Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Sedalia Dave is right on with his brief comment above. The GROOVE diameter is what folks commonly measure when slugging the barrel. It's real hard to measure the BORE diameter, which the the diameter of the drill and reamer used to cut what remains as the surface of the lands. But any precise caliper or micrometer will measure the GROOVE diameter of a bullet driven down the barrel of a rifle with an even number of lands (or grooves) in the barrel, since the nubs/ribs sticking up on the lead slug that you drive through the barrel are what the measuring device will contact. Those ribs are from the GROOVES in the barrel. So, even though some folks talk about "bore diameter," what really counts is the GROOVE diameter. Because best accuracy often comes from sizing the slugs to 0.001 or 0.002" over groove diameter. It is best to stop talking about bore, and concentrate on speaking about the groove dimensions. (For example, a 30-06 rifle normally has a 0.300" bore, but uses bullets that at least fill the grooves completely, the grooves are usually cut to 0.308", so this means bullets that you buy are 0.308" or slightly larger, especially cast bullets). Unless you want to start making mold modifications (beagling) or bumping up bullets (both are kind of advanced techniques for most SASS shooters), it would be wise to pick a mold that drops bullets in the alloy you will use at 0.380 or 0.381" diameter, for that Uberti made 38-55 rifle. And wise to find a mold that is not cut for gas checks, as most molds you find will be cut to make a gas-check design bullet. The common practice for most long range shooters is to use a gas-check bullet, as it often proves more accurate than a plain base slug. good luck, GJ

I see on the schedule the Cowboy RO classes are: Tuesday 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM RO I Course – Berger Bullets Building – 1000 Yard Range 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM RO II Course – Bench-Rest Stat House, Opposite Long Range Stages However, the Wild Bunch RO classes are not on the schedule referenced above. A post on the Wild Bunch forum cites the WB RO class starts at 8 AM Wednesday, but does not specify the ending time. Is that one expected to be the same 7 hours as CB classes? Thanks, GJ

What are the timelines for the classes on those days? Do the classes overlap any of the match events that are going on (even the overlaps between say WB match and the Cowboy RO classes)? good luck, GJ

Ummm, action slide lock, I believe - GJ

Good stuff. Yeah, 14 grains will make a nice light load with 7/8 or 1 ounce shot. I'm using 16 with an ounce and that's plenty. good luck, GJ

It would take A LOT higher temperature than most of us use to make lead vapor levels be significant. You would oxidize the tin and antimony out of the lead alloy before you vaporize some lead. Be careful with the powdery dross (crud) that you scrape off a casting furnace pool, though. Since that is dry and sometimes a very fine powder, dispose of it carefully and don't let a fan blow THAT stuff around. And, it usually contains oxides of heavy metals (arsenic, calcium, antimony, bismuth, tin, lead) which are very poisonous and able to be absorbed by lungs and mucous membranes much more readily than metals are. Another source of contamination to be cautious about - cartridges when fired blow most of the lead oxides from the fired primer out the barrel or the cylinder gap. Into the air. Prolonged timer operation duty can leave you breathing in this lead compound particulate. Not just your own primers, but all primers of those you time for, can be an exposure source. And, lead pellets from shotguns disintegrating on impact into very small fragments with shotgun knockdown plates is a real source of inhalation of lead, depending upon wind direction and distance. good luck, GJ

Did you let your membership lapse for a while (not paying annual dues)? Some "lapsed" member numbers have gotten reassigned to a new member, who may have chosen the name "saw dust" Why did I guess that? Your ID data on your post shows Guest rather than your old member number. good luck, GJ

Yep, even with a BIG expander button, you don't want (won't have) the bullet "falling" into the case. That much expansion in the neck means no neck tension holding the slug, only the crimp. Which is not enough - it's a collapsed bullet waiting to happen. You want a little resistance in the neck of the case (called tension) as you seat the slug. All you want any larger opening in, is the bell at the mouth, to allow bullet to start straight in the case without scraping a sliver of lead. Your 0.454 bullet will not be too small. The only real caution is that the large diameter bullet combined with some .45 Colt cases with thick walls, may result in a cartridge that does not fit the chamber of your guns, leading to failure to chamber or in revolvers, a sticky rotation because round is not chambering fully in cylinder. good luck, GJ

