Custom 1858 reproduction converted to fire .44 Colt

.44 Colt ain’t what it used to be. No, really; originally designed for cap-and-ball revolvers converted to fire metallic cartridges, it had straight-wall chambers and used heel-base .451″ diameter bullets.  Modern .44 Colt (basically invented by Italian gun companies) has a .429″ bore and is basically a slightly shortened .44 Special with a smaller rim.

I’ve done conversions in .44 Colt before, and since cap-and-ball .44s are actually .45s, I swaged my own heel-base bullets. These work pretty well, and with a couple of extra steps in the reloading process they were only a bit of a pain in the butt. Enough of one that I started to wonder if there might not be another way…

Delving into history-  Heel-base bullets are the same diameter as the outside of the cartridge case, with a section of reduced diameter at the rear to fit inside the case,  like a .22 Long Rifle cartridge. On firing pressure caused the soft lead base to expand to bore diameter… or nearly enough. But in the days of black powder lubricated bullets were vital, and to insure they worked properly the lubricant had to be on the part of the bullet that was outside the case.

Modern Heel-Base .44 Colt. Note the band of lubricant just above the casing.

This is problematic because the lube can pick up dust and grit, and under the right conditions even melt.  44 Colt waned in popularity as cartridge conversion and open-top revolvers were gradually phased out, but two other heel-base Colt cartridges lasted well the early 20th Century- .38 Colt and .41 Colt. These two cartridges, however, lost their heel-base bullets in favor of smaller-than-bore-diameter hollow-base bullets that fit inside the cartridge and would (hopefully) expand to engage the rifling when fired. This was desirable because then the band of lubricant was protected inside the case, as with other modern rounds. These more or less worked, but were never an ideal solution.

Coming back to the present I wondered if a .429 Hollow-Base Wad Cutter, cast in soft lead, might be the answer to simplifying my reloading. I could reload them like conventional bullets and it would all be good. I decided to give it a try– only to discover that no one seems to sell .429 HBWCs commercially. Perhaps I could eventually track down a specialty manufacturer that makes them, but that would inevitably come at a specialty price. Or I could swage my own…

Turning to the lathe I made a punch to create the hollow base, then I bored a .430″ hole in a block of mild steel to form a die- not entirely through, but deep enough to leave a hole approximately .320″in the bottom so I could punch the bullets out of the die.

The punch, die and the punch used to drive the bullet out of the die after swaging, with two cartridges loaded with the resulting HBWC bullets.

Some time ago I picked up a small bag of 225gr wadcutters from the reloading odds-and-ends shelves at Pintos, and these seemed a good candidate for the process. Very shortly I was producing quite credible 225gr HBWCs.

These are a fair bit longer than the original bullets, so I decided to load them with a portion of the bullet outside the casing like a more conventional bullet. Of course there is no loading data for this bullet, but after some research I decided 5.0gr. of Unique with a CCI300 primer would be a reasonable place to start. I loaded up a box of ammo and headed to the range to test them.

First target shot with the hollow-base wadcutters.  The lowest impact appears to have been yawing when it hit the paper, but it did not key-hole.

The actually seem to work pretty well. Out of the box I fired three yawed and one key-holed (hit the target sideways.)  I reckon that’s not too bad for a first attempt.

Three bullets passed through the uppermost hole, and one quite plainly hit sideways (at the bottom of the hole)

The final target of the day I knuckled down and tried for accuracy, and was rewarded two hits in the 7-ring and one int the 6-ring… and yes, two in the 4-ring. nobody’s perfect, right?

Clearly accuracy of the bullets isn’t an issue; though mine could justly be called into question. At this point I’d call these bullets a qualified success. As far as the load goes it is quite light- maybe too light. I’m going to work up a little bit and see if that increases rifling engagement enough to get rid of the occasional yawing issues.

This is also the first time I’ve fired this gun on the range; that’s not really what this post is about, so I’ll just briefly say there were some minor issues, but nothing that isn’t easily fixed. It also shoots rather high, so I may replace the front sight. I might not too; hits are well centered when I do my part, and that’s all to the good.

Thanks to liberalgunowners.org for the targets!

Michael Tinker Pearce, 6 November 2018

Detonics Mk.1 Combat master .45, likely made in the early 1980’s.

I’ve been needing a holster for the Detonics Combat Master ever since Linda got it for me last June. Over the summer I used a pocket-holster, and that was fine, but now that the weather is cooling something less discrete would likely serve me better.

I’ve been making my own holsters since the 1980s (I’m a cheap bastard,) and eventually I got around to making one for this gun. Nothing fancy, just a simple OWB with a thumb snap for retention.

I like it pretty well; carries the gun high, nice and secure and disengaging the thumb-snap leaves my thumb ideally positioned to sweep the safety off. The leather is well away from the trigger-guard so I can get a proper grip when drawing.  The problem is it’s less discreet than I was wanting; the shape does not hold the butt of the gun in tight enough. Sure, it will work OK under a winter coat, but I really wanted something lower-profile. Something that might be hidden under a bulky sweater or lighter jacket.

