When someone loads up .45LC loads using a 250 grain Hornady over 26 grains of H110 (My standard hunting load) in an open top and fires off 500 rounds I will become a believer.
A Ruger Blackhawk can and does.
Same bug as MDL !!
The argument is over equal design strength not wither or not plus P loads can be safely fired in open frame guns. Magnum pressure over a 500 round count will prove the claim true or false. No one is booing the experiments with plus P loads. It was simply pointed out that none of the cartridge cylinder makers recommend nor advise shooting plus P loads in their cylinders that I am aware of and that they are not afraid of the cylinder integrity .
The next logical step is to press on into magnum territory and see if open frame design can prevail. That's what was done with the plus P experiments.
Actually, the "argument" is the fact that even among top strap revolvers there isn't "equality"!! MDL and FC seem to think that 30,000 psi is THE acceptable "proof" that the Open-top design can "equal" and even "best" the top strap design.
For those of you that don't know by now, the Colt SAA (smokeless era), the New Frontier, orig. Great Western Arms Frontier, Pietta, Great Western 2, Taurus Gaucho and other "like" guns can't handle 30,000 psi ammo. What they all have in common is the fact that they are of the TOP STRAP design.
Now here's where it gets tricky so read slowly . . . this same list of revolvers can't handle 23,000 psi ! That means they aren't safe to shoot with ammo that produces that much pressure. This particular information comes from Mr. Brian Pearce (not me) in an article about 45C +p ammo and what you can safely shoot it in.
Ok, brace yourself - the Dragoon open top platform can handle 45C+p ammo (when correctly setup). The Dragoon is (as already mentioned) an open-top design ( NOT an "open frame" like MDL keeps calling it. It is in fact a completely ENCLOSED platform. "Open frame" sounds like somethings missing . . .).
Getting to the above situation was a progression from me testing the 1860 Army platform using 45acp ammo which I was the first to setup and shoot at a range for Mr. Kirst. We had discussed certain parameters and that led me into the 45acp +p arena to test the limits of my setup of the open-top platform. Needless to say, the first range trip to use the +p's resulted in the problem with my Pietta Frontier (already mentioned in a post above). Of course the '60 has run perfectly for 2000+ rounds.
Notice that my Pietta Frontier is in the above listed revolvers that can't handle the 45C +p (23Kpsi same as 45acp +p) which means my '60 Army can handle ammo that those listed top strap revolvers can't. That in and of itself is all that is needed to justify the claim that the open top platform can handle loads that many top strap revolvers cannot.
Please note again, magnum nor 30,000 psi was never mentioned until certain folks needed that to be the "proof they need". Who knows, the Dragoon platform may get there !! We'll see . . .
Mike
