Handgunners?

[Dave260]

On here? oh i shoot a lil bit,but mostly just load develop and kill steel plates. i took it easy this past winter only empied one 4lb WW231 jug.

[DEADorALIVE]

Since I left law enforcement 9 1/2 years ago, I'm an occasional recreational handgunner, now...mostly just my old duty weapons.  I do have, however, an 1858 Remington replica in .44 that's a lot of fun to shoot, even if cleanup is a little time consuming.  If I ever get a good, hot load down and chrono'd on it, I might not mind hunting some with it, but right now I just punch holes in paper with it now and then.

[DEADorALIVE]

...which brings a question to mind.

The 1858 was a gift to me from a friend, a long time ago...he bought the replica as a kit and did all the assembly work himself, so there's no paperwork or anything else with it.  I've always shot .440 round ball with about 25-30 grains of FFFG, the gun goes off cleanly and is reasonable accurate at the ranges I shoot it at...say, 20 yards and less, but sounds really "light" when it goes off.  I don't have, and don't have access to, a chrono, so I really have no idea if I'm pushing enough energy downrange to make for an effective hunting weapon or not.  What is a "max" load and/or better bullet for this gun?

[Gotdesl]

I shoot a 460 S&W. Probably my favorite firearm to take to the range.

[DEADorALIVE]

I shot my cousin's S & W 500 mag a couple years back...BIG gun, BIG bang!

[Dave260]

DoA,spoke with some Blacksmoke boys,they said not to strain your '58 much over 35 grains.when these dudes talk that stanky stuff i listen.they also said to spray your 58 down with vinegar windex yes they make it and it makes cleanup a snap.on a more positive note one of their daughters shot the .260 and when informed she liked it better than her .243 i heard"We just bought that for you last year,your 13 years old and are gonna have accept a .243 will kill deer." After dad walks off,i hear her sniffle a bit and mutter to me "PawPaw says a .243 ain't big enough,would you give me a shell so i can show him the diffrence? That may be a very expensive .260 cartridge i gave her.

[TexasHuntress]

Wow!!!

[DEADorALIVE]

Ok...to be honest, I've never actually measured the load I shoot with it.  When the pistol was given to me years ago, my buddy who built it also showed me how to measure the powder using a 9mm shell casing, and that's what I've always used since then, so saying I'm shooting 25-30 grns is strictly a rough guess...it may actually be considerably less than that, but if I ever get serious enough about hunting with it to actually do it, of course I'll buy a powder measure, etc... What about the ball...they have any better suggestions than a patched .440?

[Dave260]

These dudes said a patched ball would do all you needed done....course if anyone needs another new gun it's you.


i'm thinking a .454 casull so you could shoot another world record H...man,i'm so sick of that outsize boar i won't say it.

[DEADorALIVE]

 hmmmm... .454 Casull, huh?   

[DEADorALIVE]

I'll have to track down someone close by with a chrono.  For the longest time, I had trouble with the caps falling off the nipples, until I finally figured out that the pistol doesn't take # 11 caps, but # 10.  That helped a lot, though they're still not necessarily very firm when the pistol is capped.

How about the 30 gr. .44/.45 pellets?  Any word from anyone who's ever used them?  being a revolver, the ignition sequence is exactly like an inline, so it seems they'd work well...

[Dave260]

they said smoe pellets work,others not so well depends on your pistol.

[DEADorALIVE]

I'll give 'em a shot, if I can find smoe pellets. 

I'd like to be able to get ahold of some pistol bullets, rather than just round ball...saw some advertised once, but don't remember where...

[DEADorALIVE]

Found something out!  The 9mm shell casing I've been using for a powder measure only holds 12 grains of powder!  I want to push the '58 closer to 30 grains, and a .45 acp shell casing holds 28 grains, so I'll have to switch powder measures!

Oh, and TexasHuntress went and picked herself up a little something the other day...
a Taurus PT-145 Millenium Pro .45 acp...sweet little pistol, with a deep voice!


 

 

[DEADorALIVE]

We got the chance (finally!) to get out and shoot 'Huntress's .45 last time I was home...it's definitely a keeper!  Taurus has made tremendous strides in the quality of their firearms, particularly their semi-autos, in the last 20 years.  If you still think of Taurus by its old reputation as a "Saturday Night Special", you're underestimating its reliability and accuracy...you're also missing out on a great pistol at a very reasonable price!