I was talking it over with my buddy Pat and he said he had just the thing- it was even made for a Detonics.  I could try it out if I liked. Why not?

The holster in question is an OWB pancake holster made by K Rounds of Tukwilla, WA. In a fit of creativity they named it the OWB Pancake Holster.  It’s Kydex, very nicely molded to the firearm and curved to match the contour of the waist.

Nicely shaped with a slight forward cant. There is an adjustable tension screw just ahead of the trigger guard that allows you to adjust how firmly it grips the gun. The sweat-guard completely covers the hammer and safety.

Ask me how I know it was made for a Detonics. Go on, ask me.

the curve holds the gun quite close to the body, and the kydex belt loops are very stout.

I didn’t need to adjust the tension screw; the gun was held quite securely, but remained easy to draw. Attempting to shake the (unloaded) gun loose required more force than one would be likely to encounter.  Being kydex the holster weighs basically nothing. Worn at the 4-o’clock position the gun was kept tight to the body. The gun was adequately concealed under a light jacket, and quite easy to access and draw. Overall it was very comfortable, but…

That sweat-guard. It isn’t my favorite. It would occasionally poke me when sitting or driving, and it was a bit in the way of my thumb when drawing the gun.  Understand, I’m picking nits here; it pokes me because I’m fat, and the thumb thing is a problem because I’m a dinosaur who insists on using a 1911-pattern gun. This would not be an issue for more modern guns like a S&W Shield or Glock. Anyway, I’ve been living with the holster for most of a week, and while I am not a big fan of kydex I would not be unhappy to keep right on living with it.

These holsters are available for right or left-handed people, and you can select the amount of cant etc. when ordering. They offer this holster for a lot of different handguns, and for $64.99 I think you could do a lot worse; this is a solid, quality product that delivers the goods. I would recommend it. You can find it here: K Rounds OWB Pancake.

So, is my search for a holster at an end? Nope- as good as the K Rounder is I’ll be making another holster soon. I really do prefer leather over kydex.  I also like the security of a thumb-snap; in the real-world I’m not sure it’s better than a kydex tension holster, but I feel better with one. Especially on a short gun worn high on the belt. Besides, making holsters keeps me from getting in worse trouble…

Thanks to Pat Hillyer for the loan of the holster!

Michael Tinker Pearce,  1 November 2018

The first range trip for the Taurus is finished, and I have to say it went well. I took several loads ranging from mild to +P.  The loads used were:

125gr TCL over 5Gr. of Unique with a CCI500 primer (mild load) These were very  low recoil and easy to shoot.

125gr JHP over 5.3gr. Unique with a CCI500 primer (Maximum SAAMI load) Comfortable to shoot.

146gr HJSWCHP over 4.5gr. of Unique with Federal SPP (No data- may be +P) I’ve liked Speer’s Half-Jacketed Semi-Wadcutter Hollow Point since the ’80s in .357 Magnum loads. Had a few of them lying around so I thought I’d try them. Surprisingly comfortable to shoot.

158gr. LSWC over 4.5gr. Unique with federal SPP (+P load) These loads produced conspicuously more recoil than any of the others. It wasn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t want to shoot more than a few cylinders of them.

160gr. HJSWC over 4.0gr. Unique with Federal SPP   Comfortable to shoot.

At seven yards all loads shot More or less to PoA using a six-o’clock hold. As you’d expect the +P loads had markedly more recoil, but were still manageable. I shot mostly at 7 yards; this is the distance I use most for defensive shooting training, and I am well acquainted with what I can do with a short-barrel revolver at this range. All shooting was done double-action. While it is possible to cock this gun and fire single-action I don’t recommend it and don’t intend to do it. Here are the relevant results-

From left to right- all targets fired at 7 yards. The first target was two cylinders, five shots in five seconds each.  The middle target (after about twenty-five more rounds) is two cylinders rapid-fired. The final target was the last fired for the day and was rapid-fire.

Despite the unconventional grip it wasn’t hard to shoot this gun. As you may have seen in the video in my previous post about this gun the ergonomics of the handle force me into a very high grip, which aids a great deal in control. It didn’t take me long to get dialed in with this gun, and I have no doubt I’ll improve with practice.

I did try the 146gr. Speer bullets at 25 yards, and we will draw the curtains of charity over the results. The shots were mostly on the paper, but that’s about the best that can be said. I expect that too will improve with practice. I’m happy with the results so far; enough so that I feel comfortable carrying his piece for self-defense.

That being the case I made my typical pocket-holster- a simple piece of leather folded over rough-out, glued and riveted together and finished with Carnuaba wax. Ugly but functional.

So far this little experiment seems to be working out nicely. I’ll be pocket-carrying this piece, practicing deploying it etc. and see how it works out. It’s possible that it will be necessary- or at least desirable- to tweak this design a bit here or there. I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Halloween!

Michael Tinker Pearce, 31 October 2018

P.S.- This thing needs a name. Linda has already expressed her intent to beat me with it if I name it Mini-Taur, so that’s out…