hello out there

[Bunk]

Is any one here? Saturday is a shoot day somewhere what is going on?
The silence is deafening.
BUNK
can you hear me now?

[Abilene]

Howdy Bunk
yeah been pretty quiet around here this weekend.  I would be shooting at Plum Creek today but threw my back out (again) a few days ago so I'm barely moving.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

It is a long weekend in most of Canada, so lots of major matches or quality family time for many families. Me? My family are all vacationing together, except for us geezers, on a Mediterranean island.

P.S: 40 Celcius plus is way too hot for me!

[Dick Dastardly]

The Rock River Regulators semi monthly match today.  Shot my 1860 open tops with Kirst Konverter cylinders and ejectors.  Loaded up Cowboy 45 Special with 1.3 cc FFFg under J/P 45-200 Big Lube® bullets.  What a pleasure.  My 73 45 Colt rifle with 45 Colt brass loaded up with 36 grains of FFFg Schuetzen under J/P 45-200 Big Lube® bullets hit the steel varmints with authority and accuracy.  My original Winchester 97 16ga with 55 grains of FFg pushing 1oz. of reclaimed shot padded with natural wads and roll crimped, never had to shoot a KD more than once.  Great day and great match with a great posse.  A sweet corn lunch topped it all off.  I had a great time with my Pardners Pukin' Dog and Rotten Redeye Randy.  We are really looking forward to one of our favorite annual matches of the year.  Squinty Eye Cowboy Action Shoot is anything we could ask for.

http://www.squintyeye.com/

DD-MDA

[Coffinmaker]

I shot a "Monthly" away match today.  Murphy.  What could go wrong did.  I don't want to talk about it.  Nevermind.

[Professor Marvel]

I keep replacing the hand spring in my newly acquired piece of ....
first time in my life I am considering the coil spring conversion for an SA

and herding kittens.
got 2 new kittens a month ago.
OMG

I shot a "Monthly" away match today.  Murphy.  What could go wrong did.  I don't want to talk about it.  Nevermind.

Oh no, my ddear Coffin - please, talk about it! get it off your chest!

wax eloquent, ad infinitum ,and at great length even!

inquiring minds want to know, and mock share your pain, etc...

yhs
prof marvel

[Slamfire]

  Mr. coffin ,, I also would like to here you tale of wohhhhh .Were here for " YOU " .

  coffee's ready ,, Hootmix .

[Abilene]

And I would like to know what sort of smokepole is breaking hand springs for the Professor? 

[Professor Marvel]

And I would like to know what sort of smokepole is breaking hand springs for the Professor?  

oh my good abilene
this is a dirt cheap SAA I recently picked up in order to build a short barrel slightly bird-head "mountain .44 magnum. "  for hikes.

It is a vintage but mechanically virtually new Herter's SAA  ".44 Caliber"
these were ugly as sin but hell-for-stout colt copies built for Herter's by Sauer and Sohn.
Herter's intended to compete with Ruger, selling for about 2/3 to 3/4 of the Ruger price.
if one can find them in good shape they are hidden gems!

as seen here:


they are , well.... UGLY
the gripframe is too long and ungainly, (grips are way ugly), the rear sight ears are too big, the ejector head too large, front sight
too ugly ..... but easy peasy projects!

I was intending to mill off the rear sight ears, shorten the gripframe, shorten & crown the barrel, and apply a fixed rear site.
to my complete surprise I found one to which all this was already done to it!
As to the finish, only the barrel had original blue.

Thus the dirt cheap price, everybody saw modified "Herter's"
but nobody realized that it is a quality German import .44 magnum expertly cut down to 4 5/8 .

the internals are excellent; bore is pristine, crown is perfect, timing is perfect; trigger is excellent,  breaks clean.
it has a standard safety notch, half cock, and no transfer bar; firing pin frame mounted.

"everything was fine" until I tore it down for inspection, cleaning, fluff and buff, rust blue, etc.

then after rust blue and re-assembly, whilst dry firing the hand spring broke.
ok, no worries, I replaced it. the hammer is extremely stout and the steel is quite hard;
I don't want to crack it banging on it too much.

Whilst buffing the rust blue with canvas and dry firing (oh yes, that spot of the floor is nailed!),  
the replacement hand spring popped off.

Well I am less than pleased with the first rust bluing, so I tore it down stripped it (again), rust blued again,
popped the hand spring back on, and staked it "a little better"

buffing and oiling and dry firing, the new spring popped off .
again.

hmmmm clearly I am too used to the soft Italian butter Steel and I  am simply being too gentle with this quality German Steel
I shall do it it one more time.... but stake it stoutly.

however, I don't want this happening out in the field, heaven forefend I may need to fire in anger at a menacing clod of dirt
or a charging  dandelion....
Thus I am thinking "coil spring hand mod.....

Aaaaand since first two tries at rust bluing left it uneven (never had this problem with the Italian pistoles!) I will probably strip it down
yet again,  polish again with 400 grit wet-or-dry, put on a breathing apparatus and clean the steel with something very nasty and do the plain jane but bulletproof  "lye and potassium nitrate boiled blue".

But before I refinish again I will shoot it from the bench, mutilate adjust the front sight, slug the barrel and cylinders and decide if they are adequate or if it really wants reaming and a fresh forcing cone ( thanks for the brownell cone tool Fingers... )  
-----------
Oh, and

HELLO BUNK!

pf mvl

[Abilene]

dang!  That is a project all right.  Good luck with that hand spring.  And now if I ever see one of those Herters I will know what it is!

