Errol Plain Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I need some shooting glasses that seal around the eye better. I was looking at the ones from Wiley X as they have a foam seal around them. But because my eyes are so bad, they can't make them work, too much curvature. I need to keep powder out of my eye as I am getting a fair amount of blowback from my '73 (44-40, 200 gr Big Lube, 35 gr of Goex 3F, should be enough to seal the chamber wouldn't you think? I do not resize the brass, use it as fired as I only use it in this one rifle). Got an eyeful Sunday, thought I would look into options. But my optometrist wasn't having any luck. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefro, SASS#69420 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 50 minutes ago, Errol Plain said: fair amount of blowback from my '73 (44-40, 200 gr Big Lube, 35 gr of Goex 3F, should be enough to seal the chamber wouldn't you think? ? Wow! Sumpin don't seem right here, you should be able to shoot all weekend and never get any blowback with 44/40. I always size to .429 don't know if .430 would help. For glasses I use the same wire frames as my regular glasses. Eye Doc set them up for right eye-front sight, left eye-regular script with bi-focal. Add a set of B-52 side shields for extra protection, maybe your eye doc can help. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Plus One to Jefro. Something wrong between your bullet diameter and your chamber/bore. A 44-40 should come away with the carrier block as clean as when you start. Dont post load dada onna wire. Frown'd upon it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I use Wiley-X, and owe my right eye to them - Like all of us, I get hit by bullet fragments at every match, sometimes rather substantial pieces. About three weeks ago, I was spotting for another shooter and had a nearly complete .45 Colt bullet come straight back off the target striking the right lens of my Wiley-X glasses. The plastic distorted, absorbing the impact, but left me with quite a shiner. In hindsight, it was probably the best place it could have hit because I'm sure it would have taken teeth out or fractured an eye orbit or cheekbone if it had hit somewhere else and the glasses hadn't absorbed the energy. By far the worst hit I've ever experienced in any shooting sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I have very good experience with ESS brand safety glasses (part of Oakley). If you can't figure out why you have blowback from 44-40 (I fully agree with above posters - you SHOULD NOT be having blowback problems, unless you are opening the lever simultaneously with tripping the trigger, and are firing with the gun partially out of battery) - then read on. The ESS Crossbow series has both goggles and gasketed safety shield glasses available. This page shows the Crossbow glasses, and a gasket, and this easily will accommodate almost any PRESCRIPTION that you need to have, because the prescription lenses sit behind the safety shield (shield does not have to provide BOTH the impact protection and the Rx correction). Perhaps the Wiley glasses you looked at may be designed to have Rx prescription cut right into the safety shield material? http://www.esseyepro.com/Crossbow_211_category.html You will have better ventilation (fogging up prevention, and comfort) using the safety shield glasses than goggles. But, if you need goggles, ESS also does several mil-spec goggles that can have the lenses behind the safety shield, too. If you REALLY need to have goggles (almost never seen Cowboy shooters with them), then something like this google would probably work: http://www.esseyepro.com/TurboFan-Series-Goggles_31_category.html Goggles are much more easily fogged up in hot humid weather. Call them and see! (Ha.) GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Plain Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 I actually have a set of the ESS shields, the ICE version. But the optometrist was unable to make my perscription work with them. And this was a different optometrist from the current one. Rather frustrating. Then there is the blowback issue. I thought it seemed excessive. It locks up good and tight with no play. Brass comes out clean, cleaner than a lot of smokeless brass I see. No short stroke kit or any other mods, it is straight from the factory. The links, pins, etc show no signs of wear. I am at a loss once again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Did you have a perforated primer or split case? If you haven't reloaded that brass yet, you could check for a perforation/split. Just one case spitting back at your face - maybe a random perforation that won't occur again. One blowback per stage, a problem. And if you have the prescription values handy, you could sure have ESS verify what your options would be to make your prescription work. Not all optometrists are all that knowledgeable about shooting and what equipment is available. Other alternative - a goggle set that has sufficient clearance behind the shield to let you wear your normal daily-wear glasses under the goggles. