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Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 6:53 pm
by North Country Gal
Love the PPC revolver, too. Not many around, now.
As for the Max, I would have kept my Contenders just so I could shoot the Max, but the ammo issue was too much to overcome. Enjoy the Ruger. Now very hard to find. By the way, there was a very rare silhouette version with a longer barrel offered for about a year.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:12 pm
by TheBackyardRange
BrokenolMarine wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:27 am
I am a HUGE wheel gun fan. I recently added a rare one to my collection. Only made for a few years, a Ruger Blackhawk 357 Maximum. Miss Tina isn't usually shy about shooting any of them, she decided she didn't want to shoot this one for some reason...
357 maximum boom comp.jpg
I actually enjoyed it. Thanks to the weight and grip design the recoil wasn't as bad as the recoil on my 357 magnum snubby, the scandium framed Smith and Wesson MP 340.
I call the 340 "The Beast" but it's still my summer weather EDC.
new smith and wesson round butt boot grips.jpg
The small cartridge in this pic is a 9mm for scale. I also recently picked up a 30 carbine version of the Blackhawk. Thanks to a fellow Henry Forum member I know where to find the scarce ammo. (Though it's not cheap!)
357 maximum.jpg
Another favorite in my wheelgun collection is my PPC revolver. Built for ONE task, putting 38 LSWC rounds in the x ring at 50 yards... don't compete any longer but it's not going anywhere. The gunsmith passed several years ago from cancer but not before being admitted into the
American Pistolsmith's Guild.
Keefer PPC 38.JPG
I have a couple (
) other wheelguns, and of course I carried semiautos on duty for a while. I love my 1911s as well, but I am a revolver fan.
That 357 max looks like a lot of fun. I was looking at the new X-frame 350 Legend the other day. Probably a pretty close representation.
Anyway, thought I’d share a pic of a 350gr 500 mag load running 2000fps out of my 8-3/8” X-frame. By far the most violent round I’ve ever fired.
177068F0-2408-4697-BBBD-AB09C1459D3A.jpeg
The concussion from it can only be described by comparing it to being hit in the nose. At about 25 ft, it stood my chronograph on two legs.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:30 pm
by BrokenolMarine
Travlin wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 6:41 pm
Excellent photos. I liked the PPC revolver. I had cop friends in the seventies that would buy a used S&W model 10 and make one of those out of it. As I remember they used full wadcutter ammo .
When we shot competition, nearly all used semi-wadcutter ammo to insure smooth, therefore faster speedloads on our strings. Some timed strings required three reloads. That translated to three chances to lose a lot of time, or breeze right through the speedload with good technique and lots of practice. The rounded nose of the semi-wadcutter helped guide the rounds into the cylinder chambers, yet the wadcutter shoulder still cut the clean easily scored holes in the targets.
One of my Sergeants decided to try PPC the first time, and I told him to bring 200 rounds of semi-wadcutter ammo, we'd supply everything else he needed. Of course being a Sergeant, he knew more than a seasoned competitor / department firearms instructor and bought 200 rounds of Match Wadcutter. I offered to trade him even...
He fumbled nearly every reload, trying to rush, and get the wadcutters to go in.
He was a good sport about it later watching the High Master Class Shooters all set up with semi-wadcutters for their matches.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:32 pm
by BrokenolMarine
Wow, that 500 mag is a light show. I'll pass, my arthritis thanks me.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 11:50 pm
by Travlin
The semiwadcutters makes a lot more sense. It has been many years so my memory is most likely not 100%. I know that they used speedloaders that were carried in a pouch on their gunbelt. Funny quick story that my good friend the cop told me.Three or four of them had to drive across the state , Florida, to a match. Of course the were speeding and got pulled over. The cop that pulled them over said " dm this the forth bunch of cops I have stopped that were going to the pistol match. Of course officer courtesy so no ticket.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 5:06 am
by TheBackyardRange
BrokenolMarine wrote: ↑Tue Sep 20, 2022 8:32 pm
Wow, that 500 mag is a light show. I'll pass, my arthritis thanks me.
At 2,500ft lbs, it’s a scary gun to shoot. At 3,100ft lbs, you’re just praying the gun holds together. It’s a rush for sure. The first time I lit one of those off, I was on the back patio. My son was filming from around the corner of the house from the side porch so there was a physical barrier between us. He was roughly 20ft behind me and 4ft higher in elevation filming down. After I fired the round off, he came inside the house and told my wife that he felt that in his bones
.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:46 am
by North Country Gal
I had two X revolvers, both in 460. That was enough for me. The recoil with 460 loads was actually tolerable. It was the severe concussion that got to me. After 6 shots, my face felt like it had a case of sunburn. The beauty of the 460, aside from its amazing ballistics, was that I could also shoot 454s and even 45 Colts and was still decently accurate with those, at least enough for practice.
My first 460, though, had to go back to Smith. Right out of the box, after firing, the cylinder would slip out of the cylinder notch/cylinder bolt. Have heard that was a common issue on X guns at the time. Not sure if that's been corrected by Smith, now.
Re: My Wheel Guns
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 12:36 pm
by TheBackyardRange
North Country Gal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 21, 2022 10:46 am
I had two X revolvers, both in 460. That was enough for me. The recoil with 460 loads was actually tolerable. It was the severe concussion that got to me. After 6 shots, my face felt like it had a case of sunburn. The beauty of the 460, aside from its amazing ballistics, was that I could also shoot 454s and even 45 Colts and was still decently accurate with those, at least enough for practice.
My first 460, though, had to go back to Smith. Right out of the box, after firing, the cylinder would slip out of the cylinder notch/cylinder bolt. Have heard that was a common issue on X guns at the time. Not sure if that's been corrected by Smith, now.
I had not had that cylinder issue. I am very diligent on checking lockup and timing on these. It only takes 1 shot fired slightly out of time to ruin your day. I have had two 500's and the one 460. I sold off my 4" 500. I did not see a point in it. 8-3/8" is much more controllable.
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