New or reloads

K

KEYBEAR

New member
I have reloaded my ammo for years can not remember buying a new box until this week . I shoot 44 Mag and cast bullets and I shoot a lot . I have been a reloader for over 50 years and in that time I have learned some things . Last week I bought a new box of 44 Mag 240 Jacketed the brand makes little difference . The reason is I hear new ammo is better reloads not so much .


What got me to this point was a hand gun built by Mag-Na-Port a Ruger Super Blackhawk cut down to 4.5/8 and made into a Predator Package .
Now it is a sweet Revolver but it has some problems . The Cylinder and Forcing Cone are just to tight plus the end shake is zero . After shooting lead bullets for some time the Cylinder gets hot then the forcing cone gap goes from .003 to zero . With end shake at zero things get very tight .

I called Mag-Na-Port and was told it is your reloads (high primers) . To this I say bull -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- . So I buy a new box of 50 rounds to test first thing I find is 4 bullets out of the box will not work . The Cylinder will not move to the Recoil Plate as the case head is to thick . Next the primers no two in the box are seated the same from -.001 to -.010 . So please tell me how good new ammo really is better .
 
So please tell me how good new ammo really is better .
Click to expand...

New is only better for lawyers and warranty writers. Sounds like your gun is built on the tighter end of the tolerance scale. Try some jacketed hand loads and see if the forcing cone gap changes with a similar amount of shooting.
 
It does sound like the Ruger is tight and like the chambers need to be reamed to cast bullet diameter, at the least. I usually try to shoot cast bullets at +0.002" over groove diameter and to have the chamber throats about half a thousandth over that, if I can arrange it. It's been an expensive thing, tooling-wise, but makes for some very small groups.

The small barrel/cylinder gap should be addressed. You'll start to get scoring of the face of the cylinder if the gap goes to zero. I had an S&W 686 like that and wound up getting some shim washers from Brownells to resolve the problem. SAAMI test barrels use a 0.008" gap to simulate a barrel/cylinder gap. I usually try to set them at about 0.006".

I once drilled a cylinder full of 44 Mag American Eagle 240 gr. SP bullets into about half an inch at 50 yards, except for one flyer that opened it to just under an inch. This from a Redhawk. That was circa 1988 or 89. I'm not sure how much better a load can be made than that. As to other ammunition in commercial loads, hmmm, well, it's all a matter of who made it where. I don't think generalizations can be counted on in this matter.
 
I did call and talk to the people at Mag-Na-Port and got the standard it is the reloads the gun is fine . The problem is this is an older firearm made out of a new Ruger Super Blackhawk . The gun was built as a new firearm by Mag-Na-Port in 1979 . I bought the firearm unfired from the original owner late last summer . I have a Gunsmith that will be going over the gun in a week or two . I think it is just to tight in the Cylinder fit .
 
Just for comparative purposes, my 1984 RH has a B/C gap of .0055 with zero endshake. The revolver has no performance issues whatsoever....


Bayou
 
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Bayou The Only question is do you shoot it a lot ?? That is do you fire 50 plus rounds in a short time . This Ruger does work very well at first then as I shoot it gets tighter until I see the Forcing Cone is Gap gone (that is the problem ) . I shot steel at my home and do shoot most days if not raining or real cold . If I use this firearm at around shot number 24/30 is binds .
 
Hi, Keybear -

I typically shoot 50-100 rounds per session with this RH. Fortunately, no issues of binding either at the forcing cone or the recoil shield/ratchet. If your B/C gap is .003" in a cold state, I can see where it would disappear once the cylinder gets hot. The B/C gap on my RH is nearly twice that amount.

Now, I had a different story with a S&W model 28-2. I bought it well used. That one had a B/C gap of .001" with .006" or so end shake, IIRC. After it warmed up, there was binding at the forcing cone as the B/C gap disappeared. To address, installed a .004" cylinder bearing. This resulted in a .005" B/C gap with no appreciable end shake. I warmed it up to assure no binding, esp at the ratchet, and all is well. I use it regularly.

Hope this helps, Keybear...

Bayou52
 
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