Finger on trigger a little too early is a very common reason, and comes as you try to go faster. A trigger that is even slightly pulled can fail to catch the sear shelf and hold the hammer cocked. So, you go to pull trigger and find no joy 'cause the hammer is already forward. Try intentionally holding trigger finger straight forward (out of guard) while working the (empty) action real fast. If you never have the hammer fall, this failure is likely due to your own finger riding the trigger. If hammer is falling sometime (with no possibility that you are early-tripping the trigger), then a worn sear shelf on the hammer or a chipped/worn tip on the trigger is likely. And the lighter the hammer spring has been tuned, the more likely all of these hammer-falls will occur. good luck, GJ

I have installed the bottle support on my Grabber, just on the basis that a few other shooters from a major shotgun forum have reported bottle breakage. good luck, GJ

Should be perfectly fine from a functional point of view. Lead bullets are able to be swaged down very easily upon firing. If you can get (cowboy level) cartridges loaded so they chamber properly in the gun, they would be OK to shoot. Accuracy should be on par with a 0.452" diameter slug, but as always, each rifle and bullet combination has it's own accuracy result. Two thousandths extra diameter with lead bullets (cast or swaged) does not increase pressures significantly. But, as always is true, if you load cartridges, you should watch for abnormal pressure signs on any change to your loads. good luck, GJ

Oh, mason's or bricklayer's level line. I get it now. OK, I'll throw you a "line" back - know what "555" cord is? good luck, GJ

I know you can't change the powder by waving a wand, but it's way slow for a light gallery load like a cowboy match gun. 572 is right next to Blue Dot. Perhaps you can trade the stuff for some TiteGroup or Clay Dot or Promo? It really won't burn WELL until it's making upwards of 18,000 PSI like a 9 MM or 357 full power load. good luck, GJ

Ouch, another bite by the auto-correction software. Think it's Renaissance Wax. Used by large museums to protect firearms. Those in LA have to ask what happens to steel with no protection from rust? If you want a beat up look, just leave them outdoors between matches this winter. good luck, GJ

Nothing unusual about a real light cowboy load being erratic and even sticking bullets in the forcing cone and barrel. I agree once again with Abilene's comments about using the min published load - you can work down from there if you are careful. good luck, GJ

I hate very little, but when I do, it's a Load All. No stops, all by feel, plastic all over. Ugh. Get a Mec 600 Jr at least if you bother to load. JMO, and YMMV. GJ

Nope, the Arsenic (As) is what increases surface tension in the (liquid) lead alloy, and THAT is what makes the shot round as it is dropped (or squirted). If Antimony (Sb) was needed, then chilled shot at 1-2% Sb would be difficult to get into round pellets. But chilled shot (low antimony) is just as round as high-antimony (magnum) shot. Both chilled and magnum shot use a little arsenic (about 0.3%) to make the lead droplets "round up." Sb is an alloy hardener, so the pellets in magnum shot deform less in the choke tube (better pattern) and less when they strike a bird - thus penetrating better. There's a lot of difference in shot pattern between chilled (loose patterns) and magnum shot (tighter patterns). In cowboy shooting, though, we don;'t really need any tighter pattern when we shoot at 5 yards or so. Clay target sports, though, or bird hunting, those are where magnum shot is worth spending extra money for the shot used. good luck, GJ

For cowboy targets, i use the cheapest shot I can get and can't tell that I am missing anything that I aimed close to.. And I don't see fellow shooters ducking and weaving to avoid bounce-back, which usually comes from poorly angled targets and pitted target surfaces. For sporting clays, I use the best (hardest) shot I can get and can really tell the difference on 35-45-55 yard shots at difficult angles. Yeah, hard shot is one of the best ways to get uniform and tighter patterns. good luck, GJ

A better cleaner or even a fouling-blocking (prevention) treatment? No, not that I know of. If you foul the action area a lot while shooting, consider annealing cases to reduce blowback. Shoot cleanest burning loads you can. I don't have to clean under extractor but maybe every 3 years, and that is on a filthy shooting .45 Colt gun. good luck, GJ

