TybrneRyan
06-02-2014, 02:24 PM
In the endless pursuit of accuracy and enjoyment, this site has been nothing short of pure magic. Any question or idea can be discovered on all fronts of this wonderful hobby. I consider myself a rookie caster and handloader. I have only been participating in this hobby for about 10 years and always seek out the wisdom of my fellow colleagues that they have procured after decades of experience. My reloading bench is fairly bleak, with only 2 RCBS single stage presses and a lubeamatic sizer, I drooled at the possibility of obtaining a progressive. As of a few days ago, I was about to pull the trigger on a 550b until I noticed a minty mint Ruger Bisley Blackhawk 5.5" in 45 colt at my local shop. The price was right and the idea of having a hunting/packing pistol of this size and grip profile was too good to not pass up. I have two old Ruger vaqueros in 45 colt, but only shot those at close distances and general plinking. I was aware of the fact that these old vaqueros are built on the large Blackhawk frame, but didn't care to push them hard since they have the fixed sight arrangement.
My first range day with the bisley was yesterday. It shot pretty darn great! I had a couple of different cast boolits to play with ranging from 200-315 grains. I even loaded mouse fart loads to almost magnum velocities. The plethora of options in this cartridge is endless! I began thinking, was there more to learn about loading this round? Was my methods of using a RCBS carbide 3 die set the best method? I then read about the conversation of neck sizing opposed to FL and the benefits of using a steel sizer die instead of carbide due to the fact that this case is NOT STRAIGHT! You learn something new everyday right? There's also the conversation of are the RCBS Cowboy Dies really conducive to better accuracy with cast versus the other brands and how many different firearm manufacturers have different chamber dimensions and therefore may leave the cases too small in the chambers. I also read that there is the Redding 2 stage carbide die that is designed to size with the tapper intact.
In conclusion to all this discovery I have come to the realization that I don't know didly squat about revelover accuracy. The Idea of conforming the brass to fit the chamber as best as possible has greatly intrigued me. I now have a whole new perspective on how to best create loads to maximize accuracy or at least options to try. I also am more inclined to work on smaller batches of precisely worked handloads instead of how many rounds can I crank out in an hour. This cartridge has shown me that the simplest of procedures may not be as simple as I might have thought prior. Tomorrow I will start working on some of these new ideas and methods with my newly fire formed cases. I even have an old RCBS steel sizer on the way to try.
Ryan
My first range day with the bisley was yesterday. It shot pretty darn great! I had a couple of different cast boolits to play with ranging from 200-315 grains. I even loaded mouse fart loads to almost magnum velocities. The plethora of options in this cartridge is endless! I began thinking, was there more to learn about loading this round? Was my methods of using a RCBS carbide 3 die set the best method? I then read about the conversation of neck sizing opposed to FL and the benefits of using a steel sizer die instead of carbide due to the fact that this case is NOT STRAIGHT! You learn something new everyday right? There's also the conversation of are the RCBS Cowboy Dies really conducive to better accuracy with cast versus the other brands and how many different firearm manufacturers have different chamber dimensions and therefore may leave the cases too small in the chambers. I also read that there is the Redding 2 stage carbide die that is designed to size with the tapper intact.
In conclusion to all this discovery I have come to the realization that I don't know didly squat about revelover accuracy. The Idea of conforming the brass to fit the chamber as best as possible has greatly intrigued me. I now have a whole new perspective on how to best create loads to maximize accuracy or at least options to try. I also am more inclined to work on smaller batches of precisely worked handloads instead of how many rounds can I crank out in an hour. This cartridge has shown me that the simplest of procedures may not be as simple as I might have thought prior. Tomorrow I will start working on some of these new ideas and methods with my newly fire formed cases. I even have an old RCBS steel sizer on the way to try.
Ryan