Fallon Kid

Well, I started this topic so I’d better give a wrap. I finally got a mold and bullets dropped at 258. I loaded 20rds of 45 colt with appox 38-40 of 3FFF. I filled to top of case and put loading tray on vibrator to settle contents and loaded bullet. At range I used Mason conversions so kinda close to GW 2 in weight. Let me interject right here a ‘WOW’. My understanding of Champeen is it is duelist or simply one-handed. This load is a hand full and as far as recoil, I would say at least a .357 MAG but a bit less than a 44 mag. I have ‘rethunk’ this mental moment of folly and in all probability will continue to load 200 gn w/ 25 3FFF. I do not think shooting a match with these loads would result in a pleasant afternoon. Did not fire in rifle and really not a subject. A rifle is a rifle. I do have conversion cylinders for my Walkers and Dragoons but that does not seem in the spirit of Champeen. My hat is off to the ones that take this on. Ya got my respect

When you know someone for 20 years and even had dinners with and you don’t know their name on the driver’s license

I guess a question that has not been asked, “how many reloaders do ya know that started with a progressive press?”

I wanted to add a quote I sometimes use; “HELP, I have ordered some Dillon caliber conversions and fallen into debt and can’t get out”

Mully Gil took the very thought I have. If first starting to reload get a single press. I like RCBS but that is not a closed conversation. Trying to learn basics and all the ‘oh by the way’ on a progressive can be overwhelming. Also, I find I use the single as the most used loader for all the special loads needing a bit of precision. Also, I might add, I have many many Hornady quick change bushings to facilitate rapid die changes. I guess my suggestion at this point is get a good single press. I have a 1050 with complete heads for mass loading 38/45acp/ and 45 colt. My first progressive was a Hornady LNL which is good for loading non SASS stuff. And lastly, in MHO, get good quality dies. Lee makes some stuff for processing IE: sizing bullets, bulge busting but hard to go wrong with RCBS, Lyman and Dillon goes without saying. Hard to condense reloading in a paragraph but most of the folks here are better than any salesman in a store, so I would take in all you can and ask if you don’t understand.

WATAB Kid asked “my question would be - why does that heart matter ? seriously do you post inly only to get something back or are you stating what you think” “not some self gratification thing” Wow. I just asked a question as it appeared to me I may have done something to change the way I thought the site works. And no I don’t seek attention but just feel part of this community. If it would help, in the future I will PM you for any posting I might make and get approval to ensure it is the right thing to do. I do appreciate your interest .

Thank you. I guess I’m getting too old to notice things like that. I should have been put down a long time ago LOL. Anyway was just going through some pictures and hope y’all enjoy. Real live mustangs on the range. We have a lot of them here in Norther Nevada. Sometimes we have to stop matches cuz them horses always looking for a snack.

I noticed when I post there is not a ‘heart’ symbol in my quote section for others to like-love-ha ha. How do I turn on of did I mess something up? Thanks in advance

I tried wheel weights once 3 years ago. I live in small town and friend in tire store gave me about 100lbs. The identification and separation process was not worth it in MHO. Somehow Zink got into my all purpose mystery lead pot. (range lead 12 BHN) I had to discard about 20+ lbs and never did get pot right so got new pot. I did a posting here a few months ago about my lead problem. I felt I was in the ‘hot cottage cheese’ business. I guess the message I’m putting out is the experience and knowledge on this site is worth far more that the member fees. I believe it is priceless and when the group talks I listen and take to heart. I have enough range lead to last a life time and I buy pure lead and 20/1. Buffalo seems to have best deals. True Story: We have a scrap dealer outside of town. I bought 80lbs of fishing weights @.50/lb. His worker showed me their big lead stash. They had got a big steel drum and a fire going under it. They started throwing in scrap lead and kept filling and filling. It is about 40% full of lead. I was told I could have it for a 100 bucks but had to move it myself. It is still sitting there in the desert.

‘After the wife done cleaning gun’ Just thought that was applicable to most other shooters. Been alone with my little dogs a long time. Dogs are more interesting and better company. If fact me and the mutts did a research study last evening. Did you know that if you drop a grilled 7oz hamburger patty, a 24lb Carine Terrier can pick it up and devour it while running down the hall in under 5 seconds. CONCLUSION: Grilled mushrooms, swiss cheese and bacon on a hamburger bun w/secret sauce not too bad for supper.

