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Was looking for 41 mag ammo, and saw something saying make sure your Ruger can accept a .4117 dia. bullet,, this was for a 230gr HC. Having some 230 HC I have never shot, I grabbed a box, and of course, they would not slide into the throat on some chambers, but would on a couple...
My throats measured around .406 to .410 with calipers.
I could not even push them in with some effort. which leads to the question, what is to tight? Not necessarily for accuracy, but can it be dangerous?
Can I just take a knife or sandpaper and remove some lead to make them fit better?

 

[dwarren123]

Need to have a gunsmith check them (throats) and even the throats out or open them to SAMMI standards

 

[Iowegan]

There are no SAAMI specs for cylinder throats but the gunsmith specs says a standard sized bullet must pass through the throats with nothing more than finger pressure. 41 Mags are shipped optimized for jacketed bullets which are .410" in diameter. Lead bullets for a 41 Mag are typically .411". I don't have a clue where .4117" diameter bullets came from .... certainly not an industry standard.

Two issues with tight throats .... first, the bore will get lead fouling which will cause accuracy and point of impact issues. Second and more critical .... when a bullet passes through a tight throat when fired, it will thrust the cylinder forward with considerable force. The cylinder will literally bounce back so both ends of the cylinder and frame will peen, making end shake increase, possibly to a danger point where the cylinder won't stay latched when fired.

 

[dwarren123]

No SAMMI for throats but for the bullets, you want the bullets to be in spec and the throat of the cylinder to be able to handle that.

 

[rkrcpa]

Second and more critical .... when a bullet passes through a tight throat when fired, it will thrust the cylinder forward with considerable force. The cylinder will literally bounce back so both ends of the cylinder and frame will peen, making end shake increase, possibly to a danger point where the cylinder won't stay latched when fired.

I can attest to this. Years ago I bought some cast bullets sized at .411, not realizing that it could be a problem. To add to the problem, these particular bullets run about 22BHN. Swaging these through the throats on my Bisley produced the effect Iowegan mentions.

Now, all of my 41 caliber bullets get sized to .410, a perfect match for my .4105 throats.

 

[gwpercle]

Was looking for 41 mag ammo, and saw something saying make sure your Ruger can accept a .4117 dia. bullet,, this was for a 230gr HC. Having some 230 HC I have never shot, I grabbed a box, and of course, they would not slide into the throat on some chambers, but would on a couple...
My throats measured around .406 to .410 with calipers.
I could not even push them in with some effort. which leads to the question, what is to tight? Not necessarily for accuracy, but can it be dangerous?
Can I just take a knife or sandpaper and remove some lead to make them fit better?

The process is called bullet resizing and yes you can size them down . I size all my 41 magnum cast bullets to .410 with a bullet sizing die . See NOE for push thru sizer and die.
You may want to get all your throats reamed to the the same size ... say .410 .
Gary

 

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Thanks everyone for the replies..

 

[needsmostuff]

Equally important to the diameter of the throat is the uniformity of all six holes .
Without uniformity you will never get equal pressure ,,,,, or accuracy.
Call Fermin. 361-960-3697 .
His business is mostly sights now but cylinders are pretty much a religion to him . He will discuss it with you and make it right,,,, with super fast turn around .