Slugging a barrel and cylander throats with balls?

[Changeling]

Is it OK to slug the throats and barrel of a Ruger 45LC with 50 caliber lead balls used in muzzle loaders?
You guys just drive them in and through with a wooden dowel, is that OK. No damage?

This is strange to me, LOL

[HORNET]

Whatever works. Lube the inside of the barrel or the cylinder throats a bit to keep things from sticking. Find some way to mark which slug came from which throat. A brass rod would be better or a steel rod wrapped with tape to protect the steel edges, but you can get away with wood if it's straight grained. Soft fishing sinkers are easier because there's a hole for the lead to displace into, but I've used .490's on a .44.

[mooman76]

A closer size would be better but if that's all you got, it will work.

[Edubya]

You can work soften lead by rolling it between two hard steel bars. This will also do some of the shaping and sizing to make it easier.
I just cast up some RN boolits with stick on WW and force them through the cylinder, then used one for the forcing cone/leade. I had already worked one down through the muzzle before I realized that the cylinder and forcing cone were the most important. That's for the revolver of course.
EW

[MtGun44]

Just don't be pounding on a cylinder in a swing out pistol without removing it from the
gun. People have bent the crane that way. Single Actions, of course you pull the cylinder
and support it on a wood block or plastic. Brass driver is better than wood, for sure.

Bill

[Shiloh]

A clean firearm makes the slugging job a bit easier. I used oval fishing weights. They come in lots of sizes for applicable to slugging barrels and chambers.

Shiloh

[GP100man]

I`ve used a push rod from an engine wrapped with tape for yrs for sluggin & a range rod.

[yondering]

You don't need to slug your cylinder throats. Just stick your calipers in there and measure them.

[MtGun44]

Measuring inside diameters like throats CAN be done with calipers, but it is tricky for the
inexperienced, plus most calipers are really only accurate plus or minus .001"

Just because you put your caliper in there and it read some particular number doesn't
mean that is correct. Slugging and measuring with a micrometer accurate to .0001"
is much better. Easiest and really accurate is gage pins.

Bill

[MT Gianni]

Fishing egg sinkers work well. South Bend brand are supposed to be soft pure lead. Take a caliper to the store to get the right size.

[Willbird]

Measuring inside diameters like throats CAN be done with calipers, but it is tricky for the
inexperienced, plus most calipers are really only accurate plus or minus .001"

Just because you put your caliper in there and it read some particular number doesn't
mean that is correct. Slugging and measuring with a micrometer accurate to .0001"
is much better. Easiest and really accurate is gage pins.

Bill

I have owned a half dozen sets of mititoyo lcd digital calipers over the years, and been able to check them on gage mastering rings...they have always read dead on for me, which is actually + - .0005 because that is as close as they will resolve.

Pushing balls through holes can be troublesome at times, the balls want to roll instead of push straight through....at least when pushing say steel ball bearings through holes in aluminum plates anyway :-).

I think it is in "pistolsmithing" by George Nonte that he shows how to beat lead balls thru the throats of a DA revolver....with the cylinder on the crane, in the gun......Dad pointed out to me how WRONG that was when I was just a little shaver.

Bill