Old guns can be a challenge to shoot when ammunition is no longer available but let me show you how I make new ammo for an old gun.
This is a First Model Smith & Wesson #3 American. Approximately 8,000 of these guns were produced, with most of them chambered in 44 Smith & Wesson American. This was the first big-bore cartridge revolver and was the first cartridge revolver purchased by the US Army. It's a single action, which means the hammer must be cocked for each shot.
The top break design has a hinge at the front. When the latch is released, the barrel tilts down positioning the cylinder for loading and unloading. Opening the gun also activates the extractor, a new patented feature.
Original 44 Smith & Wesson American cartridges were loaded with 25 grains of black powder and a 218-grain lead bullet. The bullet is of a heeled design and outside lubricated with only the heel portion inside the case. The most commonly encountered heeled bullet found today is the 22 long rifle. The 44 Smith & Wesson American was one of the earliest American centerfire cartridges and the forerunner of the 44 Smith & Wesson Russian.
Since components for the 44 American are long obsolete, I'll have to make the brass from another cartridge and cast my own bullets. Here is a mold from Buffalo Arms that casts the proper heeled bullet design. These bullets are cast from a fairly soft lead alloy.
Now that there are plenty of bullets, I need to make the brass. 41 Magnum is the correct diameter. It just has to be shortened to 0.9100". It only takes a few seconds to shorten each case using a case trimmer. With this trimmer, the shaft can be changed to use a cordless drill.
Now that all the cases are shortened, I deburr the case mouths inside and out.
The next step is to bell the mouth of the case using a belling die from CH4D. The belling die puts a tiny flare in the case mouth and allows the bullet to start easily without damaging the bullet or the case.
Large pistol primers are required here. The grooves on the flipper tray turn all the primers open end up.
I use the press to seat the primers making sure they're fully seated with the surface of the primers just below flush. I can also use a hand priming tool, again making sure the primer is fully seated.
The original cases were loaded with 25 grains of black powder. Several methods can be used to measure the powder. For high volume, I like to use a measure specifically designed for black powder. A small adjustable measure could also be used, but for this project I'm going to dip the charges using a Lee Dipper Set. Checking the enclosed chart, the 1.3cc dipper is the right choice.
Now that each case has the correct powder charge, I place it in the press and use a seating die to push the bullet into the neck of the case. Since the seating stem doesn't match the bullet nose exactly, it leaves a small ring on the bullet.
One die I have will remove the bell on the case mouths but won't crimp the case. The cases need to be crimped into the bullets to hold them securely until they're fired. A standard crimp die won't work, as the bullet is the same diameter as the case. I'm using a modified Hornady bullet puller to apply a slight crimp at the very top of the case mouth. A sleeve placed over the case serves as a depth stop and ensures that the crimp is in the same place for each round.
The last step is to lubricate the bullets. They only have one lube groove. Using SPG lube, I work it into the groove and wipe off the excess.
With plenty of ammo loaded, it's time to head to the range. To load the Smith & Wesson #3, I lift the latch and open the gun fully. After closing the gun, I pull back the hammer and the gun is ready to fire.
To unload, the hammer is pulled at half-cock, and the latch is lifted. As the gun is open, the extractor raises, pulling the fired cases from the chambers. Shooting old guns is a lot of fun when you reload for them.--Larry Potterfield