Plain based cast bullets and a ported Tracker .41

[GLynn41]

i do not shoot open sights well at all - but I have had a really hard time with my 4 " tracker
and the plain base .410459 and saeco 230.411 I have read some where that ports are the death for a plain base bullets
Are ports that bad for pbcb?
I have gc'd molds That I can shoot -and they do shoot better- but I still have love my Keith bullets ( I have been lusting after the NOE 237? gr Keith)
I use Keith .41 special loads with AA#2 (because I have it) and AA#9
AA#9 in normal .41 loads
Any thoughts?

[475AR]

You should look into plain based gas checks, I have several pb molds that I use them on when needed. It is kind of best of both worlds. I even bought the Pat Marlins die to make them because they work so well.

[243winxb]

Round drilled holes, yes. Mag-Na-Port, no.

[Guesser]

I shoot plain base relatively soft cast bullets from 3 different ported Trackers; 357, 41, and a blue 44. In 41 I like the obsolete 41028. I can crimp in the crimp groove where I can't do that with 41032 or 410459. The GC 410610 is also right length but I don't shoot many GC bullets......unnecessarily expensive. My 41 Tracker has probably had in excess of 5000 rounds of cast plain base rounds fired thru it. The ports foul in the 41 much faster than the 44 as the 44 is back bored under the ports and pressure drops much faster in it than in the 41.
Good shooting.

[GLynn41]

243winxb it is the round factory installed porting
Guesser i had a good .41028 but went stupid and sold it --I trim some brass back to 1.15
shoot the saeco Keith bullet-- the 410459 is still longer so I shoot few of them-- the saeco is in a 4 cav mold so obviously I cast from it and not the 2 cav 410459
i have suspected it is me and my 64 year old eyes-- one Doc even mentioned to me about Parkinson-- euuuuu
but the gc molds do consistantly shoot better -- say 3--4 inches - and the PB will not keep all in the black of a 25 yard Pistol target
I will keep trying

[yondering]

Glynn, you are not alone with that Tracker. I shoot iron sights pretty well, if I can say so without sounding like a braggart, however a good friend and I both had a lot of trouble getting decent accuracy with his .41 Tracker. Jacketed bullets were OK but nothing exciting, but plain based cast bullets were terrible in that gun. In hindsight I'd be tempted to pull the barrel off and back bore it to clear the porting. He ended up just selling the gun as even with gas checked or jacketed bullets it never shot as well as it should have.

[44man]

I can't see ports having much affect unless boolits are too soft. Jacketed shoots but no matter what we do we can't equal the hardness. Even a GC is nothing but a skid stop and will not stop leading if the boolit is soft enough for the check to also skid and open gas channels. Leading the bore is likely the cause as each shot pushes leading ahead and out ports.
I don't think lead jets from the base at the ports but the only way to know is to recover boolits.
I would just shoot very hard boolits as we have done with ported guns with no problems.
Accuracy with cast in any revolver is not easy and too many factors are different then jacketed so I can't blame ports.

[runfiverun]

I think most are talking about the ports being a vent for gas cutting on the base.
maybe with a case full of H-110 or the like you could have that issue and a gas check would be a good idea.

but 8 grs of unique probably not so much.

[GLynn41]

Of the PB boolits i have recovered the base looks fine-- before I scoped my 6''.41 DWA-- could see and use the open sights ok
and my son has a 5 shot .500 GNR with open sights and I can shoot it ok-
I do not try to hunt with open sights-- Glenn Fryxell? i think I missed spelled his name--- wrote that about pb and ports but I do not remember the article-- so between my eyes and short sight radius -- I have accepted the results -- -- I have had the 5 gun for years, I have trimmed some .41 brass to 1.15 and shoot .41 specials only-- because of the lack of good accuracy I call it a ''hole puncher'' thanks your thoughts will run a batch of hard and see

[yondering]

I think most are talking about the ports being a vent for gas cutting on the base.
maybe with a case full of H-110 or the like you could have that issue and a gas check would be a good idea.

but 8 grs of unique probably not so much.

Yes, this. Definitely not so much an issue with low pressure (at the porting) loads.

[gwpercle]

I have had a Taurus model 455 ported revolver since 2005 , it's a 5 shot 45 acp. , 99% of all the loads fired through it are plain based cast boolits. The porting does not cause any problems in my gun.
After extensive shooting it is dirty and gets scrubbed with a bore brush and Ed's Red. Cleans up just fine and that 45 is the most accurate 45 acp I own....it shoots tiny groups with little effort on my part.
Don't believe everything you read, go shoot it and see what it does, just might surprise you.
Honestly , in my gun cast plain based boolits and the ports are not an issue.
And I'm 67 , blind in one eye and half blind in the other.....just move the target up close !
Gary

[Cherokee]

Well my experience was poor with the factory ported 357 mag barrel of a Taurus. Jacketed bullets shot great. Good, accurate CB loads in my Python and Ruger's hit the 25 yd target in patterns from the Taurus. After several CB loads being tested with the same results, the Taurus went down the road.