I like huge revolvers too....Blackhawk 44Mag

 

Here's my Colt in 38 Special (Oh no I didn't). Quite honestly the 52 is a better performer all around.

 

I also like older Hi Powers & Wheel guns S&W M57 & M29

 

That's a T-series, isn't it? Considered to be one of the especially good 'uns.

Browning/FN is supposed to have just discontinued production of the Hi Power.

Pity.

 

T series are my favorite in HP's but IMHO they are all good some are just better than others

 

voere, there are definitely some firearms aficionado kindred spirits here on Omega Forums. You're showing some nickel-plated Smith & Wesson "pinned & recessed" finery right there.

When I was 12-15 years old I would intently study the Smith & Wesson catalogs (no internet in those days - Ben Franklin was playing with kites in thunderstorms, hah) and came to the view that a 6-inch nickel Smith & Wesson Model 57 .41 Magnum would "check all the boxes" for me. Would become my side arm for life.

Then "Dirty Harry" came along and the .44 Magnum and its Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver became wildly popular.

By my early 20s I'd gone off the notion of nickel finish having come to loathe its appearance. One Saturday morning in late 1979 I found myself with some cash, burning a hole in my pocket, so went out in search of a .41 Magnum revolver, which was blued by now in my dreams. Didn't find a .41 Magnum so went down the .44 Magnum trail that day, purchasing revolver, ammunition, and a die set for handloading the .44 Magnum cartridge. I posted a photo of that Model 29 earlier in this thread. It still "scratches the itch" anytime it is taken out for "exercise."

Fast forward some 30 + years and I began to yearn for an example of the dream handgun of my youth. Though I still prefer blue finish, some few nickel examples had already crept into the firearms menagerie. That 6-inch nickel Model 57 was conspicuous by its absence though and this had to be rectified.



The revolver was "as new" though the serial number dates it to 1975.


After the revolver was acquired, the first cylinder-full of ammunition ever fired from it was shot at a target at 10 yards. Then 15, 25, and 50 yards was attempted, all offhand with two-handed grip.

I cannot count but five holes in that 50-yard effort.

The revolver and cartridge are excellent. It has collected venison for our table. The .41 Magnum cartridge is potent and really gives up little to the .44 Magnum. If I'd picked up a .41 Magnum that day long ago I might not have contemplated the .44 Magnum.

Here's a friend of mine who lives in West Yorkshire shown shooting the Smith & Wesson .41 Magnum while here in Texas on a visit.

 

Great story & M57 I have my fair share of blued wheel guns. I have more blued than nickel, They all have a place in my collection.

 

Here's a couple of my favorite woods guns. Remington model 14 & a cloverleaf tang model 70 date to 1937 the Remington is 35 cal the Win is 30/06

 

An interest, yes, but unfortunately in this corner of Europe the only place I see them is on TV.

 

Say by the way, if your chronographing ammo with a pistol with a scope on it, make sure to measure the difference in height from the bore to the scope, otherwise....

 

Kindred spirits, I tell ya'!

Beautiful classic rifles, voere, from the era of gunmaking I hold in high regard. Such fine condition too.



The Winchester Model 70 tribe here: 1937 .220 Swift, 1947 .257 Roberts, and my best ol' huntin' rifle and the one that shoots my favorite hunting rifle cartridge of all, a 1953 .30-06. A "post-64" .375 H&H Magnum Model 70 rounds out the quadrumvirate.

The Model 70 on the bench rest at the local gun club range last fall just before deer season and its 100-yard performance with a handload using a 150 grain bullet. Vintage rifles such as these can exhibit behavior much like a vintage watch; both being still capable of gratifying accuracy.





Unlimbering the Remington Model 14R at the bench rest one cool winter's day a few years back. This carbine version of the Model 14 is chambered for .30 Remington. The rifle was produced in 1921 according to Remington's web site serial number dating list. Its original owner was interviewed at time of purchase and he said he purchased it new in 1936. Three deer have been taken with it.


Best 100-yard group of that day using open sights.


Yeah, Wryfox. You're in good company though. I know of no one who hasn't shot their chronograph and handguns are generally the offenders. My brother-in-law shot his Chrony with a .380 pistol.

