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44 special barrel leading

peddlerpeddler Member Posts: 881 ✭✭✭✭
edited December 2015 in Ask the Experts
I have a Colt 44 special that leads in the forcing cone. I shoot fairly soft lead hollow base bullets. Whats interesting is the cylinder through Is very clean after shooting. Speed is about 600-700 fps. Any comments?

Comments

  • peddlerpeddler Member Posts: 881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    New Colt saa 44 special, leaded real bad starting at the forging cone and up barrel maybe 1/2" while shooting a box of Cowboy loads. Lead on bullets seems real hard to me. I will reload soft lead but wanted to shoot this box of bullets I bought. Any comments? Thanks
  • KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Did ya check the cylinder timing? That's a usual culprit when forcing cone fouling is an issue
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hollow base are a poor choice for a wheel gun. What lube is on the bullets? If it's the red plastic crap rooster red, that is part of the problem. What size is are the bullets, the barrel and the cylinder openings?

    added yea .001 to .002 oversize is usually good, more than that can cause issues. Bullets will offset just due to the acceleration of being fired. The skirt of the hollow base can flair into the gap between the cylinder and the barrel and shear off.

    So did you ever fix the forcing cone on this pistol?
  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,649 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Missouri Bullet Company. Is selling these plated, Brinell 18 hardness, 44 caliber bullets,(200 grain). For $50 for 500, + shipping. Give them a try.






    ht_44stalker.jpg
  • peddlerpeddler Member Posts: 881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    why is a soft lead hollow base bullet not good for a wheel gum? You have to have a bullet that will swell up and fill the cylinder to keep the hot gases from eroding the sides of the bullet.
  • peddlerpeddler Member Posts: 881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    bullets are Speer marked .430" but really measure .433" to .434",,, barrel is .4275" and cylinder is about .434". Bullet will drop though cylinder.
  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,649 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by peddler
    why is a soft lead hollow base bullet not good for a wheel gum? You have to have a bullet that will swell up and fill the cylinder to keep the hot gases from eroding the sides of the bullet.


    If the bullets are groove diameter,plated and of sufficient hardness. The only way they will erode, is as the previous poster noted. Your timing and/or lock-up has problems. Single actions that have been previously used, for "fast draw" or "fanning". Might have these problems?
  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,649 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by peddler
    bullets are Speer marked .430" but really measure .433" to .434",,, barrel is .4275" and cylinder is about .434". Bullet will drop though cylinder.


    A "soft" swaged .433 diameter bullet. Through a .4275 barrel, doesn't sound right. No wonder you're having problems.
  • peddlerpeddler Member Posts: 881 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    you want your lead bullet to be .001" to .002" larger than the barrel dia. maybe even bigger.
  • Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by peddler
    why is a soft lead hollow base bullet not good for a wheel gum? You have to have a bullet that will swell up and fill the cylinder to keep the hot gases from eroding the sides of the bullet.


    A flat base will opturate quite well, thank you.
    To hard an alloy might not (and it would take something quite hard to do this), but you indicate you're running a soft alloy.
    Run the softest lube you can fine, the old Alox & beeswax mix while messy is great for reducing leading.
    As the pressure climbs, and in the micro second before opturation occurs, the gas will strip the soft lube off and coat the barrel with it ahead of the bullet. With a hard lube, you're hoping the previous bullet left some lube behind for the next one.
    Recover a couple of fired bullets, any lube left on them is wasted lube.

    Look up the work of Dr. F.W. Mann "The Bullets Flight" (it's in PDF format on Google Books for free), it explains the process quite well (and all of the gun rag "experts" have managed to do is verify Dr. Mann's work).
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