This thread is mostly not about terminal ballistics.
This thread is about not killing the titanium while having reasonable woods-walking power (pigs, canines, felines, larger ungulates, and yes, black bears). There are countless threads about what is good ammo in general for such uses, but the topic of maximizing the service life of a Ti cylinder through ammo selection/creation wasn't discussed in those threads, at least that I've found. It's a topic unique to recent S&W production. Hence, posting here rather than in the Ammo sub-forum. Mods, feel free to move over to the Ammo sub-forum if judged more appropriate there.
My understanding of flame cutting is that lighter bullets in magnum loads promote the problem in two ways. Lighter bullets will use more powder to achieve a given pressure level. That's more mass and volume of burning gas. Shorter bullets travel less distance before exposing the cylinder gap and thus cylinder face to the charge gas. Also, being lighter and eventually reaching higher speed, they begin accelerating faster. Combining the two previously stated problems, heavy loads with light bullets expose the cylinder gap to more burning powder, starting relatively earlier in the burn.
The opposite of that would be a longer, heavier bullet, loaded to lighter or midrange pressure with a faster-burning powder, so there is less total powder involved and combustion is closer (% basis) to completion when the back of the bullet finally exposes the cylinder gap. Heavier bullets will tend to be better for the larger ungulates and predators. Finally, since we happen to be discussing N frames, recoil is less of an issue than with J-frames.
Is that on the right track, or is there something I've failed to consider/understand?
Has anyone here done load development work along these lines?
Would a flash-suppressed powder, if one appropriate for .357 loads can be found, tend to help with flame cutting?
Best woods ammo for Ti cylinder .357 N frame?
Linear Mode
