[Lee Die Lock Down Tool]

Quote

brickies string

 

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

 

 

[Winchester 572 in 38’s]

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

[Removing bluing from a single action]

2 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Resistance wax. 

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

[Winchester 572 in 38’s]

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

[Single Stage Press]

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

[Magnum shot or chilled]

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

[Magnum shot or chilled]

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

[1873 extractor cleaning - what a chore!]

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

[“All purpose” .45lc load]

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

[“All purpose” .45lc load]

1 hour ago, ACP said:

“practice with what you’ll use for real”

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

[“All purpose” .45lc load]

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  

[Remington primers-anyone use them?]

Perfectly fine.   Never a failure for me.   Hardness about like Winchester - harder than Federal and softer than CCI in most sizes and applications.

good luck, GJ

[Hodgdon Perfect Pattern for shot shell test data]

I've been using Perfect Pattern for cowboy 12 gauge loads, too.

 

I like a little recoil, so I'm running the STS hull, Winchester or Nobel 209 primer, 14.5 grains Perfect Pattern, CB 0178-12 (gray) wad and 7/8 ounce shot.   Don't feel a need to go lighter, and I get perfect crimps.

 

good luck, GJ

 

3 hours ago, Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 said:

So far I like it as well as my Clay Dot loads.

 

Me too.

[Reloading supplies]

Certainly a scam, and just recently reported as one on another shooting forum, too.

good luck, GJ

[Lost Springs]

And a lot of my needs for replacement springs is satisfied by the coil spring assortments offered by Brownells.   While I'm sure there are a few that I can't find in those collections, I can't remember a coil spring need yet that wasn't met.

 

Except perhaps pump shotgun magazine tube springs.  Fortunately, a Remington 870 12 gauge spring fits a ton of 12 gauge pumps and semi-autos.

 

good luck, GJ

[Little help on this?]

That's a hammer-shrouded Iver Johnson or one of several alias company names that IJ made for (called hammerless, but the hammer is still in the hump above the grip).

 

If it is in good repair and shoots, it has higher value than if just a paperweight.    The lockwork mechanisms are easily broken and often worn, and being a BP gun, the barrel probably will look like a sewer pipe.

 

Should have been a few roll stamps along the rib on the barrel.  But those may have been polished away and a re-finish of the gun done many years ago.

 

Collector's value - zilch.  If it can be turned into a reliable firearm, for shooting BP loads, then it might bring $75 or so.   And that would be to a cowboy shooter wanting a pocket pistol.   General shooter (non-cowboy) value close to zilch.   Probably worth more for parts to repair other IJ revolvers.

 

It is not advisable to load even very low pressure smokeless loads.  Use BP only.  The frame and locking latch spring VERY easily on these guns, the cylinder walls are thin, and they go down hill fast to being a non-functioning gun from there.

 

good luck, GJ

 

[BP Shotgun Loads / Weight or Volume]

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

[Stoeger SxS's]

9 hours ago, Reverend P. Babcock Chase said:

I hope you weren't commenting on my post.

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

[BP Shotgun Loads / Weight or Volume]

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

[Stoeger SxS's]

1 hour ago, Tall John said:

on the front edge of part 347

 

Your arrow points to the projection on the REAR of part 347 (the top lock lever)

 

Discussions of gun work should always use the proper orientation of the firearm and the parts as they are installed in the gun.   "Forward" is towards the muzzle end of the firearm.  "Rearward" is toward the butt stock.   Orientation directions are just as if the firearm is held when firing.

 

This would eliminate a ton of confusion in this thread.   And calling parts by their proper name helps a lot too.  Don't write about both the locking bolt and the underbarrel locking lugs as "lugs."

 

good luck, GJ

[.45 Colt for long range shooting (200 yards)]

All long range iron sight shooting recommendations I follow call for just enough of a front sight size (width) to let your eyes still pick it up.  A large bead that you are trying to guess exactly where the rounded top ends is also going to block almost half of your view of the target.   That is one reason good long range sights (like the Lyman globe front sight) have a selection of inserts that can be swapped out to match the range you are shooting, including ring sights that leave the exact center of the target visible.  Next most accurate is a fairly narrow post with a sharp-edged top that lets you know exactly where the aiming point on the sight blade is.  Most of my long range military rifle shooting I do is with exactly that - a target post sight, if needed, thinned down to the smallest thickness I can see well.

 

good luck, GJ

[.45 Colt for long range shooting (200 yards)]

I've shot 200 yards with .45 Colt and a 200 grain bullet over a full load of WST.   I could hold on a man silhouette over a bench rest pretty well once open iron sights were set correctly.

 

Make up the best 100 yard load then work it out to longer range.  It will never be a 30-06 or .338 Lapua.   Don't fall in the trap of putting a huge front BEAD sight on it - you will loose the target at 200 yards.

 

good luck, GJ

[Hunting with a 44-40 ?]

Zombies certainly do walk the earth! 

[Powder coated bullets?]

Haven't switched, don't plan to since I cast and lube my own cheaper than any vendor sells.  Quite satisfied with lube the way it was done back then.

Good luck, GJ

[Search Feature]

If the new configuration for the software is set to Status Updates (by default) then that is the WRONG setting.  Pick the one that most folks would want as the normal search- I would guess it would be All Content. 

 

I searched directly from the (simple) search box and did not use the Advanced Search screen which is where a user can see (and change) the focus and the content of the search.  Since the same simple search box then worked the next day, I believe I encountered something different that what you are describing.

 

Good luck,GJ