You keep adjusting requirements and constraints tighter and tighter. You CAN go considerably lighter with Unique, perhaps down to about 6 grains, to make a lighter target load. Easier to keep 2 powders on hand, though. Unique for hunting load, something like Titegroup or Bullseye for a target load, I've used about 5 grains of Titegroup with good results. All with a 250 grain slug. Won't be very competitive for cowboy action (still too much recoil) but it would "work." Get a copy of the Lyman cartridge loading manual, 51st edition. It has lots of .45 Colt loads (with BOTH jacketed and cast bullets) for Single Action Army (SAAMI standards) pressure levels. With it you can find a couple of combinations of powders and slugs to suit many needs. We keep trying to guess what EXACTLY would make you happy, then you change the location of the "happy button." One place this manual is sold (the publisher): https://www.lymanproducts.com/51st-edition-reloading-handbook Also at Amazon (often cheaper). good luck, GJ

If you want to be most successful hunting with the .45 Colt cartridge, you need a load that is just about factory level of performance. This is a PISTOL cartridge, after all. I find that when I would get ready for deer hunting, 10 or 20 shots at various ranges with the hunt ammo before the trip would remind me of the trajectory and ensure sights were still on. While the philosophy of “practice with what you’ll use for real” will work well for self defense when someone else is buying the ammo, it is hard to afford when you have to provide your own. I would still run two different loads. Premium for meat, and cheap and easy to shoot for plinking. But if you can do premium for both, go for it. Just don't take a .45 Colt plinking load out in the game field - you will shorten the success range from maybe 150 yards to more like 25 or 50 yards, due to lack of lethality. Just one load with a cast bullet? Hard to beat a 250 grain slug over 8.2 to 8.5 grains of Unique - something that has been shot successfully for at least 100 years now. You might find hunting success with that to about 100 yards. good luck, GJ

Pressure capability of the .45 caliber Uberti toggle link guns will be at least as high as the SAAMI ammunition standard pressure for .45 Colt, which is 14,000 PSI. Any factory load that meets SAAMI specifications will be safe. The major ammo makers produce their standard ammo within the SAAMI limits. Same story for the revolver you are considering. I'd suggest a jacketed bullet load for hunting (probably 240 or 250 grain hollow point), and a lead bullet for target use, probably something like 160 grain round nose flat point. Keep it pleasant to shoot and you will be more likely to practice. good luck, GJ

Fussy - NO! Use a simple technique that works. After shooting, spray (even pour) some of your water-based cleaner down each barrel and make sure it coats the whole barrel. Let sit 5-10 minutes while you clean your other BP guns. Fold up a quarter of a paper towel,dampen it with cleaner, push from breech to muzzle. Snake skin will come out 100% on the first pass. And if you use a cleaner with a water soluble soap in it, you leave the barrel protected from most rust, too. One pass on a couple of barrels - can't get less fussy than that. I really like PAM to clean with, equal volumes of hydrogen Peroxide, rubbing Alcohol, and Murphys oil soap. Mix some up once a month, store in a brown bottle (peroxide bottles are perfect). Catch your snake skins in a trash can, rather than on ground or a sink. Spouse will thank you. ALL BP shot loads ought to be patterned before trusting them on the SASS range. An old cardboard box at 8 paces will work fine for this. And you can shoot at least 4 patterns per box if you rotate to a new side. Lots of powder (like 3 drams) blows central holes in patterns. I use more shot than powder. We don't need magnum velocity, just a solid pattern. good luck, GJ

Nope :^) , it was in regards to posts where "orientation standards" were broken, and parts renaming from the usual names in double guns was confusing the discussion. It is very important to understand the implications and side effects of working on the action locking and unlocking mechanisms in shotguns. Poorly performed home gunsmithing probably runs second to extreme levels of gun wear (either lots of rounds or lots of pressure) in the wearing out/loosening up of shotguns. good luck, GJ

Read the good Capt George Baylor's explanation of this (see his recent book), and you will understand. Black powder has always been measured by volume, since small weights (used for individual loads in firearms) are difficult to weigh in the field. So, powder measures (which measure volume) are marked with volume measurement lines that show the volume occupied by the corresponding weight of powder. So, from this comes the rather awkward term of "weight by volume". This gives good results for most real black powders, even today. Since BP is controlled to about 1.76 grams per cubic centimeter, or roughly 27 grains per CC. The "weight by volume" term really explains what is going on with measuring black powder. You want to drop into the barrel/chamber the same weight of powder every time, but be able to measure it out quickly in the field. Thus, the measure carried by BP shooters is marked in grains of weight that the marked volume will drop (approximately). Those markings are no longer a direct prediction of the weight dropped when the gray powders are measured with them, due to density differences. good luck, GJ