25-5 w/ oversize chamber throats

[tedog]

checked throats with largest plug I had, (.457) and still had slight play. Need advise on bullets. My lyman mold drops .454 bullets. Should I try my loads from sand bags before I start looking for larger bullets or mold? Present load is 250 gr. lyman #454190AV over 9 grs Unique but I have never tried it on paper. Thanks

[hawgleg]

By all means give it a try. If the bullets are all over the target you may have to move to a larger diameter. But if you can get them to give you good grouping it's a matter of just getting it dialed in.

[mikld]

Check the groove diameter. I don't have experience with .45
colt ammo/guns, but .457" sounds big. If your barrel slugs mebbe .004" (or less) smaller than the throats, go ahead and shoot .457" bullets.

[hawgleg]

Yup, the bullet size should be measured to the cylinder throat size, I was just thinking since you are casting your own I'd give it a try. Cast a soft bullet and give it a whirl and see if you need to move to a larger mold.

[tedog]

Originally Posted by mikld

Check the groove diameter. I don't have experience with .45
colt ammo/guns, but .457" sounds big. If your barrel slugs mebbe .004" (or less) smaller than the throats, go ahead and shoot .457" bullets.

I have read that the S&W barrels are five grooves which makes them difficult to mike. True?

[tedog]

I have never seen or read about a .457 or .458 dia. 250 gr. bullet mould. Do they even make one?

[amazingflapjack]

I have a 25-2, which are known for larger throats, and if I'm reading Hawgleg right, I would suggest using the molds you now have with dead soft plain lead. They should obturate (SP) or "slug up" as they are on the way to the forcing cone, where they will be swadged into the barrel. Otherwise, the barrel needs to be slugged and then a proper sized bullet formulated. A hard cast lead SWC or RNFP of the same size as the throats would be nice, but not if it is being rammed into a barrel that is significantly smaller. I would try the soft lead under 900 fps first.

[M29since14]

If all else fails you can resort to Remington .45 Colt hollow-base LRN bullets. They are not cheap but they will sometimes shoot in a 25-5 when nothing else will. It sounds like this gun is a good candidate for them.

[john traveler]

The 0.458"-0.460" bullet I use in oversized throat .45 Colt revolvers is one that was designed for the .45-60 or .45-70 rifles. It weighs a nominal 270-300 grains when cast of soft 1-in-10 lead alloy. You can find some older Lyman molds that fit this description.

[358156hp]

Originally Posted by tedog

I have never seen or read about a .457 or .458 dia. 250 gr. bullet mould. Do they even make one?

You can have custom moulds made. My first choice for this sort of thing would be LBT, since all of Verals moulds are made on a tracer lathe, so he can control finish diameters really closely.

[scattershot]

I have a 25-5, and I have had very good results with the Hornady swaged lead (.454) SWC bullet. My cylinder throats are .456 or a bit bigger, but the bullets are soft enough to obturate and fill the chamber throats.

[VAdoublegunner]

My 25-5 has larger throats at around .456, but both the Rem and Winchester swaged bullets (.455 and .456 respectively) work fine.

If you are casting, go with pure lead, or you will likely get leading. Cast bullets that are hard, even if larger diameter, are difficult to get to shoot well in these without significant leading. Powders that are fast enough to help them obturate also tend to burn hotter, so the gas blow by increases vaporization and redeposition in the bore. You'll start flinging them out of the muzzle sideways in short order.

I loaded some lead .457 roundballs one time that I had around for my Ruger Old Army. Those make a fun and clean short range (25 yard) load!

[JoeHatley]

Berry's makes a 185 grain ball style plated bullet with a hollow base. Might be worth buying a few and giving them a try.