NM Blackhawk Cyl throat 45?

[coop2564]

I have a NM BH 2007 model that best groups I can get are 3-4" from bench at 25yds, mostly 4". Having read older post I see where its common in 45 colt to have tight throats, so I took a .452 XTP last night after cleaning the cyl well and couldn't push thru, not even lightly tapping with end of screw driver. So im guessing if I want better than 4" in need to have it reamed. What are your thoughts and if someone has had it done did it improve accuracy and what is the cost? FYI I have done the DIY trigger job and its at 2.2lb but still slight creep, dont think its the problem.

 

[contender]

Well, getting the cylinder throats reamed to a uniform size such as .4525 is a common place to start when you have tight throats like yours. Cylindersmith does it for about $50 if I'm correct. Generally it does seem to help most guns that have tight throats. Many folks have done it around here.

 

[Rclark]

Here you go : http://www.cylindersmith.com/ $30 on their price list. Lot of people use them with excellent results. I bought the tool myself, so no first hand experience with them.

Had to ream every one of mine except one. Cut my groups in half in one of revolvers, and shrunk the groups noticeably in the others. It will never hurt accuracy as far as I've been told. In my four revolvers (and a couple of others I did for friends) that was so. YMMV. If shooting jacketed, this procedure will not help as much, but will reduce pressure. Most gains are when shooting lead. Try it and see!

If you do it yourself you have to buy the reamer for around $80....

 

[Rodfac]

He did a beautiful job on my NV .45 LC a year ago. Throats came back .4525...all of them and beautifully round. Lead alloy groups reduced from 3-4" to 2" or a little smaller if I'm having a 'good eyes's' day. Throats, sized .001" over groove dia. seem to work best for me with lead alloy bullets. And I've long since realized that sizing the bullet to fit the cylinder throat dia. is vital to success. If I'm buying commercial bullets (Missouri Bullets), I buy the .452" dia. 12 brinell bullets and they shoot the above groups...Cylindersmith did the work for me, cheap, done right the first time and turn around was less than two weeks. Good Luck Rod

 

[Lee Martin]

I recommend having them corrected. It certainly can't hurt. Here's an article I did on the topic some years back:

http://www.singleactions.com/RugerCylinderThroats.pdf

 

[RUFFBIRD]

I also did 3 of my rugers including the ACP cylinder of a convertable.
It did help with tightening up the groups, & with lowering the pressures which is another advantage in my view.

If you choose to do it yourself, using the right pilot for each chamber throat & a piece of brass on the back end to keep the reamer true in each charge hole.....

It is an easy thing to do by hand with a little breakfree gun oil.
Just remember once you have completed the reaming to remove the chuck or T-wrench & remove the reamer through the front of the cylinder.

Cleaning out the chamber of metal cuttings with a pencil & a patch...

A few firings & these scratches will disappear....

Let us now how it works out for you....

 

[MMichaelAK]

Ruffbird,
I did it the same way and it does make a difference with cast bullets. Don't know if it will make a difference with jacketed because I don't shoot jacketed through my .45 Colts.

 

[dlhredfoxx]

I highly recommend doing it or having it done. I've done three 45 Colt Ruger Vaqueros and a Ruger BH, in all four cases, my groups were cut in half. Follow the instructions provided above because you can screw up a cylinder if you're not careful... that reamer is SHARP and you can't put metal back.

 

[Knuckles]

What happens to the brass as you're turning the very-sharp reamer?... doesn't it move around or get chewed up?

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[Rclark]

First of all the purpose of the brass is to keep the chamber from being nicked as you turn the tool. So if it gets chewed up that is it's purpose. It does move around as it is loose on the reamer. You just make another one from a fired .45 case if it does get chewed up. BTW, the spacer doesn't come with the tool. That said, my spacer is still good after 8 jobs so far. BTW, I've never taken the handle off the tool. Once the tool is through the throat, I remove the shavings from the end of the tool by blowing them off. Then back it through the way it came. Works fine. Just never turn the tool the opposite way it cuts as you back it out (or while reaming as well). Simple.

 

[Michael C]

Cylindersmith did my 45 colt new vaquero a few weeks ago. I had it back in two weeks (I am on the west cost; he is on the east coast). Before it was done I was getting 10 to12 inch groups at 50 feet (16 yards) when I was really doing my best.
After the chambers were reamed it's like a whole new pistol. Smaller groups; and while I have not been back to the indoor range to shoot for groups at 50 feet, I shot some 2 inch groups at about 8 to 10 yards. I was able to hit rocks about 8 inches in diameter at about 40 yards. So, I am pleased with the difference. As well, it seemed to shoot two different groups before and low left. Not any more. It shoots POI POA now with 5.8g of Trail Boss and a 250g lead bullet. Do it.

 

[coop2564]

I ordered the tool from Brownells. Should here by Saturday.

 

[RUFFBIRD]

knuckles,....concerning the brass bushing:

After reaming 4 cylinders (24 charge holes) the brass was paper thin, therefore some of it was found to be shaved off. If I had to ream more cylinders, I would change that brass out every 2 cylinders that are done. Old fired brass is cheap!

No, you don't want to cut/nick the cylinder, but you do want to keep that reamer true on both ends to get the best job done on those chamber mouths.

As far as removing the reamer to the rear, like stated in an above post, clean/ blow of those metal chips with air & not turning it backwards is good advice.
Front or rear, either way the result will be the same.....

 

[Knuckles]

When I did my Redhawk with M'BOGO we just washed all the shavings away with a few shots of WD40... and then gracefully pulled it back out.

I noticed I had less scarring when I was finished but I took my time and only let the weight of the reamer do the cutting, there was absolutely Zero play with the right spacers so the brass was not used.

 

[cas6969]

If you're the kind of guy who buys and sells (or just buys) a lot of guns, it's worth it to do yourself.

 

[M'BOGO]

I learned not to use CLP as a cutting oil after cooking a couple of drill bits when much younger. Gun oil is formulated to help metal slide on metal. Use a cutting oil of some kind. Most every hardware store at least sells pipe thread cutting oil, which works great for the low speed cutting done cutting throats by hand, and doesn't run off like tap cutting fluid. Your tools, and their cutting surfaces will thank you with a longer life.

 

[coop2564]

Got the Cyl throats reamed out. Going to shoot it today after work.

 

[Rclark]

Looking forward to your results (and I am sure you are too ) .

 

[coop2564]

Okay, reaming the throats defiantly helped...my 1st group was still 4" so I was like crap didnt help. But all groups after were 2.5" or less. I guess it needed a bullet or two thru it to smooth things up after the tool cut. Here is a pic of a five shot and my last 3 shot groups! All at 25yds. Thanks for the advice, I got a great shooting gun now.

 

[Rclark]

Looks good! My first shots are always not so good. A couple cylinder fulls and I finally settle down....