Driftwood Johnson":242nix47 said:
You are talking separate issues. Ultimately, a revolver is only as strong as its cylinder. The cylinder is the pressure vessel. Issues like cracks in the forcing cone are a separate issue. If the cylinder blows up it does not matter how strong the forcing cone was.
Right on amigo. Here's John Linebaugh's "lesson" regarding the cylinder being the "weak link" and how problems start at the bolt notch. This is a part of his article on "High Pressure Loads": :arrow: "Some may argue that their charge of 296 will act the same no matter how it is compressed. And it is true that this powder and its brother H-110 work best under mild compression. But when we push our powder charge well into the bottom of the case and cork it with a slug too long and heavy for that caliber we are changing several things.
We change the "dwell time" - the time the sits in the chamber (after the powder is lit) before it starts to move. The more time taken here the sharper the pressure curve becomes. The reduced capacity limits the working area of the powder which means it has to try and do its normal amount of work in a less than normal space.
We also change the burning rate. With retarded bullet movement due to excess bullet weight the burning rate of the powder increases (it burns faster) generating more gases and vicious circle is created.
And we change (or "shift") the problem area to the gun. The quick pressure curve that now lasts longer than normal due to increased dwell time, and the faster burning rate which generates more gas and more pressure than normal, hits the gun in the cylinder right at the base of the bullet.
I have seem many cracked and blown cylinders to prove the blowup starts in the bolt notch. The great part of the pressure is put on a small part of the cylinder, usually near the bolt notch. With a normal-type load of proper bullet weight, not seated too deeply in the case, the pressure curve should flow through the cylinder well into the barrel throat and frame.
For a moment think of your cylinder and barrel frame area as a stack of washers with chambers and bores through them. If pressure was exerted through the whole stack, say for nearly 2", wouldn't that be stronger and safer than trying to apply the same amount of pressure on only the first few washers?
Thousands of rounds of testing here has proven to us that gun life is better with safe heavy loads using slow powders than it is with light loads using fast powders. Case life agrees. The fast powders "hit" the gun very quickly and the slow powders "take up the slack" so to speak, slower and with less hammering effect.
I have measured one of my early .500's on a Ruger frame recently that I know for certain has had over 1000 Proof-Class loads and a few hundred maximum loads. I cannot measure or detect any movement or wear in the gun. All loads used H-110 or WW-296 powders".
