BrotherMaynard
Member
I recently picked up this 5" 460V for a price that was on the high side of OK (the one below it is the previous acquisition, a 6.5" 624 no dash):
I heard a rumor that a gang of '56 Buicks would occasionally run amok in the area and I wanted to be ready in case it happened.
I did some research and figured I could make use of some 5744 I have on hand so I ordered some Hornady brass and 300 gr XTP pills. Unfortunately, I ordered the non-mag version of the XTP before I realized they are not the best bullet choice for this caliber. Based upon the data, I anticipated being below the max velocity (1500 fps) for the bullet so I elected to go ahead. I loaded 5 at 34 gr and proceeded in 0.2 gr increments to 34.8 gr (25 total rounds). The primers were CCI #34.
Off I went to my local outdoor range where it was cloudy and a sticky 77F. I loaded the first 5 and went to town. The 460 barked (a bit), bucked (a bit), and I smiled (a lot)...right up to the point I went to eject the fired casings.
Houston, we have a problem.
The spent cases ejected easily (at least what was left of them):
Needless to say, this caused a bit of consternation. The one on the far left appeared to show no signs of problems and when I stuck a bore scope into the case, it shows no signs of incipient separation. The others were toast.
With the exception of one fragment, the others fell out of the cylinder.
The primers looked OK:
The velocities (measured 12' from the muzzle) seemed reasonable:
1329 fps
1294 fps
1293 fps
1279 fps
1225 fps
I shut it down and returned home to do some sleuthing where I found multiple references to case separation when the cylinder chambers are not clean. Although I examined the pistol when I picked it up, I did not pay close attention to the cleanliness of the individual cylinder chambers. This turned out to be a fatal mistake for 4 pieces of not inexpensive brass.
I stuck a borescope into the individual chambers and discovered that the walls were covered in powder residue and lead streaks. There was also a ring of powder residue at the location where the cases separated. I am guessing that the previous owner had fired 454 Casull and/or 45 Colt without cleaning up afterwards. When I fired my 460 S&W rounds, the cases stuck and separated.
It took a bit of scrubbing but I managed to degunk the cylinder chambers. I loaded another 5 with 34 gr of 5744 and returned to the range where I was able to get through them as well as the remaining 20 in the ladder without a single case separation.
Note to self: spend the time to thoroughly inspect/clean the cylinder chambers on all previously-owned revolvers.
Coda
34.6 gr of 5744 turned out to be the best load so far with an average velocity of 1341 fps, an ES of 11 fps, and an SD of 4 fps with a group size of about 1.5" at 30':
This thing is a hoot to shoot but I find it really forces me to focus on the fundamentals.
I heard a rumor that a gang of '56 Buicks would occasionally run amok in the area and I wanted to be ready in case it happened.
I did some research and figured I could make use of some 5744 I have on hand so I ordered some Hornady brass and 300 gr XTP pills. Unfortunately, I ordered the non-mag version of the XTP before I realized they are not the best bullet choice for this caliber. Based upon the data, I anticipated being below the max velocity (1500 fps) for the bullet so I elected to go ahead. I loaded 5 at 34 gr and proceeded in 0.2 gr increments to 34.8 gr (25 total rounds). The primers were CCI #34.
Off I went to my local outdoor range where it was cloudy and a sticky 77F. I loaded the first 5 and went to town. The 460 barked (a bit), bucked (a bit), and I smiled (a lot)...right up to the point I went to eject the fired casings.
Houston, we have a problem.
The spent cases ejected easily (at least what was left of them):
Needless to say, this caused a bit of consternation. The one on the far left appeared to show no signs of problems and when I stuck a bore scope into the case, it shows no signs of incipient separation. The others were toast.
With the exception of one fragment, the others fell out of the cylinder.
The primers looked OK:
The velocities (measured 12' from the muzzle) seemed reasonable:
1329 fps
1294 fps
1293 fps
1279 fps
1225 fps
I shut it down and returned home to do some sleuthing where I found multiple references to case separation when the cylinder chambers are not clean. Although I examined the pistol when I picked it up, I did not pay close attention to the cleanliness of the individual cylinder chambers. This turned out to be a fatal mistake for 4 pieces of not inexpensive brass.
I stuck a borescope into the individual chambers and discovered that the walls were covered in powder residue and lead streaks. There was also a ring of powder residue at the location where the cases separated. I am guessing that the previous owner had fired 454 Casull and/or 45 Colt without cleaning up afterwards. When I fired my 460 S&W rounds, the cases stuck and separated.
It took a bit of scrubbing but I managed to degunk the cylinder chambers. I loaded another 5 with 34 gr of 5744 and returned to the range where I was able to get through them as well as the remaining 20 in the ladder without a single case separation.
Note to self: spend the time to thoroughly inspect/clean the cylinder chambers on all previously-owned revolvers.
Coda
34.6 gr of 5744 turned out to be the best load so far with an average velocity of 1341 fps, an ES of 11 fps, and an SD of 4 fps with a group size of about 1.5" at 30':
This thing is a hoot to shoot but I find it really forces me to focus on the fundamentals.