Garrison Joe, SASS #60708

Whether you consider the .44-40 problematic or just finicky depends upon how hard it bites you. This cartridge was developed long before the SAAMI committee standardized the dimensions for the chambering. Then various manufacturers converted over from making their .44-40 barrels with (approximately) 0.427 " groove diameter, to 0.429 groove diameter to avoid needing to have an extra seat of tooling. All this has lead to serious problems over the last 60 years. And similar lack of attention to strictly holding to SAAMI specifications by manufacturers has affected many other old cartridges - like .38-55 and .45 Colt (to some extent). Many folks claim they see NO benefit in SAAMI standards. Or that it is fine to accept VOLUNTARY compliance with the standards. I think this many years of difficulties puts the lie into such foolishness in important specifications meant for firearms functionality and safety. good luck, GJ

Yeah, an aluminum carrier like you have has to be cleaned a little more carefully. Most acidic cleaners and even some basic ones will attack anodizing. good luck, GJ

Like - no interpersonal conflict is allowed at matches. good luck, GJ

I'd go back and re-read their super short stroke kit instructions. Perhaps you missed a lifter arm fitting step. And perhaps you got sent a short stroke lifter arm instead of a super short stroke arm. Then I would lay your old lever (which you are reusing) right over a newer lever (like in the Border rifle). A bent lever could cause the problem you are now seeing, I would expect. Guns that experienced a bent lever that I have worked on gave exactly that same indication - lever would not close up to the tang. But they would show that problem with non-short stroke links, too. Sounds like yours does not fail to close with factory links back in. What you describe is the links are going straight (locking) well before the lever has completed the stroke. A bent lever sure can cause that. Yeah, I'll second ASlim's suggestion. The Alves are real good at helping out on the phone with fitting of their short strokes. Call 'em! good luck, GJ

My functional specs only call for clean of fouling and grit. And since I have no lizard, I at least have use for lizard litter. good luck, GJ

If that revolver has not been cocked, then the first condition in the list above will apply. Shooter can "restage" this revolver to free his hands to shoot the rifle as the second gun. No call. good luck, GJ

Sounds like a good practice on the penalty situation we are talking about would be : 1 - inform the shooter that he was "out of category" when he had two loaded revolvers out at same time, but that P penalty is not being scored because of a target order Procedural. BUT, if-and-when an "out of duelist" category error happens again, he will be earning a SDQ for a second infraction. 2 - inform the scorer to make note on scoresheet of "Shooter has shot out of duelist category for the first time on stage # <current stage>" This provides sufficient information so that on following stages, the scorer and the TO (even if they are other people) will understand the shooter is aware of a SDQ if they repeat the error. good luck, GJ

And the headstamp will read .44 mag forever. Your brass will get handed to a cowboy shooting .44 mag rifle.

I would not trust that this would be a great thing to use. Just how thick is that neck area? .44 mag brass is pretty thick! Has it been thinned enough to let a .429" bullet fit in the neck and then chamber in all .44-40 cylinders? good luck, GJ

The top pic is of Federal shot cups (only). Since they have no cushion or gas seal, would be loaded on top of a "old fashioned" gas seal (over powder) and fiber wad thick enough to make a stack height that works with a specific hull. 1970s vintage manuals might show some loads with those. Pass on the blue ones - not seen 'em before. Bottom were Lage Universal Uniwads - 1960s vintage or so - "adjustable" wads. I've read about 'em, not used any. The red inner part collapses with pressure of the wad seating step. You have to get that amount of crush right to make the stack height right. Here's a video of some instructions and load data off a slightly newer bag: Personally, I never trust plastic of that vintage to hold up to firing pressures. So, like you, I wouldn't use any of these. good luck, GJ

Been reported here that the Schofield dies will USUALLY load Cowboy .45 Special ammo fine. And they have a roll crimp die almost always.

For a steel crimp die, a grinder will work faster than a hacksaw. May take several blades, then filing and sanding, to finish the cut. Sizing Dies are made of fairly good steel, and often heat treated to harden. If you have a smith or mechanic friend with a lathe, the job goes quick. good luck, GJ

Loads and loads of .45 auto loads. Sounds wonderful! GJ

I've used the following mix of dies for about 15 years now while loading Cowboy .45 Special. .45 Colt shell holder (actually a Dillon shell plate) .45 Colt sizer/depriming die - to allow minimal resizing work on the case (better life) and let case fit in the BIG chambers (almost all 0.460" diameter) in most modern cowboy type guns chambered for .45 Colt .45 Colt expander spud in the Dillon powder-through-expander die, which adjusts to give enough belling to easily let a .452 sized lead bullet start without lead shaving .45 Auto Rim seating and crimp die to seat and crimp bullet with a moderate roll crimp (crimp may be tighter diameter than required, but most .45 Colt dies will not be adjustable low enough to place a crimp on the C45S case) I even include an RCBS powder lockout die in the four-station Dillon 550 on which I load. I can do that because of the use of a combined seat/crimp operating on the final station. This is a WILDCAT cartridge, for which a special deal was cut with Starline to make cases for it. No complete die set exists from any manufacturer even today. This is a too small volume market for most of the cartridge and tooling companies to be interested in. good luck, GJ

I use the Smith Shop tool steel action slide hook screws in my IAC/Norinco 97 shotguns. Have never broken one. Have broken a couple of the originals. Now sold by Online Outpost. Make sure to order the Norinco type with metric threads! https://onlineoutpost.net/collections/shotgun/products/copy-of-1897-winchester-norinco-iac-shotgun-action-slide-hook-screw-by-the-smith-shop-97 good luck, GJ

