All was fine until the end when I fired off the Bond Arms 45/410 derringer. First round an something hit my thumb and then bounced off that and hit my right upper cheek missing my eye!!! What the .... was that as I looked down to see a shiny piece on the ground while grabbing my cheek looking for blood?
I'm okay but the hammer departed the Grizz as my confusion continued. The round was my 230 gr. XTP loaded with 9.2 of Unique which is the top load within standard Colt 45 pressure limit of 14,000 psi. Now remember you can swap out barrels on this gun like with a 357 Mag caliber which has way more pressure. Looking at the hammer break point the casting which is stainless steel looks really thin. Have shot this load many times in this and other small and large frame Colt 45 revolvers with no troubles and it was my preferred load for this derringer. Everything else on the gun functioned fine after the hammer broke and the fired case fell right out with no signs of high pressure on the case or primer area.
Will contact Bond Arms and see what they say. Why would the hammer break ???
The Colt 1872 OT revolver shot great as I was testing the effectiveness of a 44 Special 250 gr. soft lead hollow point vs. the 250 gr. 44 Special full wadcutter. The HP was loaded with 6.5 Unique and the FWC with 5.0 Red Dot and the HP showed little expansion but went the full 16 inch of gel block hitting wood back block. The FWC went the full length also but displayed a larger wound channel being the full diameter with sharp edge.
You can see the imprint of the denim on the bullet face! So I will use the 250 gr. FWC as round of choice for the Open Top revolver for any Self Defense issue with it. Firing some rounds from 15 feet at the center of target showed some good hits point shooting with no front sight!
And the Henry 45 Colt Carbine.....what can I say as it looks great with the 16 inch barrel and CCH and shoots as good as it looks with the 255 gr, plated bullet loaded with 9.5 Unique! Group of shots on the red dots.
That hammer flying off really got my attention today and now to find out why !
