New 329PD first trial

[dla]

Yep, increased neck tension is what I'm going for when I size the new cases. It gives me another .0015 neck tension over the unsized new cases.

I am a bit poor at accurate measurements, even with good calipers, but I measure that I have about an .0035 interference fit between the bullets and the cases. What inside diameter should I be trying for to get proper neck tension to feed this gun? Should I try to get undersized dies?

Also, I clean the bullets and brass cases with toluene prior to loading to get rid of any residual factory lube. Is that a waste of time or would that be of practical benefit?

Edit to add: Hope to get chrono data soon. Have so far only been able to get to the indoor range.

Save yourself a lot of time and money by simply using the FCD and testing the results. 44mag brass and bullets are not a slippery combination in my experience and the 329pd is the "worst case" - i.e. if it holds in the 329 then it will hold in any other 44mag even better.

Here is a picture worth 35-40 words left is a standard roll crimp, center is one shot of bullet pull with the crimp on the left, right is an FCD crimp. There is a quite a bit more brass holding the bullet with the FCD crimp.

 

[photoman]

Here is a picture worth 35-40 words left is a standard roll crimp, center is one shot of bullet pull with the crimp on the left, right is an FCD crimp. There is a quite a bit more brass holding the bullet with the FCD crimp.

What brand roll crimp die was used on the left?

 

[J-FRAME]

Well for what its worth my old (late 1980,s ) Dillon crimp die does a excellent roll crimp on my .44 magnum loads. A bit harder on the mouth of the brass but no bullet pull to be had.I use a fairly aggressive roll crimp and my Bowen 329 PD pulls no bullets. I think crimp and primers(magnum or standard) and powder amounts/brands are the key to good accurate reloads.At 10 yards my 329 will do quarter size groups with 300 gr XTP bullets and never pull a bullet forward.I think a roll crimp is mandatory in recoiling guns and a heavy crimp is needed. Most folks under crimp there magnum loads. Just my thinking.

 

[Don_G]

Bullet weight vs Point of Impact

I know all y'all probably know this, but I was telling a co-worker about the fact that it really seems like bullet weight alone seems to dictate the POI at short range with a revolver. My example was 300/310 gr bullets at velocities from an estimated 800 fps to the Garrett at 1020 all had the same POI and the 240 gr bullets hit about 3 inches lower. All this was at the range two weeks ago. My coworker is a semi-auto competition shooter who always shoots the same bullet weight

So I used Quickload to run some experiments. It turns out that for 160,240,300 and 410 gr bullets at max and min velocities that were 300 fps different, QL predicts that the gun recoil distance was the same for a each bullet weight. (Recoil distance is at the time the bullet leaves the muzzle. Gun weight is 1.8 # for a loaded 329.)

Examples:
160 gr at 1840 and 1540 fps: the gun recoils .070 & .067"
240 gr at 1500 and 1200 fps: the gun recoils .103 & .101"
300 gr at 1350 and 1000 fps: the gun recoils .124 &.127"
410 gr at 1170 and 897 fps: the gun recoils .169 &.165"

Since with the lightweight 329PD the gun movement is mostly muzzle jump, it's easy to see how this could work out to dramatic POI variation with bullet weigh.

So I expect my plan to use 300 grain SFNs as practice rounds for the 310 grain Garrett loads is really necessary.

 

[J-FRAME]

I think it a wise decision. 240 gr cast shoot to a different POA in my Bowen 329 than 300 gr xtp but I just move the rear sight and remember the click numbers and go back when done. Works for me.

 

[dla]

What brand roll crimp die was used on the left?

That is the roll crimp produced by the Dillon SDB crimp die. That particular 270gr .430" bullet has a large crimp groove and there's no pull when fired from a 7.5" Ruger SRH. The 329 showed me my die setup mistake

I carry 240gr XTPs pushed to a smidge over 1200fps using Enforcer. I load that ammo in bulk on the SDB and then recrimp it with the FCD mounted in my LCT. I do not have to worry about crimp strength with the FCD and I don't have to trim brass to get a consistent crimp.

 

[Don_G]

Unfortunately midway has the FCD on backorder.

 

[Don_G]

I installed "THE PLUG" last night.

It was a bit of an adventure, as neither Miculik nor Kuhnhausen showed all the modern parts, but it was not too bad. Two extra parts are the rod inside the trigger block spring and the part that rides in the vertical slot of the left frame, plus the entire internal lock assembly.

I used the original flag retention parts instead of the clip, as I felt it was more reliable under heavy recoil. This did not result in a perfectly cosmetic flush fit, but it blocked the hole.

I thought I might do a trigger job, but after viewing the sintered iron parts, I gave up that idea. Don't know how deep the hardened metal goes. I did lube the pistol as it was dry. The lube made it smoother.

At first I was worried with the partial re-assembly test results, but it turned out that the trigger assy needs to be pressed against the left side of the frame to function reliably.

Dry firing shows no issues.

There is a tiny white line around the sideplate after re-assembly. I think I did as well as could be expected - I think this aluminum frame will always be very "tender" cosmetically.

Still awaiting chrono testing. Bad weather again...