Misbehaving six gun

[Thumbcocker]

One of my favorite .44's has started scattering its shots. I thought it was me but I took another gun to the range with the miscreant. Same ammo same conditions and it still acted up. Even shot it off a rest.

Got it home and gave it a good cleaning. Noticed that the ejector rod housing screw was very loose. Cleaned it and put blue locktite on it.

Would the loose screw effect accuracy?

Load is a proven one in the gun. The brass had been loaded several times with full magnum loads. Is tired brass an issue? Some cases split when fired.

Suggestions welcome.

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[Der Gebirgsjager]

Possible, I suppose; but less likely to be the cause than something else. Any leading in the cylinder chambers or bore? You didn't supply a brand name or model......does it have an adjustable rear sight? Might be loose.

[JSH]

"Some cases split when fired. "

You mention that like it is a regular occurrence. If so, junk it all. Dunno what you load is but my guess would be bullet pull.

[osteodoc08]

Any weird functionality issues? Shaving lead due to poor timing? Any leading of the barrel or cylinders? Front and rear sight tight? Just a bad shooting day?

[Walks]

Yep a case splits, it lowers the pressure. Therefore bullets from split cases are moving slower, each split case is going to cause a slightly different change in pressure. So bullets are going to leave the bbl moving at slightly different velocities. So different points of impact.

I load no more then three hot loads, out of a batch of cases. Then reserve them for Target/Cowboy loads.

That's why it is so IMPORTANT to keep cases together in the same lot, not allowing them to get mixed up.

So when one cases goes, you know the rest become suspect. Time to toss them and get knew brass.

[country gent]

If your brass is splitting its time for new brass Scrap what you have in the batches doing it and start over. The loose screw is part of the issue along with the loose ejector rod housing shifting around and affecting harmonics. If the firearm has seen a lot of full power loads check inside of top strap for gas cutting, forcing cone for wear or roughness, timing and lock up, cylinder end play. barrel cylinder gap.

[Thumbcocker]

I have been known to be a bit "thrifty" with brass. These are Starline cases that have had nothing but this load in them. Load is NOE Ranchdog 265 rnfp over 22 of H110 with Russian primers. Very accurate in several guns. Gun is a 5.5" Bisley Ruger that has been customized some. It has been shot a lot. Recently had an oversized cylinder stop fitted, cylinder gap set to minimum, and a hardened steel bushing put in by a pistol Smith guild member. It locks up dead tight.

Gun has always shot the above load well and has put a lot of venison in the freezer. I will break out some virgin Starline cases and see how it shoots.

[Texas by God]

A shot that splits the neck on a centerfire rifle will land out of the group. I can't imagine a straight wall case being different. Brass get tired with age, too- not just times loaded.

[rintinglen]

If I had to put money down on a bet, I'd go with the tired-brass theory: a split case neck will dump a shot well outside the group, in a random fashion. It is false economy to reload such cases.

[9.3X62AL]

If I had to put money down on a bet, I'd go with the tired-brass theory: a split case neck will dump a shot well outside the group, in a random powder. It is false economy to reload such cases.

And that goes double with H-110 as the fuel. H-110/WW-296 depend upon high and consistent bullet pull to sustain combustion start. Splitting or otherwise inconsistent brass will mess things up quite efficiently.

[ShooterAZ]

I'm with the rest of the guys on the splitting cases. Time to get a fresh batch of brass for sure. One other thing to check for is a really worn base pin. This can sometimes cause groups to open up too. If it's a Ruger single action, the Belt Mountain base pins will tighten it right up.