[Coffinmaker]

Aw Right .... Aw Right Awreddy!!  I'll share my sad tale of WOE.  A while back (long while) I built myself a swell Snubbie on the Pietta Marshall platform (you may remember.......).  To go with it, I also built a Another on the Pietta Marshall platform, but never intended it to function as a Cap Gun.  Put R&D Stainless Conversion Cylinders in it from Day One.  No Cap Rakes, no slotted hammer, strictly a Suppository Shooter.  The Suppository shooter works a TREAT!!  Perfection in the Gun Butchers .. er Plumbers art.

Those two guns look and feel exactly alike.  But of late I have acquired a taste for Convertibles.  One Snubbie, Two Cylinders.  Cap Cylinder and an R&D Suppository cylinder.  Ability to take one gun and shoot two ways depending on match conditions.  Perfect solution to packing 4 guns and the added weight.  I built several convertible sets and the concept works a treat.  Until I built mine.

I took my prized "GO-TOO' set of Snubbies, built on the Marshall platform and re-timed them to be Convertible.  In the shop, the DAY BEFORE a three day match, the function was perfect.  Shot the guns as Cap Guns the first day in Plainsman.  Perfection.  For the Main Match, I switched to the Suppository Cylinders.  Perfection became PAIN!!  The gun in my left hand was perfect.  Smooth, precision and powerful.  The gun in my right hand was like a 3 year old looking at Spinach.  Locked up TIGHT.  Would not function with cartridges in it.  So I took it apart between stages and fumbled (fiddled??) with it.  I ate 5 misses.  Next stage .... anticipating success I loaded up and went to the line.  Same scenario ... LOCKED UP TIGHT.  I ate 5 more misses.  Took it apart again with the requisite fumbling and prepped for next stage.  Needless to say ... LOCKED UP TIGHT.  Guess who ate 5 more misses.  You may conclude, to my own detriment, I am DETERMINED.  I refuse to be defeated by some nameless (I gave it a NAME .. trust me) lump of steel.  So I pulled the Suppository cylinders and went Cap Gun.  Guess who didn't have enough Cap Gun ammunition??  Had to mooch.  Guess who also mooched a set of Cap Guns for Day three due to a different problem??  Shot day 3 clean.

Remember, youz guys asked for this story!!!  It's not my fault .........

So I found and fix't the flaw in the right hand gun.  Whilst doing so and cleaning the offending R&D cylinder I found a loose firing pin assembly.  I found it because it fell out and onto the floor.  And disappeared into the dust bunnies.  I have searched the floor many times.  NO JOY.  It has migrated to Cincinnati.  I DID NOT have a replacement.  Suddenly it became a "4" shooter.  My "other" 45 Cylinders are quite old and not the same, plus I needed the "other" convertible as a fall-back, just in case (for yesterday).  A pulled and substituted a Firing Pin assembly from my 36 conversion cylinders and installed it as a suitable substitute whilst eating for my replacement firing pin assemblies from R&D (they are in the mail).  Turns out ...... that firing pin is just a mite short.  NO Earth Shattering KABOOMB!! (Stolen famous cartoon line).  Just ...... klick ..... and I had a "4" shooter.  Thought perhaps a fluke, tried another stage, same result .... klick .....  Einstein once said anyone who repeats the exact experiment three times expecting a different outcome is an IDIOT.  So I quit at two and switched guns.  Later to day I shall take the offensive lump to steel apart and attempt to mooch a PLASMA CUTTER and resolve the problem.  Burma Shave.

I fine good Morning Perfesser.

Hi there Bunk.

Per your request Slamfire

PS:  Perfesser ..... remember ..... Einstein said ...... It's time to give that stupid flat spring the heave-ho and put Coil Spring and Plunger in that lump.  Whilst walking in the wilds (Third and Main) you wanna trust your continued existence to that spring??  Really??

[Professor Marvel]

Greetings My Dear Coffin -

I LMFAO commiserate!

"You went into battle with an unproven rifle?"


unfortunately it will fail at the worst time.....

....
PS:  Perfesser ..... remember ..... Einstein said ...... It's time to give that stupid flat spring the heave-ho and put Coil Spring and Plunger in that lump.  Whilst walking in the wilds (Third and Main) you wanna trust your continued existence to that spring??  Really??

yeah... no.
never had so much trouble. at next teardown I'll check the hand hardness with my homebrew Rockwell Marvel Hardness thingy
and try one last time prior to taking the frame to the drillpress....

yhs
prof marvel

[Bunk]

Our club match is this weekend. My equipment and ammo is all checked out and the plan is to beat the stage 3 curse.
Last month my rifle had a case separation on stage 3 that required taking the gun apart to fix.
The month before it hit 100+ by stage 3 and common sense said STOP DUMMY so I did.
This month I will keep hydrated, and shoot cartridge guns so loading will be done under cover and beat the curse.

Like I told Coffinmaker there are time when stercus accidit and there is little can be done about it.
ready to lay down some smoke
Bunk

[Professor Marvel]

Our club match is this weekend. My equipment and ammo is all checked out and the plan is to beat the stage 3 curse.
Last month my rifle had a case separation on stage 3 that required taking the gun apart to fix.
The month before it hit 100+ by stage 3 and common sense said STOP DUMMY so I did.
This month I will keep hydrated, and shoot cartridge guns so loading will be done under cover and beat the curse.

Like I told Coffinmaker there are time when stercus accidit and there is little can be done about it.
ready to lay down some smoke
Bunk

Good Luck
Stay Safe
non carborundum illigitemi

yhs
prof pig-marvel