Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Star
I once owned a pre-26 but sold it after being disgusted at poor accuracy with lead .45 Auto Rim ammo. The rifling is designed for jacketed bullets, and I didn't want to fool with half moon clips.
If I had handloaded with hard-cast lead bullets in Auto-Rim cases, it might have done well. I've seen published loads for those with Keith bullets that'd make the 26 a very effective revolver.
Frankly, I think the M-1950 .44 Spcl. is a more versatile gun, and the bulk of a .44 Magnum isn't really a whole lot more, in the right holster.
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I agree about the versatility of the Pre-24 in .44 Special. The Pre-26 and Pre-25 have seemed to me niche guns whose appeal expanded in later decades as shorter barrels were introduced that allowed their adoption as personal defense handguns or trail guns. But the Pre-25 and in particular the Pre-26 strike me as pretty much single-purpose models: they were competition revolvers.
Baseball is a game of inches, and competition shooting is a game of thousandths of an inch. A hole .454" in diameter will kiss the next ring more often than a hole that is .429" in diameter, and each time it happens it means one more point. The extra .025" in diameter has a small but quantifiable advantage, and over time scores will be higher with the larger round.
I don't mind moon or half-moon clips, and I imagine I would shoot whatever ammo I had to in order to produce the requisite accuracy. Jacketed? Harder cast bullets? Whatever works.
I have to admit I am not completely dispassionate about the question. I have a crush on the M1950 .45 Target as a fine example of firearm design. I'm willing to put some time into working with it in order to be able to use it effectively.