Post by oldhippy on May 10, 2019 10:21:43 GMT
FLAME CUTTING WORRIES
Because of the revolver’s inherent design, they’re all susceptible to flame cutting (except the old Nagant M1895 which uses a unique gas-seal system, but it fires weaker rounds and is an entirely different topic) — and there’s a never-ending debate among revolver enthusiasts as to how big or small the issue really is. But what is flame cutting?
Unlike a semi-auto handgun where the chamber (the part that holds the cartridge) is integral to the barrel (being a single piece of steel with the chamber recess machined to it), a revolver has six chambers in its rotating cylinder.
Because the cylinder has to rotate, it is an entirely separate part from the fixed barrel. As such there’s a gap between the cylinder and the rear of the barrel where the forcing cone is. This gap is aptly and commonly referred to as the cylinder gap.
The measurement of the cylinder gap varies depending on different revolver manufacturers’ specifications, but all revolvers have this gap.
Whenever a loaded revolver’s trigger is pulled, the expanding hot gases that push the bullet out of the cylinder and into the revolver’s forcing cone escapes through the cylinder gap. This results in a cosmetic damage on the bottom part of a revolver’s top strap that gets more and more visible with continued shots.
Skeptics are of the argument that flame cutting can result in a revolver’s top strap breaking, that it is usually caused by repeatedly shooting lighter (but faster) 110 gr. to 125 gr. bullets in full-power loads.
Since a lighter bullet is shorter, it supposedly leaves the cylinder gap and pushes itself into the forcing cone earlier, leaving more room for the still-expanding hot gases to escape. Shooting anything heavier than the 125 gr. (e.g. 140 gr., 158 gr.) supposedly alleviates this issue.
Optimists on the other hand claim that it’s a self-limiting problem — that, regardless of the bullet weight, as more and more of the top strap’s metal is cut by the hot gasses, eventually there will be no more metal to cut through and more space for the gases to dissipate, hence stopping the flame cutting.
In my years of owning and shooting a .357 Magnum revolver, I’ve never had to deal with flame cutting. But I only purchase 158 gr. factory ammo.
Since I’ve never shot a single 125 gr. round in my Taurus 689, I wouldn’t personally know how many rounds it would take to break its top strap via flame cutting (nor would I want to find out). And since there have been no scientific studies and tests concerning this subject, I cannot say with 100% certainty that either of the above parties is correct.
What I would recommend is, contact your manufacturer about the revolver you purchased and how susceptible it is to flame cutting, then ask them if their warranty covers replacement in case you need one. If you can’t do any of the above or you just can’t get an answer, then don’t shoot bullets lighter than 140 gr. just to be safe.
Of course, the bullet weight warning doesn’t apply to pure copper bullets — a 125-gr. copper bullet will be taller than a 125-gr. lead bullet because of the simple fact that lead has more density than copper. If you’re inclined to shoot only 125 gr. loads, then stick to pure copper bullets (they’re more expensive though — you’ve been warned).
Because of the revolver’s inherent design, they’re all susceptible to flame cutting (except the old Nagant M1895 which uses a unique gas-seal system, but it fires weaker rounds and is an entirely different topic) — and there’s a never-ending debate among revolver enthusiasts as to how big or small the issue really is. But what is flame cutting?
Unlike a semi-auto handgun where the chamber (the part that holds the cartridge) is integral to the barrel (being a single piece of steel with the chamber recess machined to it), a revolver has six chambers in its rotating cylinder.
Because the cylinder has to rotate, it is an entirely separate part from the fixed barrel. As such there’s a gap between the cylinder and the rear of the barrel where the forcing cone is. This gap is aptly and commonly referred to as the cylinder gap.
The measurement of the cylinder gap varies depending on different revolver manufacturers’ specifications, but all revolvers have this gap.
Whenever a loaded revolver’s trigger is pulled, the expanding hot gases that push the bullet out of the cylinder and into the revolver’s forcing cone escapes through the cylinder gap. This results in a cosmetic damage on the bottom part of a revolver’s top strap that gets more and more visible with continued shots.
Skeptics are of the argument that flame cutting can result in a revolver’s top strap breaking, that it is usually caused by repeatedly shooting lighter (but faster) 110 gr. to 125 gr. bullets in full-power loads.
Since a lighter bullet is shorter, it supposedly leaves the cylinder gap and pushes itself into the forcing cone earlier, leaving more room for the still-expanding hot gases to escape. Shooting anything heavier than the 125 gr. (e.g. 140 gr., 158 gr.) supposedly alleviates this issue.
Optimists on the other hand claim that it’s a self-limiting problem — that, regardless of the bullet weight, as more and more of the top strap’s metal is cut by the hot gasses, eventually there will be no more metal to cut through and more space for the gases to dissipate, hence stopping the flame cutting.
In my years of owning and shooting a .357 Magnum revolver, I’ve never had to deal with flame cutting. But I only purchase 158 gr. factory ammo.
Since I’ve never shot a single 125 gr. round in my Taurus 689, I wouldn’t personally know how many rounds it would take to break its top strap via flame cutting (nor would I want to find out). And since there have been no scientific studies and tests concerning this subject, I cannot say with 100% certainty that either of the above parties is correct.
What I would recommend is, contact your manufacturer about the revolver you purchased and how susceptible it is to flame cutting, then ask them if their warranty covers replacement in case you need one. If you can’t do any of the above or you just can’t get an answer, then don’t shoot bullets lighter than 140 gr. just to be safe.
Of course, the bullet weight warning doesn’t apply to pure copper bullets — a 125-gr. copper bullet will be taller than a 125-gr. lead bullet because of the simple fact that lead has more density than copper. If you’re inclined to shoot only 125 gr. loads, then stick to pure copper bullets (they’re more expensive though — you’ve been warned).
