I'll be checking in here. I'm not a gun nut, I just wound up with a lot of inherited guns.....19 to be exact. Not interested in selling any right now, though they would bring thoousands of dollars at today's prices. My stag-handled 1887 Colt .44-40 with a hand-tooled leather quick-draw holster is the one I cherish the most.

Cast and load for almost all of 'em too Hope you guys don't mind another playmate here.

41mag is one of my favorite cartridges! I'm a huge fan of big bore revolvers, specifically single actions, but also own a variety of other equipment including a sizable collection of title 2 firearms. I load for every caliber that I shoot, and cast bullets for almost every handgun (and a few rifles) cartridge that I shoot. My current collection is in excess of 250 guns ranging from .22LR to 50BMG.

I'm new to the site, so I am just kinda looking around right now to see what it is all about here.

I am a machinist/gunsmith/firearms instructor, so I guess you could say that I am a bit more than a casual collector or hunter/shooter. I will be checking in to see how this forum shapes up.

JW

I'm with you on the .41, excellent shooter, accurate and fun to shoot. Mine is a S&W mod 57 no dash sweetie. I have a small modest collection, but have owned hundreds of firearms over the years. I wish I could call myself a machinist, but although I have a mill, lathe and surface grinder (1942 date with original flat belt drive), I am but a lowly knife maker so rarely do I use them to their full potential. The only drawback to .41's is the lack of good mold designs.

Check out LBT molds if you haven't already. Veral Smith, the owner and mold maker, makes some truly great molds and some very effective bullets designs. One of my favorites from him is his ogival wadcutter bullet. I shoot these in .41, .44, and .45 and have had excellent results with them on everything from paper plates to elk, although the .41 OWC bullet is a little light for heavier game. It is a 200grn bullet standard, but he will make the mold to you specs within what is feasible for the caliber.

LBT's wide flat nose series mold is my favorite for most hunting applications. I use the 250grn .41WFN for anything heavier than deer, and have even taken one black bear with it. I can tell you from first hand experience that his bullet designs work well and deliver reliable clean, humane kills on even the largest animals when caliber and load are are properly selected. Shot placement is of course paramount as well.

I cast with either wheel weight or hardball alloy from Rotometals. All bullets are water dropped for a BHN of between 18 and 22. These bullets do not expand at all, and with impact speeds in the neighborhood of 1,000fps will knock a 3/4" hole end to end, all the way through pretty much any animal on North America with the larger calibers (.41 and up).

Most of my revolvers are custom built single actions (mostly Rugers) with a few Freedom Arms and Magnum Research BFRs thrown into the mix as well. The largest caliber that I shoot is a 500 Linebaugh, and it is really my favorite general use gun. All of my revolvers are what I would call packin guns, meaning that they have relatively short barrels. I do own one 6 inch Freedom Arms in .454 Casull, but all others are five and a half or shorter.

Check out LBT if you are not familiar with their molds.

http://lbtmoulds.com/moulds.shtml

JW

man a 500L, makes my palms sweat just thinkin about one... Always liked 5.5 bbl length, best of both worlds

didn't think of it before, but check out Beartooth Bullets. Custom cast bullets, many of which are cast from LBT molds. This will allow you to give the LBT designs a try before buying a mold. I typically use Beartooth bullets for load developement prior to ordering a mold from LBT.

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/

JW

I'm a collector of antique guns my collection currently numbers over 60, mostly pre-1898 military rifles (Springfields, Sharps) even a Winchester 1894, a few black powder cartridge shotguns, some replicas, a dozen or so revolvers and a few modern long arms.

I support the 2nd Amendment and despise the NRA.

of the NRA, I do like them for their safety programs and one issue only support of the 2nd. Hey I like your Willie avatar! The Outlaws was the best album ever. So put another log on the fire....

...I've got a C&R license also but nothing that old, a few Mosin Nagants, a few Mausers, a Swiss K-31, my oldest is a 1905 Mannlicher Steyr M1895, have shot it a few times but hard to find the ammo (I have a few boxes of 1938 Nazi made ammo for it!) but the straight bolt (pulls straight back to load) scares me on a rifle that old. Not so much on the K31 which is also a straight pull since it's about 30 years newer and better maintained it appears.

where does one cross from principled to militant advocacy?

Where the politics and policy discussions of firearm ownership is cussed and discussed!

Oneshooter
Armed and Livin in Texas