other equipment is needed. Ron Power,the well-respected custom revolversmith,recommends it and apparently contributedsuggestions to its design. The tool issimple to use, but there can be pitfalls inany such operation. I did some homework,and there are some basic principles andcautions which amateurs can adopt to assurequality results. Some examples will illustratewhat can be done, and what thelimitations are.When I received the kit, no directionswere included. Brownells deals with professionalgunsmiths, and I sup.pose thefirm considers directions unnecessary. Idecided to start with an old Colt OfficialPolice.38 Special acquired'many years agoas used police surplus. I had smoothed andlightened the trigger pulls (both single-anddouble action), but the gun has never beenaccurate with my flush-seated, 148-grainwadcutters with 3.0 grains of Bullseye. Iused this load because it was very accuratefrom my S&W M52 Master target auto (orin my Colt Custom Shop Python); butfrom the Official Police it grouped intoabout three-inches.The measurement of the revolver's breech diameter is done with inside calib,eriaws by "feeling" the points that iust catch on the cone edge of the barrel.After removing the cylinder/craneassembly, I noticed that the forcing coneshowed fairly deep concentric reamermarks, plus some nicks and wear. The coneopening at the breech measured .383 inch.For .38 Special, the bore diameter is .357inch, so the cone was 1.07 times bore. Thatis a bit oversize, but cones up to 1.08 timesbore may shoot well.The best range is about 1.04 to 1.06 timesbore, large enough to allow the bullet baseto upset and seal the grooves, but not largeenough to let the bullet distort, as it swagesdown into the rifling.Assembling the tool handle to the rod, Islipped on the centering bushing, insertedthe threaded end from the muzzle and addedthe .38/.357 pilot; I then turned on thell-degree Cone reamer. Another cutter angieis available. the 18 degree reamer,32which approximates factory cones. It isgood for cleaning-up tight cones for generaluse; but I chose the ll-degree reamerfor this job, because the Official Policecone is on the large side and the narrowerreamer cuts first on the lands, then worksout to the breech.The ll-degree cutter is also recommendedfor target guns, assuring asmoother entry for cast bullets with lesspressure buildup. It works equally wellwith jacketed bullets, and the only disadvantageI know ofis that heavy use ofhot-. ter loads might cause more rapid wear overthe'years. The ll-degree reamer can beused with all calibers, from .38 to A5.The reaming operation is done by pushingthe centering bushing against themuzzle, then pulling on the handle whileturning it clockwise. The cutting can be feltand the operator should strive for a light,smooth cut, applying cutting or threadingoil to the reamer and cleaning out cuttingsfrequently.After a few light turns, I took a look atthe result. The ll-degree reamer had nottouched the Official Police cone near thelargest was 2A2 inch. The complete absenceoffliers was important, too. The newcone tightened the average group by atleast one inch, and machine rest averagegroups would have been even tighter.That was more than I had hoped forwith an old service-type revolver, and I wasmore than sold on the reaming tool. Mynext step was to do a more extensive, documentedjob with newer guns which I hadused for a major handloading project..41 MAGNUM REVOLVERThe Al Magnum is my favorite caliberand my three guns for the cartridge are asix-inch S&W M57, a 6.5 inch RugerBlackhawk, and a six-inch S&W M28converted to Al caliber by rechamberingthe cylinder and relining the barrel.The Ruger is the most accurate, followedclosely by the M57.Careful handloading and rest-testingproduced several accurate loads for nearlyany purpose. Average groups for the bestloads ranged from 1.2 inches to two inchesfor the two standard models. Jacketed bulletswere required for the tightest groups,and there were some fliers, especially withcast bullets. The M28 did not group consistentlyinto much under two inches, withsome loads exceeding three inches withfliers, and some lead-spitting.I was happy with these Als for my purposes,but I felt they could have handledsome loads and bullets better, and withfewer fliers-especially the M28 conversion.So I decided to recut the forcingcones. Each gun presented differentproblems.Starting with the M28, I first needed abetter way to picture cone faults visually. Iset