Question about the forcing cone issue

[max503]

My gun is a Model 19 with a heavier 4" barrel. Probably an LEO trade-in. Non-pinned barrel.

Here's my load:
Cast boolit - Lee 120 grain TC, powder coated and sized .358". (Designed for the 9mm, I believe).
4.6 grains of Unique.

Is there any chance of cracking the forcing cone with this load? I know we don't want to shoot 125 grain 357 loads out of these guns, This load seems fairly mild. But I would be shooting healthy quantities of them. The gun is very accurate with this load. The fired cases fall right out with very little help from the extractor. I want to use it for plate and bowling pin matches, and just for fun.

What do you think?

 

[max503]

I've got a 6 cavity mold for this boolit and it shoots good out of my 9mm and my Rossi lever action. It's nice to be able to cast-up a mountain of these and use them across the board.

 

[stansdds]

Yes, there is the possibility of that load cracking the forcing cone, but it might take 50,000 rounds*. The K-frame forcing cone cracks most often occur with full power Magnum loads using very slow burning ball powder (H-110/W-296) and bullets weighing less than 140 grains. Unique is a medium burning flake powder and is unlikely to cause enough erosion of the forcing cone to be a problem. Well, unless you shoot many tens of thousands of rounds. Then again, cracked forcing cones have happened with K-frames chambered in 38 Special, so a cracked forcing cone could be from a barrel with a tiny flaw in the forcing cone area.

* Just a wild guess number that sounded good, I have no proof that 50,000 rounds is the magic number as I'll never shoot that much in what life I have left to live.

 

[max503]

I never thought to watch for erosion. The forcing cone on this gun has crisp, sharp edges. I'll keep an eye on it.

It's probably a non-issue but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

[chase45]

Thats not a very stout load. I doubt youll have any problems. Its the slow magnum powders coupled with light bullets that will eat a forcing cone up from erosion imho.

 

[Rock185]

That is a very light load. I would have no concern whatsoever about forcing cone damage if using that load in any of my revolvers...

 

[Beju]

I recall seeing a post here where a member said that his forcing cone cracked even while exclusively shooting 158 gr Magnum loads. I don't recall if he said anything about the loads besides the grain weight.

However, as stansdds said, the forcing cone could've had some flaw. Maybe they took a little too much off of the bottom of the forcing cone when it was manufactured, or maybe the heat treatment wasn't quite right. Heat treatment is one of those manufacturing processes that has gotten more consistent over the years

 

[Protocall_Design]

I have shot hundreds of thousands of 148 gr. wadcutters in PPC guns. I have had 2 K frames that the forcing cone cracked on, doing that. Both of them were somewhere between 60 and 90 thousand.

I had a M19 that was my only match gun for 3 years. I shot probably 120,000 38 Specials of all descriptions and several thousand 357 magnums of all kinds. The forcing cone never did crack. Eventually, I traded it off for a M586 when those came along. The M19 was still going strong when I traded it.

I have come to the conclusion that some are going to crack, and some aren't, and there's no way to predict the whichness of what.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I have shot hundreds of thousands of 148 gr. wadcutters in PPC guns. I have had 2 K frames that the forcing cone cracked on, doing that. Both of them were somewhere between 60 and 90 thousand.

I had a M19 that was my only match gun for 3 years. I shot probably 120,000 38 Specials of all descriptions and several thousand 357 magnums of all kinds. The forcing cone never did crack.

I have come to the conclusion that some are going to crack, and some aren't, and there's no way to predict the whichness of what.

I agree with @Protocall_Design

Some revolvers turn out to be indestructible and last forever and others are lemons.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I recall seeing a post here where a member said that his forcing cone cracked even while exclusively shooting 158 gr Magnum loads. I don't recall if he said anything about the loads besides the grain weight.

However, as stansdds said, the forcing cone could've had some flaw. Maybe they took a little too much off of the bottom of the forcing cone when it was manufactured, or maybe the heat treatment wasn't quite right. Heat treatment is one of those manufacturing processes that has gotten more consistent over the years

150 gr cast SWC pushed by 13.5 grs of #2400............Happened in 1986.....I rebarreled the gun and probably haven't shot it 10 times since.......I have posted this several times since 1986.

 

[Ranger514]

Back in the early 90s, the mod 19 being fired by the officer to my immediate left on the firing line experienced a cracked cone that shaved off chunks of lead which struck me in my support forearm and left cheek. We all shot agency-issued Federal .357 125 grain HP. I never heard of another cracked cone happening in our unit of around two dozen officers that carried the 19. Some of our mod 19s were kept in service for over 20 years before we transitioned to semi autos.

 

[luckyM13]

150 gr cast SWC pushed by 13.5 grs of #2400............Happened in 1986.....I rebarreled the gun and probably haven't shot it 10 times since.......I have posted this several times since 1986.

You got the revolver new? You only shot that load exclusively? That's probably a max load today but a few decades ago that would've been considered warm-mild

 

[luckyM13]

My gun is a Model 19 with a heavier 4" barrel. Probably an LEO trade-in. Non-pinned barrel.

Here's my load:
Cast boolit - Lee 120 grain TC, powder coated and sized .358". (Designed for the 9mm, I believe).
4.6 grains of Unique.

Is there any chance of cracking the forcing cone with this load? I know we don't want to shoot 125 grain 357 loads out of these guns, This load seems fairly mild. But I would be shooting healthy quantities of them. The gun is very accurate with this load. The fired cases fall right out with very little help from the extractor. I want to use it for plate and bowling pin matches, and just for fun.

What do you think?

No.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

You got the revolver new? You only shot that load exclusively? That's probably a max load today but a few decades ago that would've been considered warm-mild

Bought gun brand new.......No that wasn't the only load i I shot in it........I was never a fan of 110 or 125 gr bullets in 357 so I never used them....Actually that is a very mild 357 load......I still use it.

 

[bigggbbruce]

My gun is a Model 19 with a heavier 4" barrel. Probably an LEO trade-in. Non-pinned barrel.

Here's my load:
Cast boolit - Lee 120 grain TC, powder coated and sized .358". (Designed for the 9mm, I believe).
4.6 grains of Unique.

What do you think?

That's not even 38spl power. Just be sure they don't stick in the barrel.

What's the question.

 

[Yendor357]

lol. I was thinking “crack the forcing cone?” You probably can’t crack a coke bottle with that load.
I wish I still had some Unique. I’d try to replicate that load and chronograph it.
Don’t ever shoot anyone with that load. You’ll make em mad.

 

[old bear]

What does the style of stocks have anything to do with cracks in the forcing cone? It is a simple matter of proper cleaning.