You might want to check your new 44 mag cylinder throats as they may well be to tight. Not hard to fix if so. I made an interesting discovery on a new style 44 cylinder today
I am a big 45 colt fan and the majority of my 45 colts sport cylinders made from 44 magnum cylinders. Couple of reasons for this. Main one is doing my own I get .452 throats, you can be the cool kid with a recessed 45 colt if you start with a recessed 44 mag cylinder. I found several 629-1 cheap and wanted 45c more than 44s etc etc
Anyway, I have converted quite a few cylinders to 45 colt. I have a spud that uses the same collet as my reamers. I use it for a quick and accurate alignment before reaming. After aligned I run in a reamer that had a .429 solid pilot and it reams to .452. Then I use a 45 colt reamer that has a .452 pilot. This gives me very nice chambers.
So, I decided to finish up my 45 colt revolving carbine and blue it. I originally made it using a shorter lengtth 357 cylinder reamer to 45 colt and cut for acp in moon clips. I decided I wanted a longer 45 colt cylinder when complete.
In my parts pile I had 2 44 mag cylinders. 1 of them recessed and I want to keep it for another project. That left a new style 44 mag cylinder, The kind with the odd arm tips for alignment instead of the old 2 pin arrangement. So, I trim back barrel shank for longer cylinder and get it fit and working in the frame still as a 44 mag. Then I go to ream it
Set it up in my mill vise using brass pads, align it with spud. Install the reamer to take throats out to .452. I have a variable feed drive on my mill motor and have it set real slow. The reamer goes in and stops before it cuts anything. HUH.
I take the cylinder out of vise and when I turn it over, the pilot on reamer will not even begin enter 4 of the throats. I know the reamer pilot actually mikes at .4295. I know most 44 mag cylinders actually have .430 throats and it has always worked for me before this new style cylinder. I take reamer to lathe and make a light pass with a carbide inset and polish it with 400 grit emery. It reads .4285. that is fine for my use. But, it still will not go in those 4 chambers. Out come my pin gauges. A .428 pin gauge will not go in them. A .427 will. I am not willing to make my reamer pilot that small. I set up a deal and turn some 120 emery cloth in the 4 tight throats and polish them out until my pilot enters them.
That cylinder is now a 45 colt cylinder with .452 throats.
But, it sure makes me suspect the throats of new 44 mag cylinders may be under sized. That is a bad or worse than over sized throats. You can use larger bullets in .430-.431 throat gun. But once a bullet passes through a .427-.428 throat it will never be .429 for the barrel. 2 fairly normal throats and 4 tight ones.
I am a big 45 colt fan and the majority of my 45 colts sport cylinders made from 44 magnum cylinders. Couple of reasons for this. Main one is doing my own I get .452 throats, you can be the cool kid with a recessed 45 colt if you start with a recessed 44 mag cylinder. I found several 629-1 cheap and wanted 45c more than 44s etc etc
Anyway, I have converted quite a few cylinders to 45 colt. I have a spud that uses the same collet as my reamers. I use it for a quick and accurate alignment before reaming. After aligned I run in a reamer that had a .429 solid pilot and it reams to .452. Then I use a 45 colt reamer that has a .452 pilot. This gives me very nice chambers.
So, I decided to finish up my 45 colt revolving carbine and blue it. I originally made it using a shorter lengtth 357 cylinder reamer to 45 colt and cut for acp in moon clips. I decided I wanted a longer 45 colt cylinder when complete.
In my parts pile I had 2 44 mag cylinders. 1 of them recessed and I want to keep it for another project. That left a new style 44 mag cylinder, The kind with the odd arm tips for alignment instead of the old 2 pin arrangement. So, I trim back barrel shank for longer cylinder and get it fit and working in the frame still as a 44 mag. Then I go to ream it
Set it up in my mill vise using brass pads, align it with spud. Install the reamer to take throats out to .452. I have a variable feed drive on my mill motor and have it set real slow. The reamer goes in and stops before it cuts anything. HUH.
I take the cylinder out of vise and when I turn it over, the pilot on reamer will not even begin enter 4 of the throats. I know the reamer pilot actually mikes at .4295. I know most 44 mag cylinders actually have .430 throats and it has always worked for me before this new style cylinder. I take reamer to lathe and make a light pass with a carbide inset and polish it with 400 grit emery. It reads .4285. that is fine for my use. But, it still will not go in those 4 chambers. Out come my pin gauges. A .428 pin gauge will not go in them. A .427 will. I am not willing to make my reamer pilot that small. I set up a deal and turn some 120 emery cloth in the 4 tight throats and polish them out until my pilot enters them.
That cylinder is now a 45 colt cylinder with .452 throats.
But, it sure makes me suspect the throats of new 44 mag cylinders may be under sized. That is a bad or worse than over sized throats. You can use larger bullets in .430-.431 throat gun. But once a bullet passes through a .427-.428 throat it will never be .429 for the barrel. 2 fairly normal throats and 4 tight ones.
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