Getting the Drilling to shoot was easy enough but getting it regulated was not so easy. Luckily, the cases could be used in either barrel and required only minimum neck sizing between uses. I'm on the fifth reloading of the original 20 cases and they still look to be in fine shape.
The .430" bullets could be sized in a single pass to .419" but the .457" bullets used in the later testing required two sizing dies. All testing used 21 gr of 4198 powder and polyester fill. I shot from a bench rest at 50 yards and used a clamp on telescopic sight for all testing.
I got good groups with the 300 gr bullet but still had crossing at 50 yards. Finally the 400 gr bullet gave both good groups and good regulation with two shots from each barrel hitting within a 2" circle at 50 yards.
In the process of making the sizing dies, reloading dies and case making tooling, I made a set of chamber inserts to shoot the 41 Long Colt. While only coffee can accurate, they are fun to shoot. New cases are readily available and it should be interesting to see the results using proper size bullets in the reloads.
I still need to check to see if the iron sights need to be adjusted but after nearly three months,the S&M DR Drilling project is almost complete.
Otto
