gunboat57
Member
I asked this on another forum but would appreciate any input here as well.
According to SAAMI, the headspace should be .060" to .070" for the 44 magnum. My stainless Ruger Redhawk has a headspace of .059 when measured from back of the cylinder to the standing breech where the firing pin hole is. Most of my brass runs to .055 rim thickness but it can go up to .060 and still be in SAAMI spec. Even with .055" rim brass I'm already experiencing some binding if my primers aren't totally seated.
So, I'd like to increase the headspace to about .065". I know I could carefully remove some material from the standing breech but I'd like to get some opinions on another option.
The ejector star on my Redhawk is not flush with the back of the cylinder. It sits about .010" below the surface of the cylinder. Why can't I put the cylinder in a 3 jaw headstock and just face off .006" of material from the back of the cylinder? I won't remove any material from the ejector star at all. It's just that I'm sure I can do a better job at removing an exact amount of material using a lathe rather than using a file and trying to keep a surface flat and square.
Opinions? Suggestions? Words of experience?
According to SAAMI, the headspace should be .060" to .070" for the 44 magnum. My stainless Ruger Redhawk has a headspace of .059 when measured from back of the cylinder to the standing breech where the firing pin hole is. Most of my brass runs to .055 rim thickness but it can go up to .060 and still be in SAAMI spec. Even with .055" rim brass I'm already experiencing some binding if my primers aren't totally seated.
So, I'd like to increase the headspace to about .065". I know I could carefully remove some material from the standing breech but I'd like to get some opinions on another option.
The ejector star on my Redhawk is not flush with the back of the cylinder. It sits about .010" below the surface of the cylinder. Why can't I put the cylinder in a 3 jaw headstock and just face off .006" of material from the back of the cylinder? I won't remove any material from the ejector star at all. It's just that I'm sure I can do a better job at removing an exact amount of material using a lathe rather than using a file and trying to keep a surface flat and square.
Opinions? Suggestions? Words of experience?