35 Whelen
Member
That is a BEAUTIFUL old revolver and you're a lucky man! I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of it. I love the old Bisley's and confess to owning three of them!
As far as what type loads to shoot, I for one would not shoot anything over SAAMI spec's in it, but regarding black powder vs. smokeless powder it seems to me pressure is pressure. First, I for one cannot wrap my head around how a 14,000 psi black powder load is safer than say a 9,000 psi smokeless load. In over 40 years of handloading I've seen a single warning indicating that a given chamber pressure is more or less dangerous depending on which powder is creating the pressure. For example, I've never read in a reloading manual that a 12,000 psi load in a given cartridge using Bullseye (a very fast burning smokeless powder) is more dangerous than a 14,000 psi load using AL2400 ( a relatively slow burning powder). Second, most of these discussions are carried on as though the pressure in question, at whatever level it may be, were being applied directly to the chamber walls. T'aint so. The brass is the first line of defense against the cylinders walls rupturing and if you've ever seen a cross section illustrating the difference is the construction of a cartridge case produced 100 years ago (balloon head) vs. one produced today (solid head), it's pretty amazing. I found some old balloon head .44 Special cases in some of my junk and compared their weight to that of a solid head. 79.3 grs. and 107.5 grs. respectively. The solid head was almost 28% heavier in the area that matters most thereby creating an additional amount of brass that must be displaced before the steel in the cylinder can begin to yield.
Most of the Cowboy Action ammunition in this caliber (Ultramax, Magtech, HSM) is loaded very, very light with velocities running in from 650 fps to on the low end to 725 on the high end. Cross referencing at loads in that velocity range in the Lyman manual, I'd bet these factory loads are running pressures around 5000-6000 cup.
Not trying to be argumentative at all here, just thinking out loud.
35W
As far as what type loads to shoot, I for one would not shoot anything over SAAMI spec's in it, but regarding black powder vs. smokeless powder it seems to me pressure is pressure. First, I for one cannot wrap my head around how a 14,000 psi black powder load is safer than say a 9,000 psi smokeless load. In over 40 years of handloading I've seen a single warning indicating that a given chamber pressure is more or less dangerous depending on which powder is creating the pressure. For example, I've never read in a reloading manual that a 12,000 psi load in a given cartridge using Bullseye (a very fast burning smokeless powder) is more dangerous than a 14,000 psi load using AL2400 ( a relatively slow burning powder). Second, most of these discussions are carried on as though the pressure in question, at whatever level it may be, were being applied directly to the chamber walls. T'aint so. The brass is the first line of defense against the cylinders walls rupturing and if you've ever seen a cross section illustrating the difference is the construction of a cartridge case produced 100 years ago (balloon head) vs. one produced today (solid head), it's pretty amazing. I found some old balloon head .44 Special cases in some of my junk and compared their weight to that of a solid head. 79.3 grs. and 107.5 grs. respectively. The solid head was almost 28% heavier in the area that matters most thereby creating an additional amount of brass that must be displaced before the steel in the cylinder can begin to yield.
Most of the Cowboy Action ammunition in this caliber (Ultramax, Magtech, HSM) is loaded very, very light with velocities running in from 650 fps to on the low end to 725 on the high end. Cross referencing at loads in that velocity range in the Lyman manual, I'd bet these factory loads are running pressures around 5000-6000 cup.
Not trying to be argumentative at all here, just thinking out loud.
35W
