Spittin .500 Performance Center

[stubshaft]

Softer lube?

Not going to matter. Due to the friction and pressure it is probably liquefied as it exits.

[Moonie]

Perhaps 45/45/10?

[Ron60]

Checked my sized bullets - they are round.
Got word back from S&W and all they offered was to have me send in the gun for inspection which I surmize will result in nothing being found.
All I want to know from them is how to get the darned compensator off but no ones talking. Remember this is the Performance Center and the brake is not removable.

[44man]

Some guns just need the darn things. I was shooting a friends .50 BMG and the blast blew my right muff off my ear and all the noise hit me. I should have had plugs too.
But since there is space between the bore size and the comp size, lead in the comp slots is not good. Something is happening to the boolit as it leaves the rifling.
Just lube is OK but there should not be lead there.

[Bass Ackward]

What a lot of people don't realise that "think" they are not leading is that they really are, they just can't find evidence of it yet.

The next bullet is removing lead in front of it until it can't do that any more and buildup occurs.

Some times, when bullets get really hard, they don't engrave, but they cut and those chunks just follow the slug out. Bigger than bore bullets in newer guns (sharp leades angles) make this occur sooner and can actually cup the base if the bore sizing is far enough.

If you are running high enough muzzle pressure with PB, the hot gas IS going to rush past the bullet when it exits being lighter that will make the bullet a bevel base to an extent too. That lead gotta go someplace.

I learned this years ago watching a guy discover this shooting off the hood of his newer model truck.

So, you will get lead exiting the muzzle at times, even if my theories for the actual causes are wrong.

[44man]

What a lot of people don't realise that "think" they are not leading is that they really are, they just can't find evidence of it yet.

The next bullet is removing lead in front of it until it can't do that any more and buildup occurs.

Some times, when bullets get really hard, they don't engrave, but they cut and those chunks just follow the slug out. Bigger than bore bullets in newer guns (sharp leades angles) make this occur sooner and can actually cup the base if the bore sizing is far enough.

If you are running high enough muzzle pressure with PB, the hot gas IS going to rush past the bullet when it exits being lighter that will make the bullet a bevel base to an extent too. That lead gotta go someplace.

I learned this years ago watching a guy discover this shooting off the hood of his newer model truck.

So, you will get lead exiting the muzzle at times, even if my theories for the actual causes are wrong.

Yes Bass, this is right on the money, you have explained it very well.
Shorter barrels increase muzzle pressure so those that want a huge caliber in a 4" barrel and need a comp on it are just making more problems for themselves.
Been there, done that and trying to get a 30-30 or 45-70 to shoot right with a 10" barrel is a real pain and then you read about guys that want to cut a 45-70 to 5"----Just what are they thinking?
Some of our new revolvers are so over bore capacity it is crazy and powder burn and pressure is not over at the muzzle.
I hate under 7-1/2" in a revolver although I got great results to 6". I really love the guy that wants a .500 S&W in a 4" gun for carry.

[Tommy Kelly]

I have a 500 S&W 4". Mine doesn't spit anything as noticed. I shoot mostly jacketed bullets but have a few of the 700 gr cast made by ranger rick's out of alaska that I have shot through it. I was super supprized that the recoil didn't seem much at all different between the 2. I used the data ranger rick sent me for his bullets when I bought them for the load on the 700gr bullets. They shot fine out of my pistol. I didn't even change out the muzzle break to the cast bullet break that came with the gun. I noticed no difference except the cast break is a little longer and sticks out of the front of the gun and doesn't use the top vents. The 700 gr bullets aren't suggested for the 4" guns but I talked with ranger rick before getting them and he said he had shot over 900 out of his 500 4" with no problem.

[Ron60]

Just a quick note to remind those who have an interest in this thread. We are dealing with 2 identical revolvers. Both are 7.5 Performance Centers. One is pretty early with a serial number of 290, the other is brand new. Both to the same thing with the same "country mix" of various bullet weights and two types of lube. One was some old Alox that required to heating to flow and the other Rooter Red that does have to be lubed.
Both exhibit the same nasty spitting habit. So I'm not inclined to think it's cylinder alignment, out of round bullets, or skywarbled compensator. Not sure about the hardness of the lube being a problem either.
The primary load is a 500 grain bullet over 33 grains of H 110 with large rifle primer.
Again - perhaps sometime today (Alaska time) I'll run out and see if my next experiment makes any difference. If so I'll try to figure out how to include a photo or two.

[Ron60]

PS: The idea that some leading is pushed out by the next round makes a lot of sense and helps explain some of what's going on! More anxious than ever now to see if my little modification will help.
I got my pistol used. But it had very few rounds through it. Mostly cast. This makes me wonder if getting a couple hundred jacketed anything and shooting them up would help smooth the bore up a little. It does look really new and the edges of the lands are very, very crisp.
Thanks for that information - really makes sense!

[Ron60]

OK, if the photo comes through you'll see what I did to the muzzle brake. I shot a total of 15 rounds of the load already mentioned.
There were no bits of lube on my glasses lenses this time. I did think I felt some light spray on my cheek (left) but nothing distracting.
So until I can get out on a warmer day to do this again I'm going to venture an educated guess that I might actually be onto something.
There was no perceptible difference in recoil. I will have to shoot my friends gun along side this one with the same load to see if there's any real difference.
Still there was some small amount of lead stuck to the flat surfaces of the brake slots facing the shooter.
It is very possible adding some tin or antimony to our ww lead might be called for. But we need bullets that will not break up on tough muscle tissue and bone such as in the case for Brown bear which is the primary reason we carry these things.
Anyone wishing to know how I did the modification is welcome to email me. But if I were you I would wait until I can get out and maybe shoot 30 or more rounds to be certain I'm actually on to a viable fix.
Hope this helps somebody -

[John Ross]

Taking the comp off will de-tension the barrel and not secure the shroud. You can cut it off even with the back of the rear ports if you want to get rid of it.

JR

[Ron60]

The only reason I wish to remove it is to see if I could single point the threads on a brake I fabricat myself with a different pattern of gas ports.
Then there would be the torque to get right. I'm not sure I would want to get rid of it as the recoil is not far from being to much to control in a tight situation.
I think from this point I'm going to order some tin/antimony and harden up my ww lead a little and see what happens.
I'm pleased with the results so far.