TYPICAL SBH AND REDHAWK THROAT DIAMETERS FOR 44 MAG

[RODNUT]

I have a super blackhawk and a redhawk, both in stainless, both 44 mag and both have cylinder throat diameters of .431 in. That seems about 1 or 2 thousands large considering available cast bullets are usually .429 or.430. Both guns lead the first inch of the barrel with every round that i have have devised. have used hard cast and not so hard bullets. I suspect the problem lies with the throat/ bullet dia. mismatch.What cylinder dias. are members here finding with ruger revolvers and what solutions have you come up with when cylinders are oversized, or is that even the problem? :?

 

[jgt]

Any mold I order is in .432 or .433 diameter depending on the particular guns I have in mind to shoot those bullets in. I have sizing dies from .429 to .433. I would use a .432 sizing die on the bullets I shot in guns like yours. I would also slug the barrels to see what their size is at the threads when screwed into the frame. They may need some fire lapping in that area.

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

Ditto !

 

[gramps]

I have both a Redhawk, and a SBH. They don't lead. The RH cylinder throat is .429, while the SBH is .430. Hard or soft bullets? Do you use gas checks? How fast are you running them. How heavy are the bullets. What kind of lube are you using? Powder coating is fairly inexpensive, and eliminates lubing and leading. Check out www.castboolits.gunloads.com
gramps

 

[tacotime]

I had a lot of leading issues in a Redhawk with large cylinder throats with soft and hard boolits and various charges and different powders. The throats on the cylinder were different sizes. I got the pin gauges and checked. Fatter bullets didn't completely cure. Shoot six and spend six minutes cleaning lead out.

Slug the barrel and look for the infamous thread crush choke at the frame. Several guns I tested had significant chokes there and some at the muzzle under the stamping. Fire lapping can help. Veral Smith has written a lot about the choke problem and fire lapping.

And one of his mantras was to fill up the throats.

 

[Sakoluvr]

Maybe try taylor throating?

 

[jgt]

At one time I tried to collect Smith & Wessons. Mainly five screw five inch 44 specials. When I checked their cylinder throats mine were all .433 but it was .433 for each cylinder and was consistant from the triple lock, second model, third model, and fourth models. Those guns were very accurate guns and were consistant. That was long before I knew about casting bullets so shot .429 and .430 size bullets in them. I acquired one of the first Performance center 44 magnums, it had chamber throats in the cylinder of all different sizes. I do not buy Smith & Wessons anymore. If I had a Ruger that I liked and found it had chamber throats of different diameters I would send the cylinder to a gunsmith and have them all cut to match the largest chamber throat. To correct thread choke I would fire lap it and if I still was not sadisfied then I would Taylor throat it.

 

[tacotime]

I had that experience with different throat sizes on several Redhawk cylinders I tried. Finally found one with all .432, but then learned of the thread choke issue. Still not fully solved...

 

[41-44-45-48]

My Redhawk (blued mid-90s vintage) has .432-.433 throats and a .4305 barrel.

My .44 special flattop has .4315 throats and a .430 barrel.

I size my bullets to .431". The redhawk is 7.5" and scoped. It will hold 2" at 50 yards using a custom 320 gr LFN bullet I cast. The best I've done with the flattop is about 2" at 25 yards but I've never poured much effort into extracting benchrest accuracy out of it since it's the 4-5/8s barrel and I have other more benchrest-oriented revolvers to play with when I want to shoot groups.

Both guns show a minor bit of leading in the first 3/4" of the barrel but it stops building up after a few shots and doesn't affect accuracy for as many shots as I care to take. Cleans out with a few strokes of a bronze bore brush wrapped in copper wool so I don't worry about it.

 

[tacotime]

Apparently in my case the fat throats began the flame cutting erosion in the cylinders and lead balled up in the first inch of the barrel possibly trapped and firmly ironed into place at that location by the thread choke at the frame. Frankly, a train wreck of a handgun that should never have left the factory.

 

[Salmoneye]

I have a super blackhawk and a redhawk, both in stainless, both 44 mag and both have cylinder throat diameters of .431 in. That seems about 1 or 2 thousands large considering available cast bullets are usually .429 or.430.

Available where?

Penn 'standard' size is .431", and you can go up or down from there as a special request...

Size your boolits to fill the throats...

 

[RODNUT]

Thanks for the info and coments. My plan now is to slug the barrels to see if a choke exists, and if so lap it.
The bullets iv'e been using are from Oregon trail hard cast, .429 and HSM in .430. been thinking of loading some barrys copper plated in the same load to see what diff it makes.

 

[RODNUT]

I slugged the barrel on my SBH last night at .430. I could't feel any choke in the barrel,so iguess i'll just shoot it with hopes that many rounds will solve the problem. The chore girl method of cleaning lead out simplifies cleaning to the point that its bearable.
On the cast boolits forum they talk about powder coating, has anybody here had any experiences, good or bad with pc? it's claimed to prevent leading with little or no barrel deposits. Thinking i might try it.

 

[mike campbell]

My '57 Ruger shoots the Berry 220FP very well for plinking; like 10 shots in <2" benched at 50 feet.
I just bought some Xtreme 240RNFP's. Just because.

I can't make either bullet shoot in my S&W, which led me to mike some tonight. I find the Berry's run .4280-.4290....sometimes on the same bullet. :shock:

The Xtremes mike .4290 +/- .0002. They don't shoot any better than the Berrys in the S&W; haven't tried them in the Ruger yet.

FWIW, I've been using cast bullets for 30+ years, slugged dozens of bores and chamber throats, and tried to make sense of it all. I've come to a simple formula....I size all .44 bullets to .432 and they work in all the .44's I've tested. Might not work for everybody, but I suggest it as a starting point.

 

[gramps]

I slugged the barrel on my SBH last night at .430. I could't feel any choke in the barrel,so iguess i'll just shoot it with hopes that many rounds will solve the problem. The chore girl method of cleaning lead out simplifies cleaning to the point that its bearable.
On the cast boolits forum they talk about powder coating, has anybody here had any experiences, good or bad with pc? it's claimed to prevent leading with little or no barrel deposits. Thinking i might try it.

Jim Luke on this forum swears by powder coating (PC). You need a few items. Harbor Freight red PC, a Cool Whip tub-empty, black plastic pellets from Walmart etc, and a toaster oven ( dedicated). Take the black plastic pellets and cover the bottom of the Cool Whip tub, put in 50 to 100 lead bullets (boolits). Add a Tablespoon full of the HF red PC. Put on the lid and shake for about 2 minutes. The tub, and the pellets produce static electricity causing the PC to be deposited on the projectiles. Use a dedicated colander or use tweezers/forceps to retrieve the boolits. Place them on aluminum foil (I forget shiny side up or down?)on the toaster oven tray, and cook 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Voila! Powder coated bullets. Be aware that PC adds about .001 to the diameter of the bullet. I am still in the procurement phase. Someone who has done it will chime in.
gramps

 

[DA_TriggR4Ruger]

Any mold I order is in .432 or .433 diameter depending on the particular guns I have in mind to shoot those bullets in. I have sizing dies from .429 to .433. I would use a .432 sizing die on the bullets I shot in guns like yours. I would also slug the barrels to see what their size is at the threads when screwed into the frame. They may need some fire lapping in that area.

Wish I had paid attention to this when I still had my .44s, I slugged the barrel on my SBH Hunter once but can't remember the results. I have them documented somewhere though, all my .44 stuff is gone now. I'm going .45LC on everything I had.