Brasser Durability

[nick_1]

broke out the Bison yesterday. its been loaded without firing for two 1/2 weeks. I did have one missfire on the 2nd shot but that cylinder fired and scored a hit when I re capped it. despite the massive cylinder to cone gap

I could not miss. notice how that gap seems wider at the top than bottom. first shot was 5x6" steel at 27yrds hit, second shot cap fired , no ignition. 3rd shot hit on 29yrd 5" steel

shot 3 hit on 40yrd 6" plate then a jog through the woods to my 25yrd 5" plate through the trees at an angle. shot 4 was a hit. shot 5 was a miss on a wildly swinging plate. i recapped the one missfired cylinder and shot six was a hit on the 25yrd 5" plate that had calmed down a bit with the swinging. so yes this rig shoots really well but its also really loose. I need to heavily grease the cylinder pin after every cylinder otherwise I need a mallet to loosen the pin. this is what the reciever looks like.

probably about 1k rnds or possibly 1500? 25g T7 3f .454 RB

 

[M. De Land]

broke out the Bison yesterday. its been loaded without firing for two 1/2 weeks. I did have one missfire on the 2nd shot but that cylinder fired and scored a hit when I re capped it. despite the massive cylinder to cone gapView attachment 270412
I could not miss. notice how that gap seems wider at the top than bottom. first shot was 5x6" steel at 27yrds hit, second shot cap fired , no ignition. 3rd shot hit on 29yrd 5" steel
View attachment 270413
shot 3 hit on 40yrd 6" plate then a jog through the woods to my 25yrd 5" plate through the trees at an angle. shot 4 was a hit. shot 5 was a miss on a wildly swinging plate. i recapped the one missfired cylinder and shot six was a hit on the 25yrd 5" plate that had calmed down a bit with the swinging. so yes this rig shoots really well but its also really loose. I need to heavily grease the cylinder pin after every cylinder otherwise I need a mallet to loosen the pin. this is what the reciever looks like. View attachment 270416
probably about 1k rnds or possibly 1500? 25g T7 3f .454 RB

If it were mine I would cut out a counter bore where the ratchet has imprinted into the recoil shield about .050 deep and sweat in a disk of hardened O-1 or A-2 tool steel to bring it back to original spec .
That will close the barrel cylinder gap and probably wear as well as a steel frame gun.

 

[smokeum54]

If you're jogging thru the woods and hittin 6 inch steel at 40yds id keep shooting her till she fell apart. Then get a steel version, preferably stainless, cuz there pretty . Just my opinion.

 

[nick_1]

I have an 8" steel 58 . its in the shop getting a trigger job. it had too much creep. the 12" brasser came with a pretty nice trigger.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Uneven gap is an indication your top strap is stretching. 25gr of T7 would be over my considered maximum and surely not a 'daily work load' on a .44 brasser. The damage may have already been done.

 

[nick_1]

25g doesn't seem to be All that aggressive in a 44

 

[M. De Land]

Uneven gap is an indication your top strap is stretching. 25gr of T7 would be over my considered maximum and surely not a 'daily work load' on a .44 brasser. The damage may have already been done Not really,I've seem a gpp

Uneven gap is an indication your top strap is stretching. 25gr of T7 would be over my considered maximum and surely not a 'daily work load' on a .44 brasser. The damage may have already been done.

I don't think it a sure indicator of top strap stretch which I have my doubts about happening.
I've seen a good many closed frame steel guns that had the barrel hole bored out of square with the frame and the gap wasn't even around the clock from the factory. I've seen them tighter at the top bottom and either side brand new or having been fired very little. Also if you look at the recoil shield you will notice the imprint is deeper at 12 O'clock than 6 o'clock which most likely is from being out of square with the ratchet face to begin with or from the recoil impulse directly behind the firing chamber.
Also note how the base pin hole is peened at the top side from the cylinder pin hole. My guess is the cylinder /base pin fit was sloppy and allowed it to cant down angle at the rear upon firing . The ratchet imprint alone in the recoil shield looks like it could account for a good .010 barrel/cylinder gap at the top .

 

[CaptainKirk]

25g doesn't seem to be All that aggressive in a 44

It's a brasser. A steady diet of 25+ will imprint the recoil shield more than it already is and open that gap up even wider.
They can be loads of fun and shiny to boot if they don't get overloaded. 18-20 grains is probably a more accurate target load anyway, in my experience. Enjoy it...you have a nice piece there!

 

[CaptainKirk]

I don't think it a sure indicator of top strap stretch which I have my doubts about happening.
I've seen a good many closed frame steel guns that had the barrel hole bored out of square with the frame and the gap wasn't even around the clock from the factory. I've seen them tighter at the top bottom and either side brand new or having been fired very little. Also if you look at the recoil shield you will notice the imprint is deeper at 12 O'clock than 6 o'clock which most likely is from being out of square with the ratchet face to begin with or from the recoil impulse directly behind the firing chamber.
Also note how the base pin hole is peened at the top side from the cylinder pin hole. My guess is the cylinder /base pin fit was sloppy and allowed it to cant down angle at the rear upon firing . The ratchet imprint alone in the recoil shield looks like it could account for a good .010 barrel/cylinder gap at the top .

You may have your doubts, but I've seen it happen on the NMA brassers more than once. I've also seen plenty of the Colt repro brassers shoot the arbor loose by stretching the brass threads in the recoil shield. If it were me, I'd be watching the auction sites for a steel frame and shoot with impunity.

 

[M. De Land]

You may have your doubts, but I've seen it happen on the NMA brassers more than once. I've also seen plenty of the Colt repro brassers shoot the arbor loose by stretching the brass threads in the recoil shield. If it were me, I'd be watching the auction sites for a steel frame and shoot with impunity.

Ratchet Imprint and loose arbor threads are obvious, top strap stretch without measurement is speculative !

 

[CaptainKirk]

Ratchet Imprint and loose arbor threads are obvious, top strap stretch without measurement is speculative !

What is not speculative is the fact that the end shake gap is uneven. Either the face of the forcing cone is not straight or the cylinder is sitting cocked in the frame, whether it be from improperly align-bored frame or a stretched top strap. Either way the fix is the same.

 

[nick_1]

I didn't buy it for target. Bought it because long barrel gives higher velocity with out heavy loads. 25g is not a heavy load. Morale of the story is brassers suck. Pretty babbles that don't hold up.