Gator 40-41 Checks Sizes

[Sagebrush7]

Please Note: There are three different gas checks for 40-41 cal. molds and one especially for 40 caliber molds.

#1 .41 Lyman type, the shank will measure .397 and is used on all .41 caliber Lyman molds and a few custom molds.
#2 .416 Rifle – the shank will measure .393 and these gas checks fit .41 caliber RCBS, Saeco and some custom molds.
#3 .41 BSS – the shank will measure .379. This is a new gas check that has been designed especially for .41 bullets. Many of the custom mold makers are now making molds for the improved .41 BSS.
#4 .40 BSS is a gas check especially made for .368 shank 40 caliber bullets.

NOTE: The shank diameters may vary by one or two thousandths from the diameters listed above.

[Buzz64]

Sage
Just got an email back from Tom at Accurate. He says he made the mold I have to use the Hornady .416. Now the question is/are there two .416's?
Seems I've read (probably too much) that there are different heights for a .416 - one for rifle and one for pistol. I may have dreamed this up and just making this too hard. Anyway, I see the copper gators advertised both as ".416 Copper Gator Checks" and ".416 Rifle Copper Gator Checks". I'll be using these primarily for a Ruger Blackhawk but may find a rifle in .41 mag in my future. Does it make a difference which .416 I use? The mold specks don't show a shank height.

[Sagebrush7]

Sage
Just got an email back from Tom at Accurate. He says he made the mold I have to use the Hornady .416. Now the question is/are there two .416's?
Seems I've read (probably too much) that there are different heights for a .416 - one for rifle and one for pistol. I may have dreamed this up and just making this too hard. Anyway, I see the copper gators advertised both as ".416 Copper Gator Checks" and ".416 Rifle Copper Gator Checks". I'll be using these primarily for a Ruger Blackhawk but may find a rifle in .41 mag in my future. Does it make a difference which .416 I use? The mold specks don't show a shank height.

These .416 Gator are only .066 tall measured outside.

[Blammer]

here's an old post I dug up.

Rico 1950 sent me 10 nicely cast sample boolits.

all measured .412 as cast maybe 1/2 thousandth out of round at most.
GC shank dia is .395

I have all 3 of Gator's 41 GC's.

Gator's 410 NEI, BSS, HA! not even close, these are more suited to the 40 caliber. They won't even fit on the shank. End of test, no good.

I tried the Gator's "lyman" THIN gc's first. Max shank dia is .397 per Gator. These fit on but would not stay. I proceeded to size them down to .412 and afterwards they were loose and with a bit of effort I could remove it. I then sized it down to .410, same thing, loose and could get them off with a bit of effort. The GC spun on my fingers and I could slide it "on and off" the last bit to get it off was tough.

If you're GC shank dia is .396 or .397 I would use these because then the GC shank is thick enough to grip tightly all the way around. With the sample boolits above the .395 is just too small for these GC's.

The next were the Gator 416's. Gator's max shank dia for these is .393. These were a 'snug' snap fit, a tad of muscle was required to seat them nicely, but if you use a sizer ( duh..) the bit of force to seat them in the GC is minimal. I sized one down to .412 and the GC was ON, it was snug and NOT coming off. I then sized one down to .410 and this was still more of a good thing. For the sample boolits I received this is the one I'd use.

If your GC shank is .393 to .395 I would use these because they should work the best.
With the sample boolits above and the GC shank of .395 I'd use these even though they may be a bit tough to seat the GC.

Gator's Lyman Thin and the Gator 416's used the entire lenght of the GC shank, there was little if no room for any lube.