Updated: Sep 5
by Ed Harris
Date of manufacture 1906. Colt factory letter has been requested. Wish it could talk.
Barrel groove diameter slugs .427
Cylinder throats .4285
Chamber necks .449"
Cylinder gap pass 0.012"/hold 0.013"
Range report, pics self-explanatory. I did some touch-up using Birchwood Casey Aluminum black on 000 steel wool. The color took nicely and blends in well with the original patina. Purists may whine, but I think once it has weathered a bit, it will look "right." Sights on the money. These 25-yard sandbagged groups show promise. #42798 bullets which came with the gun, sized .427 with old Ideal black lube and 6.5 grains of 452AA shot well, as did my new Accurate 43-206H cast 1 to 30 tin-lead, loaded as-cast and unsized, tumbled in LLA. Rounds were profiled in the Redding Profile Crimp which sizes bullets to .429" by compression inside the case, applying a moderate roll crimp similar to that on factory rounds.
Think I'll leave both the gun and the load alone.