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugler Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I've fired many thousands of 44-40 in both my '66 and '73 with NO issues like this. The casings, even with blackpowder are nearly as clean as before they were fired......As already mentioned...something is quite wrong with this picture. Bugler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Plain Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Something wrong, okay, but any suggestions as to what? Cases are clean, not split, primers are fine. Nothing loose or worn. Doesn't happen every stage or even every shoot. But the carrier does get dirty. No residue in with the links though. And I haven't done anything to the tang safety so I wouldn't think it would fire out of battery. Heck if I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy Eeyour Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 What brand of cases? Perhaps they are just to hard to seal. Google or whatever for basketball goggles. You may find something that works. Clean lenses with a squirt of Dawn Blue dish soap and water to limit fogging. I use the spray lens cleaner (empty bottle) from the optical shop, one squirt of Dawn and fill with water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Obviously, you have a VERY tough prescription to fill. Obviously, you need a top notch, shooting-equipment knowledgeable, doctor to get both the protection and correction you need. There's got to be tons of information about both your vision needs and the gun malfunctioning that is not yet out. And for us who DON'T have the particular vision problem you have, it's going to be hard for us (non-vision specialists) to recommend exactly the right thing for you. And for those of us who don't have your gun in front of us, the blowback problem is going to be kinda hard to pin point. For solving that, a good cowboy gun smith may be needed to take a peek at how the gun is working. Black powder loads DO occasionally throw out embers, even without blowback. A pard I shoot with has that problem, and gets an ember in his eye every third match or so. Make sure you are not using a filler that doesn't burn up completely (makes even more embers). Use a good quality black powder (that burns as completely as possible - not the cheapest powder around) Maybe some Swiss or Graf's. A good hat that keeps embers from hitting your head or forehead and falling down into your eyes. Check headspace on the rifle to make sure you do get a good seal - a dirty carrier usually says some blowback is carrying fouling back towards you. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errol Plain Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Just so you guys don't think I am a total idiot, I am not new to this. I have been shooting this rifle with Pale Rider loads long before I even heard of PR. About eight years. Before that, a '66 in 45 Colt with full cases of BP, talk about blowback ! Just once in a while I get this blowback and this time I thought I would research it a bit more. Cases are primarily Starline. I do need a better optometrist but I live in podunk Illinois. Same thing with finding a good gunsmith. No fillers, full case of Goex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Full-case loads usually burn the BP very well. That sounds like what you are running already. You got an interesting situation, that's for sure. Good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackey Cole Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I have two sets of lenses for my wiley-x's one regular bifocal the other using the distance for my dominant eye and the close up for the other iirc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 What brand of brass are you using? Although sometimes hard to come by, I recommend Winchester .44-40 brass exclusively (although some folks will use Starline successfully). Winchester brass is the thinnest available, and expands to fill the chamber the best, IMHO. If that doesn't do it, then I would make a chamber cast using CerroSafe low melting point alloy, available from Brownells or Dixie Gun Works. It could be that you have an egg-shaped chamber or something. You might also go to a faster-burning granulation of BP, to shorten the expansion time of the cartridge case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Shootem, SASS # 24816 Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Errol, sorry this happened to you. It's happened to me, too, however I believe what you are getting is NOT blowback, but rather hot embers flinging out from your rapidly spinning ejected cases. I had the exact same thing to me a number of years ago while shooting my .44-40 1873 loaded with Goex FFFg (can't say for sure if it was a full case of FFFg or had 8 grains of Cream of Wheat as filler, like I currently use). Right in the middle of the rifle run, I got a horrible stinging in the corner of my eye. I had to stop the stage due to the severe pain. I couldn't open my eye. Luckily, some posse members had unopened bottles of water and poured them in my eye to get out the debris. It actually left a burn mark on my lacrimal caruncle (that little thing in the corner of your eye). The next day I ordered some wrap-around style prescription glasses from NYX to prevent this from happening again. There are a number of manufacturers of similar glasses with many satisfied customers here on the SASS Wire. Luckily, this has not happened to me again since purchasing my new glasses, however I still get occasional burn marks on my shooting glasses. There is actually a very small (about the size of a grain of FFFg - go figure) melted spot on the lens. I attribute this to a hot ember -- the same thing I believed burned my eyes years ago. Hope this helps. Good luck with your new glasses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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