Need 357 Blackhawk fix

[TedH]

I have a mold that casts those big fat 180 gr. WFN gas check 357 bullets. I like to shoot them in my Blackhawk, but the chambers are a bit undersize for them, and it takes a good bit of thumb pressure to get them seated in the cylinder, two of the chambers being notably worse than the other four. I have sized them down to .357 and it helped a little, but I really want to shoot them at .358" or even .359". What's the best way for a fella to open those up so these fatties will chamber easily? Would prefer a do-it-yerself fix.

[Rusty]

If you have 2 that are worse than the others you already know they aren't uniform. Sounds like you REALLY NEED to have the chambers throated to at least get them all the same. You might try fire lapping first that should help. Also the cheapest.

[BigSky56]

Ted, I have polished cylinders with steel wool in a wood dowel and chucked up in a hand drill maybe you have lube you cant see at the end of the chamber by the throat next a dowel with 600 grit emery cloth go easy till a round will chamber and check your throats too get them all the same size. danny

[walks with gun]

Go slow and check often.

[Mac in Mo]

Ted,

There used to be a member on Sixgunner that would do the throats for a fair price. I just looked and couldn't find any info. I don't remember his name. Maybe Jim Taylor remembers or one of the other guys does.

Kevin

[Mac in Mo]

Ted,
Belay my last. I found the place cylindersmith.com. They no longer ream the .357 size.

Kevin

[Chuck 100 yd]

Maybe you could go pards with someone and buy a throating reamer.
Do your guns and then re sell it and recoup most of the money.

All my .357`s have proper chambers or I would offer to go in with you on one.

[Twodot]

Here is what I used to open my cylinders

cylinder hone2.JPG

It took a while to get from .355 on the smallest hole up to a uniform .358 all the way around.
A slit piece of 1/4" dowel holds the 400 grit wet/dry paper.
A 1/4" hole drilled thru a 38 Sp case helped center the hone.
Chuck it up in a cordless drill and have at it.
I used pin gauges to check measurements.
Finish with 600 or 800 grit paper.
..

[Old No7]

Ted, this old post of mine on Cylinder Throats might help you out...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4318

...If you're handy with tools, this can be a "Do It Yourself" job, that gives great results and the satisfaction of doing it on your own.

And here's part 1, where I did the Forcing Cones too.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4317

I have the forcing cone tools, which I'd be glad to lend to you if you want (just send me a PM).

Tight groups,

Old No7

[DixieBoy]

All these guys are telling you straight, but Old No 7 has really laid it out for you. Opening up the throats when they're just too snug is a proven winner. - DixieBoy

[TedH]

Thanks everyone. I used 400 grit emery cloth on a 1/4" dowel rod chucked up in a cordless drill. Still need to polish a bit, but I have them all uniform now, and a .357" cast bullet will go through with very light pressure. A .358" jacketed bullet is just a bit snug, but can be pushed through by hand. I'm going to try it out at the range like this, but may end up opening them all up a tad more. Hopefully I"ll have a good range report this weekend.