26Charlie
08-24-2008, 12:52 PM
Haven't shot pistols in quite some time; been playing with rifles. Decided to take some heavy revolvers to the range. A S&W M544 revolver with 5" bbl. in .44-40, a S&W M29 .44 Magnum with 6 !/2" bbl., and a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk with 7 1/2" bbl. in .41 Magnum. No trouble with the Smiths at all, and I discovered I can still shoot heavy loads OK one-handed.
With the Ruger - my loads would chamber only with great difficulty - but when fired, extracted slickly. As a radio operator used to say "What the sh*t, over?" The load was 41028, 210 gr. (a cowboy design before they decided to call it that) with 9.5 gr. 800-X.
Investigation at home - the rounds chambered fine in a Redhawk, and an older Blackhawk. Looking closely, it seemed that the crimp was a trifle short of covering the crimp groove, maybe five thousandths, and the crimp consequently a little bulged. Date on the box was 2002, about the time I picked up a Tru-line Jr. press all set up for .41 Mag. I surmised I had mis-adjusted the seater die and leaned on the crimp a little too much, and that it was not discovered because I didn't try the rounds in all the .41's - and that the Bisley's chambers are a tad tighter than the other guns. I examined some loads dated 1999, which were fine, using the same bullet.
To fix the ammo, I first tried the seater/crimp dies both in the Tru-line and with the older Lachmiller dies I used before, in the Rockchucker. No effect - the rounds still stuck in the Bisley. Then I used the Lachmiller sizing die screwed in a bit at a time - seven threads seemed to size the round to fit without a hitch. Ran them all through, curing the problem.
It then occurred to me that perhaps I should examine all my loaded .41 ammo, and sure enough I found some 175 gr. NEI-bullet loads I had been using in the Redhawk for a bowling pin match, which crimped over the nose, needed the same treatment to chamber in the Bisley. Another load I used in the older Blackhawk also featured a 260 gr. NEI bullet crimped over the nose, and got the treatment also. I had shot some of this load in the Bisley, but with the bullet crimped in the crimp groove.
Lesson relearned - watch the crimp force and location, and try the loads in all the guns you might fire them in. Discovering the problem on the range is an annoyance; discovering it in the field could be a serious problem.
With the Ruger - my loads would chamber only with great difficulty - but when fired, extracted slickly. As a radio operator used to say "What the sh*t, over?" The load was 41028, 210 gr. (a cowboy design before they decided to call it that) with 9.5 gr. 800-X.
Investigation at home - the rounds chambered fine in a Redhawk, and an older Blackhawk. Looking closely, it seemed that the crimp was a trifle short of covering the crimp groove, maybe five thousandths, and the crimp consequently a little bulged. Date on the box was 2002, about the time I picked up a Tru-line Jr. press all set up for .41 Mag. I surmised I had mis-adjusted the seater die and leaned on the crimp a little too much, and that it was not discovered because I didn't try the rounds in all the .41's - and that the Bisley's chambers are a tad tighter than the other guns. I examined some loads dated 1999, which were fine, using the same bullet.
To fix the ammo, I first tried the seater/crimp dies both in the Tru-line and with the older Lachmiller dies I used before, in the Rockchucker. No effect - the rounds still stuck in the Bisley. Then I used the Lachmiller sizing die screwed in a bit at a time - seven threads seemed to size the round to fit without a hitch. Ran them all through, curing the problem.
It then occurred to me that perhaps I should examine all my loaded .41 ammo, and sure enough I found some 175 gr. NEI-bullet loads I had been using in the Redhawk for a bowling pin match, which crimped over the nose, needed the same treatment to chamber in the Bisley. Another load I used in the older Blackhawk also featured a 260 gr. NEI bullet crimped over the nose, and got the treatment also. I had shot some of this load in the Bisley, but with the bullet crimped in the crimp groove.
Lesson relearned - watch the crimp force and location, and try the loads in all the guns you might fire them in. Discovering the problem on the range is an annoyance; discovering it in the field could be a serious problem.