Oddball caliber question

A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
In looking to assemble a sampling of non-firing but otherwise functional replica handguns for instructional use in teaching basic handgun safety, I snagged a moderately okay pot metal replica of a Colt SAA. It's no match for the Uberti non-firing 1873 that they sell for the CAS types to practice their draws with, but it's also not (quite) the worst pot metal replica I've ever seen. Anyway, it followed me home.

I was hoping to load up some dummy rounds to go with it, but there's a small problem. The small problem is that the holes in the cylinder thingy are ... too small. They aren't even CLOSE to being .45 Colt-sized -- or .44 Special, or .44-40, or even .38 Special. The base pin doesn't come out, even with the latch screw (no spring-loaded pin) removed, so I couldn't remove the cylinder to get a great measurement. A 9mm Parabellum will NOT drop in -- the ogive of the bullet stops on the chamber lip a fraction of an inch shy of the case mouth contacting the rear face of the cylinder.

So if a 115-grain 9mm bullet is .356", these bores are probably about .350. Does anyone know of a rimmed cartridge that has a case diameter of about .350"? If so, what caliber, and where can I get a half dozen or so cases and boolits?

TIA
 
The gun is probably chambered for the European 8mm blank cartridge. A Google search on "8mm blank ammo" will turn up several sources.

Jim
 
Jim, I have an 8mm blank-firing "1911." That stuff is non-rimmed.

The replica I have is very definitely a non-firing (not blank-firing) replica. The cylinders are actually bass-ackwards -- there is a step in the bore, but the chamber portion is smaller than the forward portion.

I very much doubt that the bores were intended for any standard caliber, but I was hoping to find something close enough that I could create some dummy rounds. Worst case, I suppose, I could talk myself into buying a hobby lathe and some brass rod ...
 
.32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Magnum might work. .32 S&W Long uses a .312" diameter bullet, has an outside case diameter or .335", a rim diameter of .375" and a cartridge case .93" long.

.32 H&R Magnum uses a .312" diameter bullet, has an outside case diameter of .333", a rim diameter of .371" and a cartridge case 1.08" long.

You might also be able to use .327 Federal Magnum cases if your cylinder is long enough although I haven't been able to find any specific cartidge dimensions for it.

It probably goes without saying, but don't let any live primers or powder even remotely close to the chambers of that replica. Honestly, it's probably specifically made so that any fairly common live cartridge won't chamber.
 
Find a drill size which will allow the rimmed cartridge of choice to drop in but not through. CAREFULLY drill the chambers out through the loading cutout. Make sure there is enough clearance between the cylinder and the back of the frame for the rims. If not, you might be able to thin the rims of your dummy cartridges.
 
Webley -

Thanks for the suggestions. I had decided that one of those might work, as well. Also possible .32 Long Colt. I just need to find a friendly shop with one or more of them in stock to do a test fit.

Don't worry about my letting live primers or powder near this thing. As the saying goes, "I may be crazy but I'm not stupid." The goal here is to make DUMMY rounds. I have an impact type bullet puller, so dumping the powder won't be an issue. Not so sure how I'll pull the primers, but they'll go, too, unless I can find someone with a gun of the appropriate caliber and I can just drop in the empty cases and touch off the primers. Then I can put the bullets back in and I'm done.

The hobby lathe also remains a possibility. 3/8" brass rod would be a good starting point. The only hard part would be forming the bullet ogive.
 
Well, color me dumb.

Brownells has snap caps in .32 S&W Long. If a recheck on the chamber diameter suggest those will work, I can save myself a whole lot of work.

Of course, I also lose my rationalization for buying the hobby lathe ...
 
If you reload, a simple set of Lee dies will allow you to do everything you need to do to make dummy rounds. If not, a Lee Loader in the proper caliber would also allow you to make dummy rounds without buying a press. Also, I woulndn't go to the trouble of converting live rounds into dummies. It would be easier and probably cheaper to simply buy some unprimed cases and loose bullets to make dummies out of.

Also, I didn't mean any offense with my comments about live rounds. I included those comments mainly for the benifet of shall we say "less than intelligent" people who might happen across this thread and think this is a way to turn a non-firing replica into a working revolver.

I rather doubt that your replica even has a working firing pin, but if it does you could grind it down or remove it to make sure that it wouldn't fire a live cartridge even if it did somehow make it into the cylinder.
 
If they'll fit, I can buy a set of six snap caps from Brownells for $15 plus shipping. I can't buy a Lee Loader for that. I reload, but there's no way I'm going to buy a set of dies for a caliber I will never shoot, just so I can make up six dummy rounds.

No, the replica does not have a firing pin. Just a vestigial nub with a flat face. It wouldn't touch a primer if a live round were inserted.
 
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