up the reaming tool with the 18-degreecutter and taped one end ofa strip of # 400grit metal polishing paper to the reamer, sothat it covered the cutting edges. A fewturns ofthis polisher cleaned the lands andhigh spots, removed imbedded powderresidues and left the metal bright.. I measured the breech of the convertedM28 at A28-inch, a bit tight at 1.04 timesbore. But that was favorable, because I hadsome metal to work with. The worst feature of this cone was that it was off-centerand had sharp edges; also, the lands werebreech, but the worn lands were cleanednicely.I continued the opetation until the cone uneven and rough. I started with the 18surface was completely bright and smooth. degree reamer, using the Al pilot to get theOnly the dark grooves remained. I did not new cone centered in the bore and openedenlarge the cone opening. The breech face up the cone to A30 inch.was worn and eroded, so I used the op- Switching to the ll-degree reamer withtional 90-degree flat cutter to square and pilot, I recut the complete cone to matchsmooth it. This should not be overdone, to the centered A30 inch breech opening. Fiavoidwideningthe gap. Finally, I removed nally, the face was squared with the 90the sharp edge, using the 82-degree cutter degree flat cutter and the edge lightlyvery lightly. All these reamers leave a chamfered with the 82-degree reamer. Notsmooth surface, when used with a light all low spots were cleaned; but they aptou€h;polishing is not necessary. peared shallow, and probably would do noThe finished cone looked good, and a harm.shooting test proved it. My first group, The re-coned M28 from the Lee matwo-handedfrom an arm rest, was 1.48 chine rest averaged 1.42 inch, five-shotinch for five shots at 25 yards. That is prac- groups with the WC load, which I pickedtically target match accuracy. The average as my benchmark. The load is the 210of several groups was 1.9 inch, and the Continued on page 85AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· MARCH/APRIL <strong>1983</strong>
ONE ROUND DIFFERENCE...Devel 8-round magazine (stripped) atleft; standard Colt .45 mag at right.NOW AN EIGHT-SHOTMAGAZINE FOR C.T .45 AUTOSBy David M. Armstrongquired special attention: the magazinehousing, follower and spring.The magazine housing was redesignedfrom slightly lighter weight sheet steel,formed and tempered to exacting specifi-cations. Incorporating longer feed lips thatdo not interfere with the motion of theslide, this new magazine housing and feedsystem has proven to be functionally relia-Devel Corporation, a firm known forits quality custom conversions onthe Smith &. Wesson M39 and M59 semiautomatic9mm pistols, has introduced anew magazine for the Colt GovernmentModel and Commander .45 ACP pistols.The new magazine is identical in size tothe standard Colt seven-shot magazine,but has a capacity of eight rounds.It was designed by Charles C. Kelsey Jr.,president of Devel Corporation, andNational Guard MTU (MarksmanshipTraining Unit) armorer SSgt. John M.Miller.Miller, whose quality combat conversionsof IPSC (International PracticalShooting Federation) pistols have earnedhim a reputation with many police aQdmilitary organizations, provided Kelseywith some of the basic fundamentalsrequired to develop the new Devel conversionsfor the Colt .45 ACP system. The newmagazine, however, is basically the resultof Kelsey's own ingenuity as a firearmsdesigner.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER· MARCH/APRIL <strong>1983</strong>The design of the new Devel conversionsof the Colt .45 auto is centeredaround the need to increase its cartridgecapacity, without altering the frame. To accomplishthis, the magazine had to be redesignedto hold one extra round, withoutsacrificing additional length at its base. Allthree com ponents of the magazine re-The same size as theconventional sevenroundtype, it hasproven its reliability instiff competition.ble and adequatelydurable. Adding to thereliable operation of the magazine is thefollower design and magazine spring.Continued on page 87Ken Hackathorn tests Basic ConcealmentCarry Devel conversion with new mag.33
- Page 4: AMERICAIIMARCHIAPRIL, 1983, Vol. 8,
- Page 7 and 8: HANDGUN HUNTINGJ.D. JONESNEW HANDGU
- Page 9 and 10: Miniature Decoy Collection~will pro
- Page 11 and 12: SILENCERS, SNIPERS & ASSASSINSby J.
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WI!!1983 AmericanHANDGUNNERANNUALYe
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