed bullet which he rejected because The classic 250 grain Keith. T .44 Special loads, Keith bullets and the S&W 1950 Target. Keith’s .44 bullet compared to Ray Thompson’s #431222GC and NEI’s 290 grain .44 SWC. they did not provide the long-range accuracy he was looking for. Today’s LBT bullets, a refinement of Keith’s first bullet design, are designed for maximum penetration and shocking power on game, and they work well with velocities possible now. A true Keith bullet has a square base, not a bevel base; and one full caliber shoulder seated outside of the case. The crimping groove is deep and found in between the center and front shoulder bands. All three bands, base, center and shoulder are of the same diameter and height. Finally, all true Keith bullets have square-cornered grease grooves to hold as much lubrication as possible. The three wide bands, the square cornered grease grooves, and a square base all make casting bullets more difficult than bevel bases, rounded grease grooves, and smaller width driving bands. eith’s original designs were for Ideal, which later became Lyman-Ideal, and is now Lyman Products. Those designs consisted of #358429 of 168 grains for the .38 Special; #454424, 260 grains for the .45 Colt; #454423, a slightly shorter and lighter 240 grain bullet for the .45 Auto Rim; and his most famous bullet #429421, a 250 grain bullet for the .44 Special and later the .44 Magnum. By the time the .41 Magnum arrived Keith was proclaiming that only one manufacturer, Hensley & Gibbs, was supplying true Keith bullet molds. “The greatest strain on a sixgun bullet is when it hits the lands in the barrel throat after upsetting to fill the chamber throat and driving it straight ahead into the twist of the rifling. That is the reason I designed my line of sixgun bullets with three bands all of equal width and equal diameter with one large square-cornered grease groove to hold a maximum amount of lubricant. That forward band outside the crimp, helps true up the round in the cylinder before firing and also reduces the jump to the rifling. Any recovered revolver bullet plainly shows how it has skidded when it first hit the rifling. But my wide band reduces or eliminates this effect.” From the man himself. Today, Keith bullets are rivaled by the LBT designs, which are normally heavier with more weight out in front of the cartridge case. For This 1st year production Ruger .45 loads with standard Colt Blackhawk is not particular as to weight bullets I powder selection. normally go with the Keith designs, and when heavy bullets are desired, I switched to the LBT bullets or NEI’s heavyweight “Keith” bullets. Originals Can You Get Them? here are many Keith and very close to Keith bullet molds being offered today. None of them will have a square-cornered grease groove, however most will have a square-cornered base and equal driving bands. For the .45 Colt I prefer the long discontinued Lyman #454424 and the RCBS #45-270SA designed by Dave Scovill. For .44 Special/.44 Magnum loads there is the original Lyman #429421, RCBS’s 44-250KT, and NEI’s 260KT. I’ve been using the Lyman #358429 Keith bullet since 1956, before the 1950s ended I had added both the .44 and .45 Keith molds to my loading bench, and for the .41 Magnum, Lyman’s “Keith” bullet #410459 was added in the 1980s. Although Keith did not approve of it, it shoots awfully well in my Ruger Bisley Model. Lyman still catalogs #358429 and #429421 as well as the .41 Magnum, #410459. Hensley & Gibbs is long gone, however I have managed, with quite a bit of help from readers, to come up with several H&G molds, including true Keith bullet molds for both the .41 and .44. NEI also offers excellent Keith bullets with the #146 weighing 170 grains for the .38 Special/.357 Magnum, #221 a 230 grain bullet for the .41 Magnum, #325 is the 275 grain .45 Colt bullet, and of course the aforementioned 260 grain Keith bullet for the .44s. Keith used his bullets mostly in heavy loads. When I started reloading I followed him, and none of my boxes of reloaded ammunition needed to be marked — they were all “Keith” loads. I still keep .357 Magnum, .44 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt loads on hand using his #2400 recipes, and in fact shot a Catalina goat last month with his #454424 hollow-pointed over 18.5 grains of #2400. At 35 yards the bullet penetrated completely and the goat dropped immediately. But for the most part, today I shoot Keith’s bullets at a more enjoyable 800-1,000 fps. K T * 38 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • JULY/AUGUST 2009