Ruger Bisley Leading Issue Gone

[dps3006]

Problem solved with reaming job on my 45 Colt cylinder by DougGuy. Doug does quality work quickly and at a fair price. Before I had leading so bad that I literally stopped shooting the gun because cleaning was such a chore. I went to the range on Sunday and put 20 cast bullets through the gun without a hint of lead. Hallelujah! What bugs me is how Ruger could get this wrong from the factory necessitating us to rework the guns.

[kungfustyle]

Ruger isn't the only one, S&W is a guilty of that. I guess they don't figure too many people are going to be casting for their guns and jacketed rounds spring back so it's ok to be a few thousands off.

[Dale53]

The upside of this condition is that when you are finished getting it "in spec" you NOW have a "custom" revolver that will shoot like one. After reaming seven cylinders with this condition you can hardly believe the results!

At least, I tell myself this every time I look at my Ruger SS Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertible that NOW shoots WONDERFULLY (well under 1" at 25 yards with BOTH cylinders and can be shot nearly forever without needing cleaning. Out of the box it would start leading almost immediately and start to lose accuracy quickly. Now, after 100's of rounds, it still shoots like a match pistol.

I did two cylinders each for two of my shooting buddies and they got the same results. Further, my Ruger Bisley Vaquero responded well to the same treatment.

FWIW
Dale53

[Brett Ross]

Just packed my two up tonight to ship out tomarrow, can't wait to see the differance.

[DougGuy]

I don't even clean my own Rugers. The barrels are dark with lube residue and there is a lube star at the muzzle. Pretty much seasoned for the next round to be shot.

I am using the Lee RF boolits, cast soft enough to dig a tnumbnail into, and soft lube as well. Yes using copper gas checks.

[white eagle]

I had that very problem with the 45 colts I had
could never get them to shoot to my satisfaction
gave up on that cal and went to a different one

[9.3X62AL]

The 45 Colt can come right from the factory beset with problems, and/or the tooling we use to refill the empties can lead us astray as well.

My first 45 Colt that I delved into dimensions with was a Uberti Cattleman/vintage early 1980s. Its throats were in the .452" ballpark, grooves at .451". Fine, as far as that goes. RCBS tungsten-carbide die set dimensions were screwy, though--the sizer shrunk case diameter to .469", and the expander spud was useless at .447". Even that undersized spud still "Coke-bottled" the brass, and service life was short. (SAAMI 45 Colt case diameter is in the .480" ballpark). I found a .450" expander spud for my .452"-sized bullets, and the shooting improved though case life was short due to over-working.

I couldn't leave well enough alone, and obtained a beautiful (looking) Bisley Blackhawk in the same caliber. Like a lot of Ruger 45 Colts, this one came in kit form......the buyer needed to finish building it. Grooves were fine at .452", but throats ran .448"-.449" and would only shoot one bullet with any accuracy at all--Lyman #454490, a SWC/GC whose design is superfluous for most 45 Colt work.

This time around, things would get done RIGHT.......after reaming and polishing the throats out to .453", I also hunted up an RCBS steel sizer die. This tool didn't over-work the cartridge brass so severely, reducing its diameter to a more realistic .477". Since this change, I haven't lost a 45 Colt case to any form of body cracking.

The net effect of bullets that fit the throats well and cartridges that don't lie off-line/off-center to chamber and bore is accuracy in the 45 Colt that matches that of the 44 Magnum--a thing I could not achieve previously with a whole lot of trying.