Tokguy:
Re: primer flow
Are you sure it wasn't from a combination of a soft primer cup and a poorly-fitted firing pin in the bolt? I experienced the same thing last summer in my .357 Ruger #1. Using Federal small pistol primers in .38 Special Starline brass with ~200 grain hard-cast bullets & Nobel Magnum 6 powder, about 1 in 4 primers were pierced, while the rest blanked. Switching to S&B small pistol primers, which I also use for all of my .22 Hornet loads in my Ruger #1, all piercing & blanking ceased.
Re: 5.5 gr. W231
Using QL for various 124 gr RNFMJ bullets using 5.5 gr. of W231, I'm getting anywhere from 29k to 31k, pressures, depending, of course, on the bullet's length, C.O.A.L., &c.
Re: Getting a good carbon show down the side...suspect the chamber is generous. Haven't run anything hot enough to FF yet though.
Don't forget that to fire-form brass, it takes ~28k worth of pressure, especially for Starline brass.
Bearhunter:
Re: The Destroyer isn't a 100 yard rifle.
Because of the sights or the cartridge itself? The reason I ask is that I intend to sporterize my recently acquired example, including drilling & tapping the receiver, as the trigger pull is the nicest I have EVER experienced on a surplus arm, including Tom Bongalis' Greek M1903 carbines some 50 years ago. Plus, the stock is large enough that the surplus can be sanded away to reveal a slim sporter.
Re: Bore diameters vary greatly, so you may have to use cast bullets. I load my 9x23 Winchester cases with 125 grain, powder coated .359 cast lead bullets.
That is excellent news, as I have a surfeit of .359" cast bullets of various weights, in addition to relatively heavy 9mm bullets.
.38 Super Starline brass, my initial purchase, will not fit in the chamber of my rifle; my latest purchase of Starline 9mm Largo from Rusty Wood, however, fits like it was meant for it! Go figure!
;-)
As an aside, considering I have been buying surplus arms since the late 70's, I have to ask myself, why in the heck did I miss them when they first came on the Canadian market?