Ummm, kinda backwards with the actual causes/results. Too soft, and it's harder (not impossible) to lube well enough to prevent leading from friction with the barrel. But, .22 ammunition is soft lead bullet at 5-6 BNH and 1000 to 1300 FPS. Years of research has developed lubrication for those lower speed loads that don't lead. At the higher end of those ,22 velocities, copper plating is used in most ammo to prevent leading. And why .22 magnum rimfire bullets are thinly jacketed. This is also what caused .357 magnum ammunition in the 30s and 40s to get the reputation of being a "heavy leading load" when first manufactured by the factories with soft lead .38 special bullets. Because muzzle velocity increased to 1800 FPS with the same soft bullets that .38 Special shot just fine at 1000 FPS. Too hard a bullet, and bullet will not obdurate to fit the grooves (if the bullet is under size) and gas cutting of the lower section of the bullet deposits lead fragments/droplets onto the barrel wall. From studies of fired bullets, the lead comes from the shank of the bullet, not a melted base. good luck, GJ

There are several mistakes and inaccurate data for hardness in that chart from PNJ Resources. For example, the 1:1 mix of soft lead and linotype alloy's composition does not add up even close to 100% as it should. I find the Cast Bullet Alloy Hardness calculator at Cast Bullet Association to be more accurate and it's able to calculate any reasonable alloy's hardness. Alloy Calculator - Cast Bullet Association https://castbulletassoc.org/download/Alloy12 good luck, GJ

And if ordered with a credit card, you will most likely be able to dispute the charge on basis of lack of usefulness of the product. good luck with that one, GJ

Amazon has little control over product delivered direct from most foreign suppliers and even small US based businesses. And yours may have run afoul of their latest virus lock downs, keeping employees out of work. Those vendors DESERVE a "should black list this company" review. I've had several places try to insist I "fix" my review. I often reply with the signature line that I use here. good luck, GJ

For that velocity range(1000 to 1300 fps), bullet hardness is real flexible. But you will probably get the most accurate results with Brinnell Hardness of 12 at those speeds. Harder alloy than that can produce gas cutting on the lower part of bullet, giving you some leading problems and less accuracy. I've gotten 1" groups at 100 yards with a 300 grain cast bullet, 12 Brinnell, conventional lube, sized 0.459", and 19 or 20 grains of 2400, from an open sighted Marlin 1895 with Ballard cut rifling. Runs about 1250 FPS. Makes a very nice load for out to 200 yards, and very soft shooting. good luck, GJ

A roll pin is never solid. It's always a rolled piece of springy sheet stock. You can see the hole in each end of the pin (unless it has been severely mangled). It's the springy nature of the pin trying to expand in diameter which helps retain it in it's hole without some other locking mechanism - like peening base metal over the end of the pin, staking, interference fit, riveting the end, adding a second cross pin to hold the pin, etc). Best to use roll pin punch that best fits the roll pin you are working on. Using a solid punch can (under severe circumstances) smash the wall of the roll pin and perhaps lock it in place. If you have a solid pin and can't see which end was driven in with a punch, then usually it's been placed in a regular drilled (straight wall) hole, and thus can be tapped out in either direction. If you do see some punch marks, first attempt ought to be to drive it out from the unmarked end. In one way, out by backing the pin out (the other way) A "directional" solid pin is very unusual, in my experience. Just because it's expensive to make either a tapered hole or a tapered pin. good luck, GJ

Nope. Better take a look at a real doll's head extension. It is an extension of the rib. Not a part of either chamber. To cut into the chamber, one would have to cut more metal than the rib. You would have to cut chamber walls. This is not a possibility of happening if you can examine the design. We remove chamber wall material when coning the breech of a double. Never heard anyone complain that weakened the gun. Coning can slightly, and it certainly can ruin the head spacing, since the rim of a shotshell is the head space location. If really concerned, leave enough of the rib to match the height of the extractor. Not even the rim of the shotshell would be unsupported if you do that. (And that is less metal than I left on the Ithaca double described above.) good luck, GJ

Many folks do not believe it to add much additional strength to the lockup. As you can tell from current design approaches that have NOT included a doll's head at the breech of the barrel set, at least modern guns can get away without them. I have reduced the "ears" greatly on one Ithaca double I have, and it still works well. All that is left is a nub to just fit the neck of the recess and nothing is left to contact the standing breech where the ears of the head were. Even that nub is streamlined to have little to catch a shell being loaded. If you still have a good hinge fit and no side-to-side slop with the gun close to engaging the recess, I would not be afraid of cutting most or all of it out of the way. good luck, GJ

WST was the follow-on powder that Winchester recommended for shotshell loads that were using 452AA, back in about 1985 when 452AA was discontinued and WST was introduced. Very similar appearance, very similar burn rate and applications. I found that recommendation to work real well, both with shotshells and 1911 loads. But with the LARGE amount of WST data anymore, one does not even have to rely on that 40+ year old recommendation. Just load WST to current WST data. Yep, I too burned up several 8 lb kegs of 452AA back in the late 70s and 80s. Real nice for 16 yard and doubles trap loads. good luck, GJ

Swiss 7.5x55 cartridge loads about like all the other large-case military rifles when loading cast bullets. (If you don't believe that, read this cast bullet expert's article: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?13425-Cast-Bullet-Loads-for-Military-Rifles-Article ) His 100 yard target load is usually about the right power for BAMM. I get great results with a 170 grain cast bullet and 10 grains of Red Dot in my Springfield 30-06. About 1300 FPS. Bet that would be a good starting point for your Swiss. Unique works, but not quite as accurate as Red Dot in most of my rifles. About 11 grains Unique gives tightest groups with that powder in my 30-06. good luck, GJ