David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. LXVIII (part 3) M-29 8-3/8"

[Lee Martin]

M-29 .44 Mag with factory "Magna" rosewood grips and Patridge sight, as it was as shot in the struggle to create a category for revolvers in silhouette separate from single shot pistols firing rifle-type cartridges.



Blue M-29 8-3/8" campaigned against single shots in production at IHMSA 1978 Internationals, an extreme uphill battle under a hard full value (9-to-3 o'clock wind) which tore across the range without letup. Load and sight data recorded on S&W wood box immediately after firing. The 80 round match was shot over two days, against the wind. As noted, 30x40 fell to the .44 on this day. During heavy gusts, wind drift for revolvers reached 7-feet on rams at 200 meters, causing many competitors to hit targets out of sequence.

David finished rams with 18-clicks left windage----with an additional one-foot hold into the wind. The pig @ 100 meters represents the windage roadmap, as it presents a far enough to get a read on wind drift, and thus to calculate downrange multiplier.



During one three month stretch, this blue 8-3/8" M-29 consumed 3,300 rounds of .44 Magnum, mostly Sierra 240 JHC seated over IMR 4227 and H4227, with a smattering of 296/H110, Winchester brass with CCI 350 primers. Not a single malfunction or glitch before, during, since. Sometime after this one-time round-count, David took the revolver to Smith & Wesson. S&W service department guru Al Plaas replaced the cylinder stop and a couple other parts. Plaas also pulled the barrel, turned the shoulder and faced the barrel to eliminate forcing cone (barrel face) erosion. During refit, Plaas eliminated cylinder and yoke endshake and cylinder sideplay. Chamber-to-bore offset measures .001 to .003", with average .002-inch.



Outer gray ring indicates barrel face erosion, commonly referred to as forcing cone erosion. inner gray ring indicates actual cone erosion, a mild etching. Recent photos, well after Al Plaas set back the barrel. Note rear surface of ejector shroud, the portion of the barrel that controls yoke endshake.



Yoke, the part which the cylinder spins on and which swings out to load and unload. Note shiny contact patch where yoke bears against barrel shroud. The yoke controls cylinder endshake. The yoke barrel may be stretched to eliminate cylinder endshake. (Colt and Ruger call this part the crane.)



When barrel is set back, ejector rod is shortened, to not bind against spring-loaded locking bolt in shroud. Knurled end is beveled to slide over bolt as cylinder is closed. Inside of rod is lightly chamfered to insure rod centers on bolt. Chamfer also prevents bind with center pin, as front end of center pin tends to peen.

(When thumbpiece is pressed to unlock cylinder, center pin should extend slightly past ejector rod. If center pin is shorter than ejector rod, ejector rod will hang up on locking bolt. Note: a loose ejector rod will also bind against locking bolt. S&W ejector rod has left-hand thread, tightens counter-clockwise.)



Forward sideplate screw keeps yoke from falling out when cylinder is open. To start screw, turn screw counter-clockwise until you feel a light click. Only then turn clockwise to tighten.



At the time S&W's Al Plaas set back the barrel to eliminate forcing cone erosion, he set the barrel/cylinder gap at .004-inch, where it remains to this day. No endshake, no sideplay, correct timing, perfect reliability.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[bradshaw]

One of our great match directors, Ron Ricci, organized the WILD TURKEY SHOOT. It was not a standard IHMSA match. Wild Turkey sponsored the trophies, along with a night of ribaldry in an airport bar. Shooting----without sauce----was held at Camp Curtis Guild National Guard Range in Reading, Massachusetts. As I recall, only Production guns were allowed. Production meant a factory handgun, pistol or revolver, barrel length 10-3/4" or shorter, with 4-pound weight limit. No non-factory parts, except for standard aftermarket stocks, such as Pachmayr. Trigger job with factory parts only. Whether the Wild Turkey Shoot took place before or after the first International Revolver Championship----part of the 1980 Internationals----I do not remember. Separation of revolver from single shot split Production into two categories----Production and Revolver. Basic rules were the same. (An auto pistol fell under Production, to compete against the single shot. To be loaded with five rounds and fired as a repeater.)

