.44 Russian help

tokguy

tokguy

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So with the rain this past weekend I finally quit procrastinating and worked over my Reichsrevolver ( Some debate as to lineage on this piece ). The only internet reference I've ever found is right here in this pic. And that was it...this pic, no manufacturer; only a reference to it being a commercially built copy for private purchase by German officers, that's it:mad:
reichsrevolver.jpg

I didn't take pic's of the repairing, sorry. But I built up the bolt ( Cylinder stop makes more sense for a description IMO, but sera, sera right?) and filed it to fit, and built a new hand.
The timing is perfect now.
Reichrevolver003.jpg

Now I need to build a DA sear from scratch, but that's another post I'd imagine. Perhaps pic's during the build and fitting would be a plan.
Reichrevolver002.jpg
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But I'd like to locate 6 rounds of .44 Russian ( mildly loaded BP of course) so I can do some more tuning on this old gal. I will be getting some empty .44 Magnum brass from my son as it's apparently the same as .44 Russian; just longer.
But a cylinder of loaded .44 Russian would help me to is far as diagnosing what this piece wants. I would expect to pay for it of course.
Reichrevolver001.jpg

I'd hate to order a Lyman 310 loader in .44 Russian and find to it's not what this gun wants.
I know shipping loaded BP rounds is probably verboten so if anyone in SE AB can help me out it'd be greatly appreciated.
The other 3 pictures are not really germane to the post but post's with no pic's suck, right?
Thanks for your time.
tokguy
 
The .44 mag seating die is to short to properly seat .44 russian lead, in a regular die set. I'm not sure how a Lee loader would work. Maybe.....
 
Thanks for the help guys but until I get some .44 Russian rounds to try for size I don't even know if this is a .44 Russian.
Reichsrevolvers are an arcane loading; which is "an indigenous 10.6 mm with a medium length cartridge case, comparable to the contemporary .44 Russian round in size and power."
Being that this is an unknown manufactured arm I can't be sure of much at this point. Stout built old dog, bone simple but other than that...
 
You need calipers. Not loaded ammo... Just because it fits doesn't mean you should use it or it's the correct ammo.

That said, I would bet good $$ that that is .44 rusian.
 
If it's just to check for fit, Wholesale sports should have A-zoom snap caps in .44 russian. They're not cheap,(about $30) but shipping isn't an isssue like loaded black powder ammo may be. ( I say may, because I really don't know if it is a problem) And then you'll have them on hand anytime to want to check function, etc. Just an idea. If Wholesale sports dosn't have them in .44 Russian, I know Shooters Choice in Ontario do. Probably Ellwood Epps would too, and likely cheaper there by a couple of dollars. Shouldn't cost much to ship.
 
To try the fit, why don't you use a .44 Russian dummy round with no primer or powder? That can be shipped without any problem if you can't find it locally. If you want to go a step further, also slug the barrel.
 
The lack of arsenal markings and the extractor mechanism on your revolver do suggest that it is not regular miltary issue.

The 10.6 German ordinance (also known as 11mm german ord.) cartridge is not dimensionally identical to .44 russian but it's close, and 44 russian works well in some of them and passably well in most of them. I hand load 44 russian brass with .428" cast lead bullets intended for the 44-40. Worked OK in mine.

COTW lists base diameters as Russian: 457" and German: .453". I don't see this being a problem with "most" revolvers if loads are kept sensibly low and soft lead bullets are used, but brass could wear out faster.

Notice that I said MOST revolvers. That is because there has been variation in chamber and bore dimensions noted in the reichsrevolvers. Since the heritage of your revolver is unknown it's hard to say if it was a made by one of the recoginsed makers or a knock off and that's another reason to be cautious.

A chamber cast would be the safest method, but I would probably just slug the barrel and then try a loaded cartridge for fit. If it was reasonably snug in the chamber I'd use the "Johnson" method to test fire a .44 russian load and see what happened.
 
I know it needs slugging and I've got calipers. But even then it's got the recessed chambers to be considered. Will the .44 Russian rim fit properly?
And the firing pin has be re-worked so will it contact the primer hard enough to light it up...
The Double crown over 'U' is a full load of BP so I'm thinking a full load of FFG with generous pinch of Cream of wheat or a lubed felt wad should lower the load to sedate levels. Maybe that's a argument for using cut down .44 magnum brass, it'll definitely handle the CUP's from BP.
But snap caps seem a-bit of a waste of time to me. Fine if you are practicing for SASS or such. But this revolver isn't going to see 100's of rounds.
The same reason applies to a Lyman 310 as opposed to a Lee-loader. I don't need full length resizing as I doubt a BP load will provide enough CUP's to stretch good brass beyond reasonable limits.
The 310 will make a much nicer package if fitted to a felt lined wooden box. Period type packaging is what I'm looking for.
I'll probably sell it to a high rolling oilpatch guy and a nicely done, complete package will move faster:)
I just thought surely someone around Med Hat would have few round's they could sell me. I could knock the bullet out of one to slug with and see if the hammer will light up the empty brass. If all checks out well, then see if it'll hit where it's aimed.
 
I have some .44 American you could try, they work in Russians I think. Also I have a bag of .44 Russian Starline brass if you would like some for fitting.
I'll be in your town June 10-11-12.
 
OK, got some 44 Magnum brass & trimmed it to 1", ran it through a 30-40 sizing die (use what you have...) and dressed it up with a Lee chamfering tool.
15 grains of Swiss BP below a resized .45 cal pure lead ball. Seated tight (concave actually)and pure beewax dripped into the ring around the top.
Instant gallery load.
Am I crazy? And do I take pic's when I do up a couple dozen rounds this aft?
What is a normal load of BP behind a 44 Russian load?
Anyone?
 
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