Greetings! I have a kind of mysterious mystery for you all... I figured this was a typical Model 1892, but when I test fired it, I found a surprise. First, here she is (I hope the photos work out!):
When I tested it out with both commercial 8mm Ordnance (8mm Lebel Rev.) and reloads made from 32-20 cases, the spent cases came out all balloon-ish... although the accuracy was pretty remarkable, considering. Here's a close-up of the cylinder (note it is not typical for straight-walled cases):
In the photo below, the case on the left is what a normal fired case should look like. In the middle is what they looked like out of my revolver... and on the right is a dummy cartridge I made by taking all the necessary measurements. It is made from a .38 Special case cut down a bit and necked for the .330" plated bullet.
Apparently, someone got the bright idea of re-chambering the cylinder for .38 Special brass, but keeping the front of each chamber original dimensions... I guess it would make sense to do something like this, as other brass/ammo options are wonky (if you can get any at all).
My question is, since the cylinder walls are now a bit thinner, would it be safe to shoot a cartridge of this kind? (I would likely keep the 2.6 grains of Bullseye that I used for the 8mm Ordnance reloads)... and with the higher pressure cases, does that make up at all for the loss of cylinder metal? I guess I could even use .357 Magnum cases, if the pressure tolerance is higher.
I've done a fair amount of reloading for a few years, but this kind of thing is new territory to me... any advice would be appreciated. If I am able, I'll add another helpful photo or two in the post below this one.
When I tested it out with both commercial 8mm Ordnance (8mm Lebel Rev.) and reloads made from 32-20 cases, the spent cases came out all balloon-ish... although the accuracy was pretty remarkable, considering. Here's a close-up of the cylinder (note it is not typical for straight-walled cases):
In the photo below, the case on the left is what a normal fired case should look like. In the middle is what they looked like out of my revolver... and on the right is a dummy cartridge I made by taking all the necessary measurements. It is made from a .38 Special case cut down a bit and necked for the .330" plated bullet.
Apparently, someone got the bright idea of re-chambering the cylinder for .38 Special brass, but keeping the front of each chamber original dimensions... I guess it would make sense to do something like this, as other brass/ammo options are wonky (if you can get any at all).
My question is, since the cylinder walls are now a bit thinner, would it be safe to shoot a cartridge of this kind? (I would likely keep the 2.6 grains of Bullseye that I used for the 8mm Ordnance reloads)... and with the higher pressure cases, does that make up at all for the loss of cylinder metal? I guess I could even use .357 Magnum cases, if the pressure tolerance is higher.
I've done a fair amount of reloading for a few years, but this kind of thing is new territory to me... any advice would be appreciated. If I am able, I'll add another helpful photo or two in the post below this one.
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