My new .44-spcl carry round

I carry that Blazer ammo in my CA Bulldog. It is an easily managed load and seems to shoot well. My SS Bulldog and Blazers have been completely soaked several times.....and no corrosion anywhere. (It is my kayak gun)

Dan
 
Aluminum will corrode pretty easily, actually, depending on the alloy.

Yeah, nothing like steel or brass though.

That's one of the reasons why so many automotive and machine parts are made from aluminum. Aluminum develops it's own protective oxide layer that, after it is only a couple of molecules thick, will pretty effectively halt further corrosion. With the right exposure to the right environment it will continue to corrode, but exposure to normal elements like air & water, not so much. Look at things like brake levers and rims on a motorcycle or transmission housings. They last for decades when exposed to the weather with no coatings ever having been applied. Try that with unpainted steel or brass.

Oxidized steel doesn't form a protective coating. It's oxide "coating" is rust - which is porous and provides little to no protection from further oxidization. With the right application of heat and chemicals it can be converted to a slightly corrosion resistant finish - i.e. bluing - but even that is VERY susceptible to further oxidation and damage with just a little water exposure.

Pretty much the same is true for brass, copper, and most metals. They all suffer structural and dimensional degradation from exposure to normal environmental elements. Aluminum is kind of unique that way.
 
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I really wish S&W would come out with a fixed sight, lightweight, round butt N or L frame revolver, a bobbed hammer and no lock in 44 Special. While they are at it a blued version and one in stainless with QUALITY from the 70's.

They wouldn't be able to keep them in stock and could charge a premium price.

But the I still believe in Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

The S&W nightguard, one of the few I passed on (and regret). The PERFECT 44 special carry piece. They really need to do it again.
 
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The 200gr Gold dot is a great choice... I still use Federal 200gr LSWCHP ...
Im thinking about Underwoods 200gr LWC ... I contacted them about use in the Charter ... They said it was good to go ..
 
There was a posting today in another area of this forum where the poster was talking about getting corrosion in his revolver chambers from using brass-cased ammo. I have not heard of that before. Did I miss something?
Dunno if this is what poster was referring to but the blueish/green substance (aka; oxidation) that forms on copper/brass and what I know as verdigris, which can be transferred from the case but easily wiped off with a rag.
 
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"Non-corrosive aluminum casings" ??

Since when are Hornady brass cases corrosive?

And what about steel cases - not many of those are corrosive.

By the way - casings are what sausage is made with.
Maybe splitting hairs here but IMO,none of the "casings" are corrosive themselves but are subject to corrosion.
To me, acid, etc can be/is corrosive.
 
Im thinking about Underwoods 200gr LWC ... I contacted them about use in the Charter ... They said it was good to go ..

That surprises me, it's very hot. The Underwood 200gr Gold Dots chrono'd at over 1000fps from a 2" Taurus 44 SPL snubbie.

I don't think any lightweight 44 SPL pistol will handle many of them.
 
"Brass corroding is, in fact, another sales feature of nickel-plated brass casings."

In at least one way, that is true. The original purpose of nickel plating revolver cases goes back to the days when many cops (and others) carried cartridges in looped leather belts. If conventional brass-cased rounds were kept in leather loops for extended time periods (which was often the case), a layer of corrosion from the leather would build up and could prevent chambering. That did not happen with nickel plated cases. I remember hearing stories about cops waxing their ammunition to prevent corrosion in belt loops.
 
That surprises me, it's very hot. The Underwood 200gr Gold Dots chrono'd at over 1000fps from a 2" Taurus 44 SPL snubbie.

I don't think any lightweight 44 SPL pistol will handle many of them.

I specifically asked about the 200 grain Lead Wadcutter load ..
Thats the only one I asked about ...

I didn't ask about any other 44 Spl load ..
 
About 6 or 7 years ago a friend of mine tested all the available 44 Special ammo as he was going to be carrying one of the Smith & Wesson Model 21 Thunder Ranch Specials.

None of the rounds including the Gold Dot expanded reliably.

Bob
 
I will stick with Hornady 240 gr JHP/SWC until something is proven
better. Then I will try them in my mdl 21.
And I second the suggestion of Smith&Wesson coming with a fixed
sight 3 in barrel in 44 special.
 
Aluminum will corrode pretty easily, actually, depending on the alloy.

Being in the construction industry, and not a scientist, geologist nor chemist, I do know that copper & aluminum are not supposed to be in contact with one another. Especially in a high humidity/ wet environment.

I don't have a galvanic corrosion chart in front of me, but a more noble metal does not jive so well with a less noble metal. Copper & aluminum are on opposite ends of the chart. So a copper jacketed bullet in an aluminium case, will eventually corrode the less noble (aluminum) material.

I have an aluminum cased JHP 45 colt cartridge here somewhere where that happened. The aluminum case is all corroded & completely eaten away in places. Here it is, also shared in another similar thread.
 

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Buffalo Bore

About 6 or 7 years ago a friend of mine tested all the available 44 Special ammo as he was going to be carrying one of the Smith & Wesson Model 21 Thunder Ranch Specials.

None of the rounds including the Gold Dot expanded reliably.

Bob

I carry with Buffalo Bore Wadcutters for that reason. 44 Special and 38 Special from Buffalo Bore. Jim Cirillo with the NYPD Stake Out Squad had excellent results with them.
 
The Pachmayr Compacs really help on the recoil, they are wider than the stock rubber grips on the Bulldog.

Buffalo Bore makes a nice 200 gr hard cast sharp-shoulder wadcutter round that is safe for use in the Bulldog.

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I'm no expert, but those BB rounds really do seem like the best round for a Bulldog. That I know of, the Bulldog just doesn't get that large projectile moving fast enough to expand properly. BB's approach of using a large, hard slug to do as much soft tissue damage as possible at the speeds a short barrel will provide.

Sadly...I waited too long and it seems that Midway no longer carries that round at all, not even backordered. It lists it as "discontinued"...many other places show it as out of stock.

Buffalo Bore shows it as "in stock"...at a whopping $40/20 (YIKES).
 
I'm no expert, but those BB rounds really do seem like the best round for a Bulldog. That I know of, the Bulldog just doesn't get that large projectile moving fast enough to expand properly. BB's approach of using a large, hard slug to do as much soft tissue damage as possible at the speeds a short barrel will provide.

Sadly...I waited too long and it seems that Midway no longer carries that round at all, not even backordered. It lists it as "discontinued"...many other places show it as out of stock.

Buffalo Bore shows it as "in stock"...at a whopping $40/20 (YIKES).

I've quit buying Buffalo Bore due to their use of incredibly hard primers; Underwood charges less and I've had no ignition problems at all.


44 Special 200 Grain Hard Cast Wadcutter – Underwood Ammo
 
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