Beginning to understand the problem about the arbor problem with Uberti open tops. Been trying different fixes. I appreciate the ‘locator pin’ fix but a bit complex to perform in my situation. I also noticed the bottom of the arbor channel in the barrel assy is not flat but concaved. This does not make for a good interface for a flat surface IE: locator pin against a curved surface(bottom of arbor channel). This is not a big problem as when the gun is being fired this interface is in tension and no stresses are being imparted. What does alert me is removing any parent material in the arbor (drilling hole for locator pin). Drilling a hole in the end of the arbor weakens the area between wedge hole and fwd end of arbor. When gun is fired this area is in compression and I’m pretty sure there is enough material there to withstand pressures of normal BP forces but rather not remove any material if can be avoided. What I have concluded as the main problem is there is space between the arbor and bottom of the arbor channel/barrel assy. To fix, this space needs to be taken up or shimmed so that there is a positive stop when the barrel assy is fitted to the receiver. I tried several ideas but the one that works for me is a fitted lock washer. I tried a flat washer initially but a lock washer appears to work best. I filed a washer the approximate diameter so that it would wedge in place with minimal force. I then filed the flat surface of the lock washer to about the premeasurements taken with depth gage. Repeated until barrel assy rested correctly against receiver as shown in your PDF files. I tested by assembling gun and installing wedge. And then tapping wedge in to determine if there was any slack and cylinder binding. There was none. By chance the wedge cutout interfaced with the wedge holding screw were almost line-on-line and holding screw tightened as designed. Again, thank you as I would not have been on right track had not the good folk here gave me the advice I needed. I do appreciate.

I bought an 1849 w/conversion cylinder a few years back on this site. I just posted I was a looking and found a ‘I was a selling’ About 500 hundred as I recall. NEVER had one regret. My only complaint is reloading. My fingers work well on a 45-70. Dropped a nickel once and took me 3 hours to find the .32 S&W bullet underneath it

Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329 Thank you for the info. Wow, I had no idea. So much to take in right now so unable to even make an intelligent response or comment other than to take my ‘know it all’ ball cap and put in back in the closet. LOL The absent bit of data I did not put out initially is one of the guns out of the box was VERY difficult to remove barrel. At the time I attributed it to rough machining/dirt/no lube etc. I used wet paper to smooth surfaces and now able to pull apart but still I would say stiff as compared to other open tops. Is a NIB gun that is hard to separate indicative of this problem described in the file you gave me/us? The other gun came apart without comment. Again, Thank You. I am studying the PDF file tonight. I will let my oldest dog look at a copy and compare notes in the AM LOL. I do have to give another WOW. Every time I have a problem, this site is remarkable in the wealth of knowledge and experience. Very humbling I must confess.

Appreciate the feedback but having senior moment about why you would want to fit or alter the arbor. The Mason wedges are different. Most wedges on open tops have a spring clip interfacing on the right side and I understand how you would want to seek the correct wedge insertion for that type. The Mason wedge is machined in the factory and unique to the gun. The correct fit of the wedge is made when the wedge is tapped on the right side (like you are tapping it out) and rests against the holding screw.

Top Breaks are kinda something I have an interest in and get lucky ever now and then working on them. There are so many good things and pit falls to look for. The most common problem I see is the timing and cylinder to barrel lock up. Most old top breaks will have cylinder creep when hammer fully cocked. Usually to worn down interfaces. Also observed a few make shift springs and jury rigs. There were so many different makes and models and changes were common from one production to the next, even S&W. I have a shelf full of clunkers but I knew what I was buying at the time. I would not by one of these without inspection and better yet, know the person selling it. And needless to say, ammo can be a beating you don’t want to take unless you reload. I use cut down trimmed .357 brass. I don’t use smokes powder which I’m sure will bring out many different opinions. My oldest top break is a S&W made in 1884 and is rock solid. My other match worthy TB is a .32 S&W Iver Johnson I use for matches. I paid 200 for each for a bit of info. I give ya this as a data point to make a decision. As stated above, I would not pay 1k for a gun I could not know what I was buying. Folks sell guns for many different reasons and too many folks are grifters. I trust my SASS pards and shy away from the make-a-buck crowd. Just MHO.