A BIG caliber Single-Six Conversion, it works.
Jan 29, 2019 15:23:04 GMT -5
Doc Barranti, fltbed, and 8 more like this
Post by waterboy on Jan 29, 2019 15:23:04 GMT -5
I was a little skeptical as a good bud had already commissioned one in 10mm Auto caliber. He was really excited about it, I was a doubting Thomas. I had a very sweet .32 SSM with stock barrel that demanded .312" bullets. Itself not bad but all my others can shoot .309" fine. Bored with it, I laid it up for an easy larger caliber conversion. I go to an event with Gary Reeder every year, he's more than willing, and you don't typically have to wait "years", so I dropped it off with him. He's done 9X19 Luger, .38 Super, of course .32-20, .25-20, up to 10mm Auto etc. etc. The .38 Super was very intriguing as it has a little rim and it's small enough to easily fit through the loading gate. The .40 S&W and 10mm are rimless, headspacing on the case, but afford about the max for an easy loading gate transition. I figured the .40 S&W would be better as folks often give me big bags of brass. No one ever gave me a bag of 10mm! LOL If I wanted 10mm performance what would stop me from seating the bullet OAL to 10mm length and pretend it was a 10mm Auto? That was my plan.
The finished product is very pleasing. It is an all steel Bisley version with 6" barrel and my preference of sighting for poor bi-focaled eyes in the woods. Grips are old SamBar stag. I loaded up a good .40 S&W load using a 155 gr. XTP which ran right at 1335 fps. A OAL 10mm version with a 180 gr. JHP ran 1265 fps easily. Recoil was lively but not a concern, maybe between a .357 and .41 Mag, closer to a .357. More pushy than jarring. Not a surprise when it was found to weigh 39 oz. I would have guessed, and lost a bet, figuring 2 lbs. even. I'm grateful there are custom wheelgun providers willing to engineer and test the waters for innovative ideas. Ditto my friend bold enough to finance it too. It would not surprise me if Ruger took notice and made some move in this direction. The .38 Super still is a neat alternative, to even the .38 Special, with it's small rim. I still stand behind my unlikely choice of .40 S&W for economy and .38-40 WCF performance in a small trail gun package. The cylinder thickness at the chamber wall is about 0.050" which is more than adequate, I feel. It's plenty big enough to tackle deer within range where I can hit the vitals. It's perfect for me!![]()
The finished product is very pleasing. It is an all steel Bisley version with 6" barrel and my preference of sighting for poor bi-focaled eyes in the woods. Grips are old SamBar stag. I loaded up a good .40 S&W load using a 155 gr. XTP which ran right at 1335 fps. A OAL 10mm version with a 180 gr. JHP ran 1265 fps easily. Recoil was lively but not a concern, maybe between a .357 and .41 Mag, closer to a .357. More pushy than jarring. Not a surprise when it was found to weigh 39 oz. I would have guessed, and lost a bet, figuring 2 lbs. even. I'm grateful there are custom wheelgun providers willing to engineer and test the waters for innovative ideas. Ditto my friend bold enough to finance it too. It would not surprise me if Ruger took notice and made some move in this direction. The .38 Super still is a neat alternative, to even the .38 Special, with it's small rim. I still stand behind my unlikely choice of .40 S&W for economy and .38-40 WCF performance in a small trail gun package. The cylinder thickness at the chamber wall is about 0.050" which is more than adequate, I feel. It's plenty big enough to tackle deer within range where I can hit the vitals. It's perfect for me!
