44 american

[new2S&W]

If you can get a copy of David R. Chicoine's book Smith & Wesson Six guns of the Old West, he has excellent drawings of various American model parts including the long arm cylinder stop for the first model American. While it says drawings are not to scale, I'm guessing the proportions are almost perfect, knowing his skill.
See page 231 for the parts I'm describing. I'd include a photo but I'm not a copyright thief.

 

[wormey]

Success! Not perfect, but it works fine. I may have to remake this part one more time, but it is much easier now that I have done it twice! I think I have to lengthen the cylinder stop about .001 or so and it will be perfect. It would have been much easier if I had had one to copy. I don`t have a mechanical mind, but I can copy most anything....much like the Japanese after ww2. Anyway, it was a challenge and I enjoyed myself and now its off to the range to shoot up 20 round I have loaded.....30 more to go. Wormey

 

[SchofieldKid]

Good for you! Please post a video of shooting that 'ol 'Merican! Thanks for the update.

 

[sw44russ]

Range Report Please!!!!

 

[wormey]

Finally made it to the range. The American functioned fine. I shot 20 rounds: 10 loaded with 20.9 grains of bp and 10 loaded with an equal volume of 777. The 777 was little hotter as expected, but not by much. The bp loads sound a little anemic, but not to be fooled. All rounds were fired with one hand as is proper for an old west sixgun. Grouped about 6 inches high at 15 yards. What a joy! I have now loaded up another 30 which used up the remainder of my 50 bullet order from Buffalo Arms. Can`t wait to shoot them, but now I have no doubts that I have to order a bullet mould. Paying for a few boxes of these bullets and the shipping.........doesn`t take long to add up to the price of a mould. Thanks all you guys for your interest and for your help....especially you Schoffield! Your picture was a big help in crafting this part.

 

[SchofieldKid]

Wormey, No thanks needed, the photos were already there! What bullet mould are you going to order? Heeled? Hollow base? Please do a write-up on your casting and reloading procedure when you get to that point . I think there are a lot of members here that would appreciate it. Glad it worked out for you. Thanks.

 

[wormey]

I used 41 magnum brass shortened to .910. There are several ways to do this from using a tube cutter, a mini saw, etc. I used a lathe since I have a ww2 vintage Shedon. I cut them slightly long and trimmed to length with a Hornady case trimmer. For bullets I order 50 heeled bullets from Buffalo Arms. I have since ordered a double cavity mold from Old West Moulds that is also a heeled bullet which is correct. It is less than half the price of a comparable mould from Buffalo Arms. I also bought 100 new unfired cases from Cabela`s so I have a total of 150 rounds to work with which should suffice. As stated in the earlier post I loaded 20.9 grains of Swiss 3 f powder which pretty much fills the case and allows for about 10-15 of an inch for compression. I used the same volume measure for 777 which makes for a slightly more powerful charge. Since it is a bp substitute pressures are still well within limits. Case expansion if better with the 777 and seals the chamber walls better than bp. I clean my cases and polish them in a ceramic slurry with a little dawn and lemon juice added.

Since a significant amout of brass is trimmed off in making the cases from 41 mag brass, I suggest that the case mouths be carefully annealed prior to loading. When attempting to apply a roll crimp to the case mouth with the heeled bullet you will find out why. If the case mouths are not annealed the brass will simply spring back. Annealing will also allow for a longer case life. There are many utube videos on case annealing to show you how. Anyway I can`t tell you all how happy I am to have and be shooting this gun. I have a model 3 Frontier model double action in 44-40 that I also shoot, but it does not have the style point or the feel of the 44 American. Holding one you kind of get the feel that you understand why Wyatt Earp bullaloed so many people. With that 8 inch barrel I`m sure it would get someones attention! If anybody wants more information on loading and shooting the model 3 I am more than happy to help out; however, as always use only black powder or a suitable substitute! I would never, ever use smokeless powder in one of these old guns. Anyway, I want to experience what it was like for "them".....that is also why I shoot with one hand as they did. You would never have seen an old cowboy shooting a pistol with two hands as most of us are taught to do today. Anyways, thanks everybody!