Fire lapping the reference, experiences, & thoughts

[358156 hp]

And.... I jinxed myself. My 35 yr old NIB stainless Redhawk has (ahem) a pronounced case of thread choke.

Here we go again...

 

[freebullet]

Well, dang you did jinx yourself with a well described process. I accepted the manufactures offer to buy back the gun I was considering firelapping, but appreciate the shared experience.

 

[Pistolero]

Unscrew the bbl, take .001 off the shoulder and reset. If it clocks with light torque, use blue
Loctite. If not, take off .001 more. It WILL work. I have done this multiple times, always works.

Bill

 

[358156 hp]

That's okay. The forcing cone is cut to some obscenely huge dimension I can't even measure, the entry point looks large enough for a .480, and its cut deep. I'm trying to decide whether to rebarrel the gun or sell it off. I'd have to set the barrel back over 1/4 inch or better to clean up the original forcing cone. Since there's some taper in the barrel back by the frame, setting this barrel back this far seems impractical. Just for reference, this was a new, unfired gun when I bought it, the S/N dates it as the 144th Redhawk made. It has a total of 52 rounds through it. Accuracy with those 52 rounds was abysmal.

 

[Brad]

Don't you know someone who could rebarrel it for you?

 

[Brad]

Word is he has a whole set up for that kind of thing.

 

[358156 hp]

I'm trying to find a suitable barrel for it. Yes, I do have everything needed, including a machinist. I did find a 45 Colt RH barrel, and reaming the cylinder to a tight, properly throated 45 Colt chamber would be totally suitable. I also need to look at long 44 mag bullet designs to see what I can find that would still be supported by the cylinder throats at the base while allowing the nose to engage the rifling. A 280 gr WFN sort of looks promising, but I need to consider bullet lube being slung out of the grooves as the bullet is shortened when it engages the rifling with the middle of the bullet unsupported. I'll probably play with it a little before deciding. I think a 5-1/2 in barrel 480 Ruger had some appeal as well. A Super RH cylinder would drop in, but could require retiming. I also know of at least a couple 454 std Redhawks with cylinders from SRH as well. The really intense cartridges seem to be made of special materials, or have special heat-treating. If I do it, it'll have to be special.

 

[waco]

I know many have no lathe, but there are gunsmiths, too. I cringe at fire lapping out bbl restrictions
when it is so easy to unscrew the bbl, take off .001 or .002 from the shoulder on the barrel and screw back
in hand tight, or a hair more, with blue Loctite. They always are choke free at that point, and never unscrew.

I need this done to my Smith M29......

 

[Pistolero]

I'd send that Redhawk back to Ruger and see what they can do.

Where are you located, Waco?

Bill

 

[waco]

Where are you located, Waco?

Western Oregon.

 

[waco]

I think I'll try and make sure my next S&W has a pinned barrel. I do love my 14-2 K38.

 

[Pistolero]

Don't over-expect about those pinned bbls. Folks tend to assume that S&W
screws in the bbl and then drills through, so the pin holds the bbl in place.

Not so. There is a notch milled across the threaded area where the pin has to
wind up, and after the bbl is screwed in, they put in a pin. Most bbls can turn
maybe 20 degrees, or a bit less before the pin will hit anything. Keeps the bbl
from falling out, but that's about it.

I was thinking that if you were closer, we could get together and I could show
you how to fix that constriction. Oregon is a bit far to "drop in" to east KS.

 

[waco]

Oregon is a bit far to "drop in" to east KS.

Isn't that the truth!