Though I purchased it new in 1979, the chronograph still used here is now vintage, an Oehler Model 12. I haven't shot it yet, but its skyscreens have taken a lick or two. I loaned it to a friend years ago and he shot a screen with a .45 automatic. I kidded him about it, but then not long afterward I shot the replacement screen I had ordered for it with nothing more than a .22 short fired from a Smith & Wesson K-22 revolver so had to "eat crow" and admit to it.

I dusted it off a few months ago in order to do some testing with the 10mm cartridge.

The banana box from the grocery store is serving as an expedient backstop to capture escaping empty cartridge cases as they are ejected from the pistol.

 

Yummy. 10mm is one of my favorites. I had a Delta like yours years ago, now lost to time. This is my current one....Springfield Armory Omega 10mm. They contracted the premier builder in Germany(Peters Stahl) for the slide. Incredible machining, locks like a vault. Heavy but shoots like a dream.


Oh I forgot...my wife just got me this for my birthday....Glock 40 in 10mm(ain't she somethin?). The press calls it Glockzilla as its the largest pistol Glock makes.


I've had a love/hate affair with Glocks over the years(trigger feels like you're stretching a rubber band). Revolutionary design...Gaston Glock knew nothing about firearms (he made curtain rods) but he was an expert on polymer molding. The absolute beauty of the effort is that he had no preconceptions of how a firearm should work...no "groupthink" or historic cultural limitations on what should or should not be part of a handgun. Historically though, H&K actually designed the first polymer frame handgun in 1969 with the VP70(had one for a while), which operated horribly(trust me), was still heavy(what?), and died quickly.

 

Neato about that Springfield Armory Omega with its slide having been produced in Germany. I did not know that. Does it digest any and all 10mm ammunition?

The reason I ask is that I've run the Delta Elite through the wringer during the year since I got it back in February of 2016. Sampled all manner of factory loads in it, testing them over the chronograph so I'd have a basis for handloading for the cartridge. Really like the notion of 10mm handgun ballistics.

The Delta Elite has never stuttered with any brand and style of ammunition fed it, but one particular load appeared to be a bit much for the pistol. This was the Buffalo Bore 220 grain lead load.


Buffalo Bore 220 grain loaded cartridge, fired primer, and side of fired case (top)
Underwood 220 grain loaded cartridge, fired primer, and side of fired case (bottom)








Seems that the feed ramp, which necessarily intrudes into the chamber, results in inadequate chamber support for the cartridge in this pistol at this load's pressure level. No other heavy factory loads tried, both Buffalo Bore's or Underwood's, exhibited this condition on the fired cases.

The 220 grain cast lead truncated cone bullet clocked 1161 fps out of the Delta Elite's 5-inch barrel. A similar 220 grain cast lead load produced by Underwood produced a roughly similar velocity of 1128 fps with no hint of incipient case head failure.

The factory .45 1911 barrel possesses this same unsupported feed ramp design that leaves a bit of the cartridge case head "hanging out into space" so to speak, however the .45 ACP cartridge operates at much lower pressure than does the 10mm. A really hot .45 ACP handload will occasionally exhibit a bit of expansion, but not the deep "smileys" that is seen here with the 10mm. I thought it was Glock .40 models that were most adept at making "smilies" on their cartridge case heads.

Anyway, during a chronograph session, shooting of this load was halted upon seeing this condition exhibited. The photos don't do justice to the appearance of the cases. They appear extreme, as if one could fail at any moment if the load continued to be used. The pistol has been fine since with all other ammunition used in it. It just gets "indigestion" with this one load.


That is a big ol' Glock Wryfox and your wife is something!

A single Glock 17 lives here, but mostly so I can hate on it. I'm just not a fan of double-action-only triggers of any variation on the design and I think I am allergic to polymer as a firearms parts component. I feel about them in the same way I feel about quartz watches. I could argue for their suitability but don't enjoy owning or using one. They're great ... for someone else.

This photo was taken in Altmunster, Austria. A kind Austrian friend gave me the Glock sign and some Glock factory gimmes to bring back home. He's got connections in Glock and goes to their factory. He also has a vast collection of the "blue steel and walnut" good stuff.

