625 revolver

Does anybody have a good load for 45 acp revolver they are using for bullseye?

I use either 3.8 gr BE behind a 200gr LSWC or 4.2 gr behind a 185gr #Nosler JHP. You have to keep the load up for jacketed bullets (long line) but you could go lower then the 3.8 for lead bullets. I like the way they shoot and they will also work well on the long line if you don't want to spend the money on JHP.

Len   ( #I have Nosler right now but Zero, HAP, Magnus would all work well)

4.8 Bullseye and 200 JSWC in Autorim cases is great at 50yds in my 1955 model.

At 50 yards, I use 4.5gr W231 under a Missouri Bullet Co. cast 200gr LSWC in Federal cases with Winchester WLP primers; works pretty well in all of my wheelguns (two S&W 625-6s and a S&W 25-2). For 25 yards, I only change the bullet to a 185gr cast LSWC, everything else remains the same. For the short line, I change my red-dot sight settings to go down four clicks from the long line (I don't change iron sights between long and short).

Haven't had much luck with bullseye yet so I slugged the barrel. The groove diameter is .4527". The cylinder throats slug .4518". Is this a normal thing? I went to bullets with diameter .453". Not sure about using .454" bullets. Does anybody ream cylinders or should i return it to Smith?

Hello Jake1911,

I wouldn't do either.  I believe you will have better luck with lead bullets sized to 0.452" .

Jim

spursnguns wrote:Hello Jake1911,

I wouldn't do either.  I believe you will have better luck with lead bullets sized to 0.452" .

Jim

+1

OldMaster66 wrote:

spursnguns wrote:Hello Jake1911,

I wouldn't do either.  I believe you will have better luck with lead bullets sized to 0.452" .

Jim

+1

Am I wrong in thinking that the cylinder throats should be equal to or slightly larger that the groove diameter? The lead bullet is going to get swaged down smaller than the groove diameter when going through the cylinder throat. With lead bullets that doesn't sound like a recipe for accuracy and I would think that the gun would get leading from blow-by and accuracy suffer from to small a bullet. Going to a larger size bullet (.454) will not help either because it will still get swaged down to the throat diameter (.4518) and still be .0001 smaller than groove diameter (.4527). Jacketed bullets can get by with that but lead?

I always had the understanding that the bullets and cylinder throats should be slightly larger that the groove diameter for the best accuracy when using lead bullets.  I'm not a gunsmith or lead bullet guru but I did stay at a Holiday Express once.  YMMV


Virgil

I suspect that what we have here might be a measuring thing. Just remember that if your bullet plunks into the cylinder then the bullet diameter is smaller then the cylinder throat. There is no taper in the cylinder throat. If you are having to force the bullet (like, I suspect a .454) then you have a problem. That's my .02 worth.

Len

Oh I agree 100% that it could be a measuring problem. But if measured accurately and those are the true measurements that that would be a problem. If lets say a .454 bullet would easily be pushed through the cylinder throat but the groove diameter is truly .4518 then that's a problem like with the old S&W 1955's had. If a .452 bullet cannot be pushed through the cylinder throats then they would have to be reamed out so the .452 bullet would be the proper fit for the .4517 groove diameter.

Again, all this depends on an accurate measurement of both throats and groove diameter. 

To the OP. If a .452 bullet can be pushed through the cylinder throats with say a pencil with just a little pressure then you should be good to shoot with the groove diameter you have given. If you cannot push the .452 bullet through without pounding it through then you need to have your cylinders reamed.



Virgil

I have two 25-2 S&W.  One is actually the 5 screw pictured to the right that has tight cylinder throats.  The other is a 1972-3 made with large throats.  I have not shot the newer much except off hand its in the black at 50 with LSWC.  The old timer's target to the right was offhand.  

I am retiring soon.  In fact I am in a transitioning out time now.  Perhaps I will be able devote more time to these things pretty soon.

Jack H,  Looking forward to seeing you at Roddy's matches. I fired my 25-2 for the whole .45 match last week. I used the 4.2gr 185 Nosler for the long and the short line. I am thinking about upping the long line load a little closer to your load. I have to change the Aimpoint 8 clicks long to short right now. If you show up with your wheel gun we can put those 1911 guys in their place (maybe). I won the timed fire match but let "John" from this forum edge me into 2nd in the rapid fire. Get retired and hope to see you at next match.

Len

Measuring a revolver's bore, throat, chamber, leade, etcetera can be as much an art form as a science.  While I have "slugged" a revolver many times in the past; for a true measurement one should use accurate pin gauges.

Pushing a lead slug down a bore only shows the tightest bore dimension and not some very important relationships.  For example; it does not show if the barrel shank is being squeezed where it passes through the frame.

Conventional wisdom, and a good starting point for the OP, is that your bullets should be sized to the cylinder throat dimensions.  Reaming typically is a solution to get individual throats uniform to one another; e. g. one that measures 0.450" opened up to all the others that measure 0.452".

Jim