Pellet cartridge compatibility for shell loading revolvers
Feb 3, 2021 11:31:26 GMT
Doug Soal, Scott, and 8 more like this
Post by HeadHunter on Feb 3, 2021 11:31:26 GMT
I just thought that I'd post this for reference for all members, I'll try to keep it updated as time progresses and as new guns get released.
Dan Wesson 715 shells are compatible with;
ASG DW715 revolvers (obviously),
ASG Dan Wesson first generation revolvers,
Black Ops revolvers,
Bonner super sport revolvers,
Umarex Legends S25, S40 & S60 revolvers,
Umarex S&W M&P 327 TRR8 revolvers,
Crosman 'Sheridan' Cowboy revolver,
Remington 1875 revolver,
Crosman SN & SNR .357 revolvers,
Chiappa Rhino 50DS (all colour variants) & 60DS (all colour variants),
Note; the Chiappa Rhinos have a small indented ring that sits above the rim of the cartridge to allow the use of their proprietary speedloader, in all other respects it is identical to the DW715 pellet cartridge shells.
Colt SAA shells are compatible with;
Umarex Colt SAA 'Peacemaker' revolvers (obviously),
Umarex Cowboy rifle,
Umarex Colt Python revolvers,
KWC Python revolvers,
Swiss Arms .357 revolver,
Gletcher CLT B25, B4 & B6 revolvers,
Umarex S&W model-29,
Umarex S&W model 629 Classic,*
*Although the Colt SAA shells can be used in this gun, in some rare occasions the 629's shells will not fit into the Colt SAA due to slight dimensional differences.
Webley mkVI shells are compatible with;
Webley mkVI (obviously),
ASG Scholfield (including the 'Bear River' version)
note - It should be pointed out that Schofield pellet shells are internally rifled as both the pellet and BB versions of the gun both have smoothbore barrels.
Gletcher Nagant shells are not compatible with any other revolvers.
Picture comparisons
Note: For uniformity, all shells depicted are the pellet versions.
Height comparison (left to right, DW715, Colt SAA, Webley & Nagant). The lower picture exaggerates the difference slightly (due to perspective) more than the upper picture.
Rim size comparison (left to right, DW715, Colt SAA, Webley & Nagant). Notice the overly large Colt SAA rim when compared to either the Webley or DW715 rim size.
The shells increase in cartridge diameter slightly from right to left (Nagant to DW715), with the Nagant and DW715 being almost identical to their real world counterparts (7.62mm & .357 magnum respectively), whilst the Colt SAA & Webley are nowhere near their respective real world counterparts.
The perfectionist in me....
It would've been nice to have seen the Colt SAA shells in .45 long Colt and in .455 Webley for the Webley mkVI. I would have been overjoyed if they had made the Schofield in a .45 shell size too but again S&W .45 shells were actually shorter than the Colt .45 shells in the real world which led to compatibility problems (S&W cartridges would fit in a Colt SAA but Colt cartridges would not fit into a Schofield).
It would've been nice to have seen some .44 Magnum cartridge shells for either of the S&W 29s & 629s but the good news is that at least with that we have even more compatibility between guns and cartridges, you win some, you lose some, lol.
Firing pellets through Colt SAA BB shells
There's always the question of whether it's okay to use pellets in BB shells and vice-versa, it's a common enough question that pops up frequently on the forum. The answer is that Pellet shells are fine with either BBs or pellets BUT the BB shells have a restricted internal size for use with standard BBs, which generally come in at around the 4.4mm size in diameter (give or take 0.05mm). I've found that to reliably use pellets in the BB shells you need to ream the internal bore out with either a 4.5mm drill bit or an appropriate sized reamer (4.50mm), personally I always use a reamer as the finish on the bore is far superior to using a standard drill bit and reamers are made to far more exacting tolerances, certain drill bits are (especially the cheap ones) far from perfect and are not really suitable for our needs, but in a 'pinch' they're better than not doing it at all.