 

As much as I like the 10mm, I no longer load for it. I use factory only. Partly because I'm lazier than I used to be, partly because I have enough ammo to last a while, and partly because of my experiences with loading 40S&W, which is just a shorter 10mm anyway. Two things...first I learned that its very easy to overload a 40. Just enough is just right, and a little too much is way too much. Its a high pressure cartridge to begin with and the pressure skyrockets if powder isn't managed just so and the bullet seating depth isn't just so. With lead bullets even worse because you've got to the make sure the mouth crimp is sufficient so the soft lead(compared to copper) doesn't slide the bullet back in the case on feeding. Hot lead loads in the Glock 22/24 earned it the name Kaboom Glock, particularly the 24 as it was the long barrel version for target shooting and factory IPSC. The barrels aren't made for shooting lead and the case is unsupported in the chamber. Holy cow what a combination. I used a model 35 for unlimited IPSC(don't do it its not suited for it), and changed the barrel so I could use hot lead loads, and it had a fully supported chamber. Still though every once in a while I'd get a blown primer from that damn firing pin striking so hard. Gave up on it eventually. It was really accurate though, 1" at 25yds with the best load.

Hey BTW, I'm sure you noticed the uber flattened primers before you had case bulging, right??? Hmmm?

The Deltas got a bad rep for bashing the frame(heck I've got a 38 super race gun thats beginning to show a small frame crack). It's automatic for me with a 1911 now to upgrade the springs. Colt stock 1911 recoil spring used to be 16lbs which was awful (but eminently reliable). I think Springfield uses 18lb but that may have changed. I usually used 22-24lb and that would just give me reliable ejection and feed in most cases. I've got a box of springs to experiment with each new 1911. If you haven't tried this, I would, as it will give you more cushion against damage. BTW, I've found the so-called recoil bushings that have been around awhile are a BAD idea. I used them for a couple years(three different kinds, even the Wilson Combat). They supposedly protect the frame. At best I never noticed them or their benefit, at worst they shed pieces when they wear and jam the gun. The correct spring is what you need, not a buffer.

 

Bingo. Well put.

 

I have no issues with the plastic wonder guns. I own several Glock's and HK's. My favorites are the baby Glocks & HK's. With a little work they can easily be made into very nice carry guns. These two are my favorites they both have trigger work done the G33 has a Laser Max guide rod which is very sweet. It took me a long time to warm up to the plastic wonders IMHO they are well worth owning. I prefer traditional type firearms but adding a few plastic wonders into ones collection of toys is always fun. If I had to go into harms way I would rather have an all steel pistol such as this 4566 or Sig229

 

357 sig is a sweetheart. I have a Glock 24 with a conversion barrel and it might just be the ideal cartridge. Dead reliable bottleneck design, high power, low recoil. If it wasn't so dang expensive...plus it's not something you find on the shelf at Walmart. It might have caught steam if the big and slow wave hadn't started up again.

 

Hey BTW, I'm sure you noticed the uber flattened primers before you had case bulging, right??? Hmmm?

Hah! Nope. When it was that particular load's turn to shoot over the chronograph screens, the condition of the primers was only noticed after I noticed that hideous bulge on the side of one of the five rounds fired that had hit my box lid and landed at my right elbow, right in front of my silly nose, so to speak.

I do like that Smith & Wesson Model 4566 and the that SIG 229 too.

The .357 SIG does look like a pretty keen round. Much like the .38 Super, it would appear to be everything the 9mm is cracked up to be, but isn't. The .357 SIG delivers truly fine handgun ballistic performance and is said to feed very well, giving the pistols a reliability reputation.


The only "new crop" pistol I've acquired more recently that has impressed is a CZ 75 BD and it's one I could come to love quite a lot. I poke fun at myself saying "new crop" for if it didn't burst forth from John M. Browning's fertile mind it's "newfangled" to me. Well, there are both a Smith & Wesson .40 Shield and a Kel Tec P3AT on hand. I've not really learned to love the Shield because of the trigger and the plastic. The P3AT was one of those "brother-in-law" deals, the less said the better for the quality of the pistol.

Just to banish the thought of that P3AT here's one that I'm more enthusiastic about. A Smith & Wesson Model of 1926 .44 Special and one of my special favorites. This one lettered to have shipped to Wolf & Klar in Fort Worth, Texas in 1931. Love the .44 Special cartridge!

 

one of my other handguns a M&P 40. I think I am going to trade/sell this one, it does not speak to me like my sig