One raucous event pitched two-person teams shooting sudden death in head-to-head competition----offhand----against 10 turkeys @ 200 yards. A wiry little Scottsman, name of Walter Roger, and this shooter teamed up, each bringing a blue M-29 .44 Magnum 8-3/8-inch to the line. In a prior ilife the contrary half-pint might have been a sheep herding flyweight boxer. he was built like a jockey. Walter viewed the world through the eyes of a raptor. He naturally factored in the contest to set the 40x40 revolver record. A young shooter today should know there was a time no one was certain that a perfect score could be fired with a revolver.

Since the shooting wouldn't stop until one team toppled all ten turkeys, shooters could reload. No speed loaders, no loading from belt or wrist loops. loose rounds were laid on the ground. Don't recall the number of rounds allowed, fewer certainly than a movie star would need. An automatic could be loaded with five rounds, with the same mag to be recharged from loose ammo on the mat. The Model 29 and Super Blackhawk were ubiquitous, with a smattering of S&W, DWA, and Pyhton .357 Mags. I think one M-57 .41 Mag 8-3/8" came to the line.

Walter worked the string of turkeys from one side while this shooter started at the other. Each CLANG whittling toward the middle. Each shooter intent dropping the most. The long blue Smith & Wessons of the Scottsman and his Yankee teammate prevailed, with the revolver of shown in this report edging the Scottsman's sixgun by a bullet. My memory of the trophies is dim, but I believe they were of a 101 proof liquid nature.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

highplains and matt56.....

Four points to make on the M-29 8-3/8”, which Part 3 illustrates

1) Ejector rod bevel
When Smith & Wesson set back the barrel on this revolver, S&W guru Al Plaas shortened the EJECTOR ROD to clear the spring-loaded LOCKING BOLT in the ejector housing under the barrel. Plaas beveled the knurled end of the ejector rod, and chamfered the inside.

2) Elevation
Notes on gunbox count elevation adjustments for 240 grain bullets at 1,309 fps. Counts are total from bottom detent, and represent the Sierra 240 JHC @ 1,309 fps.
Yardage
* chicken 55 yards----0 clicks ( total 0 clicks).
* pig 110 yards----add 5 clicks (total 5 clicks).
* turkey 165 yards----add 8 clicks (total 13 clicks).
* ram 220 yards----add 6 clicks (total 19 clicks).

Total from 50 meters to 200 meters=19 clicks. Adjustments vary some between bullets. Oil adjustment screws and count clicks from BOTTOM DETENT. Do not squish elevation screw tighter than bottom detent and only count detents. Notes from tournament indicate my 8-3/8 with Patridge sights and the Sierra 240 JHC (Jacketed Hollow Cavity) start at 4 clicks for chicken, end on 23-clicks for ram. Elevation adjustments are counted as total clicks from bottom detent.

Slower bullets and heavier bullets will drop more, often much more.

3) Windage
Notes from the firing line at the 1978 Internationals show the full value 30+ mph wind drifting the equal of bullet trajectory. The difference it this: while drop remains nearly constance, drift varies dramatically with wind speed. Thus, I shot wind which threw the bullet sideways more than it dropped. This is seen two ways: 1) spotting scope close to BORE AXIS on SUN SIDE of BULLET, and 2) Point of Impact (POI) observation.

4) A Sierra 240 JHC starting @ 1.309 fps hits ram (200m) @ 970 fps. The bullet goes transonic (subsonic) somewhere between pig and turkey. Accuracy retention remains tight. It is conjecture to assume accuracy falls off as the bullet drops from supersonic to subsonic (transonic). Likewise, it is conjecture to assume accuracy falls off because the bullet lacks perfect dynamic balance. Great handgun bullet are great; Great shots find out fast when a bullet is not great. All we can do is try to hold on to a great bullet.
David Bradshaw

[highplains]

DB,

What a great gesture on your part to share this information. Not too many people out there that would take the time to do this. You sir,are first class . Thanks again. Jim

[bradshaw]

Dec 16, 2018 15:44:55 GMT -5 highplains said:

DB,

What a great gesture on your part to share this information. Not too many people out there that would take the time to do this. You sir,are first class . Thanks again. Jim

*****

Jim.... beaucoup thanks. The job of marksmanship is to perform. The job of a marksman or markswoman is to propagate the skill.
David Bradshaw