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Old September 13, 2020, 09:58 PM   #1
Kram
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Slugging a 44mag Rossi 92 barrel

I never learn, I bought another new Rossi 92 44 mag that has basket ball groups at 50 yards. I'm guessing the barrel is over size which is a common problem.

I'd like a suggestion on a lead bullet, ball or fishing sinker to use for slugging the bore. I have some 1/4 egg sinkers that are too small.

Thank you
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Old September 14, 2020, 01:13 AM   #2
TruthTellers
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I generally use a round ball meant for muzzleloaders. If you feel that the bore is oversize, see if you can get a single .451 round ball from someone and get a 3/8" dowel at Walmart in the crafts section for a buck.
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Old September 14, 2020, 08:42 AM   #3
Unclenick
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I've done the same. Hornady round lead balls. I like to use a short length of brass dowel to start the slug. Once started, what you push it through with doesn't matter much as there isn't a lot of resistance unless your slug is made of something a little springy, like hard bullet casting alloy. Springy material is not only hard to push through (usually requires a mallet to get it through, where pure lead is just a hand operation), it won't give an accurate measurement. You want to run a lightly oiled patch through the bore before each slug, so a rough bore doesn't easily scrape lead off the slug.

You want to remove the bolt from the gun so you can start a slug from the breech end in addition to the one you start at the muzzle. Opposite slugging directions can feel quite different if there is any taper in the bore, with the one started at the wide end feeling some friction except at wide spots, while the one started from the tight end feels almost no friction. You want to push the slug through slowly—around 2" per second or so—so you can stop when you feel a tight spot, back the dowel out, and find the location before continuing.

I also run a slug into the rifling for only half an inch to an inch at each end and then push it back out from the other end to see if there is any taper between the breech and muzzle. If there is, you want it to taper down from breech to muzzle for best cast bullet shooting. Unfortunately, the opposite often occurs (though more often in bolt guns than lever guns due to the exterior taper in the bolt gun barrels being gun in a button-rifled barrel that hasn't been stress-relieved before contouring), requiring lapping to correct it.

In a lever action, look to feel tight spots where sight dovetails or magazine hanger cuts were made in the barrel with too high a feed rate or a dull cutter. If you have tight spots you will want to lap the bore to clear them so you don't throw scattergun groups, especially with cast bullets. Firelapping is the easiest method, IMHO, and, done with cast bullets with a BHN of about 12, tends to produce the desired direction of taper). Be aware that lapping by any method can widen the bore a couple of tenths of a thousandth to as much as half a thousandth if the constrictions being removed are bad. That doesn't usually affect jacketed bullets unless you are shooting a high precision match barrel, in which case lapping shouldn't be needed anyway. But bore lapping can cause you to need to add a thousandth to cast bullets sized diameter for best accuracy and minimized leading. The increased ease of cleaning and frequently better accuracy are worth the bother, though.

There are slugging kits available from both Missouri Bullets and Beartooth Bullets if you want a longer shape. NECO sells bullets cast of pure lead for the purpose in several calibers, as well as firelapping kits. Beartooth has a lapping kit. Lots to choose from.

You will likely want a micrometer to see tenths of thousandths in the slug diameters. If you are skilled in how to close the jaws without introducing beam flexing, you may be able to get enough resolution out of a dial caliper by interpolating between the graduations, but most folks find it all too easy to get one to read off by half a thousandth to as much as two thousandths. The $40 Harbor Freight electronic digital works adequately for most people. You can zero it so it doesn't require measuring the zero offset for later subtraction from your reading or knowing how to read a vernier scale correctly. But if you are comfortable with the latter two steps, a $21 vernier scale micrometer can be had from CDCOtool.com.
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Old September 15, 2020, 09:27 PM   #4
Kram
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Nick, thank you for taking the time to reply. Lots to think about on this one. I've already been through the same thing with the same gun in 16" model that I purchased 6-7 years ago. You'd think I would have learned.

I should have bought the 45LC model, I was already loading for that caliber..

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