I've seen some larger (4.54mm) pellets stuck in Colt SAA BB shells that ultimately needed to be forced out and the shells then had to be reamed to allow a standard 4.50mm pellet to travel through them properly. Any shell that constricts the pellet will effectively be acting as a pellet sizer and reducing it down to a size that will stop the pellet from engaging with the rifling of the barrel and that would be defeating the whole process of firing pellets through a rifled barrel in the first place.
EDITS
I'm hoping to be able to add the Chiappa Rhino to the DW715 compatible shell list as soon as I can get confirmation. (information now confirmed and added to compatibility list 2/10/20).
Added the confirmed information relating to the Umarex S&W model-29 & 629 cartridge shells being exactly the same as the Umarex Colt SAA cartridge shells (added 1/2/22).
Added section on firing pellets through Colt SAA BB shells (15/3/22)
Updated Chiappa Rhino cartridge information to include the 60DS (31/7/22)
Dan Wesson 715 shells are compatible with;
ASG DW715 revolvers (obviously),
ASG Dan Wesson first generation revolvers,
Black Ops revolvers,
Bonner super sport revolvers,
Umarex Legends S25, S40 & S60 revolvers,
Umarex S&W M&P 327 TRR8 revolvers,
Crosman 'Sheridan' Cowboy revolver,
Remington 1875 revolver,
Crosman SN & SNR .357 revolvers,
Chiappa Rhino 50DS (all colour variants) & 60DS (all colour variants),
Note; the Chiappa Rhinos have a small indented ring that sits above the rim of the cartridge to allow the use of their proprietary speedloader, in all other respects it is identical to the DW715 pellet cartridge shells.
Colt SAA shells are compatible with;
Umarex Colt SAA 'Peacemaker' revolvers (obviously),
Umarex Cowboy rifle,
Umarex Colt Python revolvers,
KWC Python revolvers,
Swiss Arms .357 revolver,
Gletcher CLT B25, B4 & B6 revolvers,
Umarex S&W model-29,
Umarex S&W model 629 Classic,*
*Although the Colt SAA shells can be used in this gun, in some rare occasions the 629's shells will not fit into the Colt SAA due to slight dimensional differences.
Webley mkVI shells are compatible with;
Webley mkVI (obviously),
ASG Scholfield (including the 'Bear River' version)
note - It should be pointed out that Schofield pellet shells are internally rifled as both the pellet and BB versions of the gun both have smoothbore barrels.
Gletcher Nagant shells are not compatible with any other revolvers.
Picture comparisons
Note: For uniformity, all shells depicted are the pellet versions.
Height comparison (left to right, DW715, Colt SAA, Webley & Nagant). The lower picture exaggerates the difference slightly (due to perspective) more than the upper picture.
Rim size comparison (left to right, DW715, Colt SAA, Webley & Nagant). Notice the overly large Colt SAA rim when compared to either the Webley or DW715 rim size.
The shells increase in cartridge diameter slightly from right to left (Nagant to DW715), with the Nagant and DW715 being almost identical to their real world counterparts (7.62mm & .357 magnum respectively), whilst the Colt SAA & Webley are nowhere near their respective real world counterparts.
The perfectionist in me....
It would've been nice to have seen the Colt SAA shells in .45 long Colt and in .455 Webley for the Webley mkVI. I would have been overjoyed if they had made the Schofield in a .45 shell size too but again S&W .45 shells were actually shorter than the Colt .45 shells in the real world which led to compatibility problems (S&W cartridges would fit in a Colt SAA but Colt cartridges would not fit into a Schofield).
It would've been nice to have seen some .44 Magnum cartridge shells for either of the S&W 29s & 629s but the good news is that at least with that we have even more compatibility between guns and cartridges, you win some, you lose some, lol.
Firing pellets through Colt SAA BB shells
There's always the question of whether it's okay to use pellets in BB shells and vice-versa, it's a common enough question that pops up frequently on the forum. The answer is that Pellet shells are fine with either BBs or pellets BUT the BB shells have a restricted internal size for use with standard BBs, which generally come in at around the 4.4mm size in diameter (give or take 0.05mm). I've found that to reliably use pellets in the BB shells you need to ream the internal bore out with either a 4.5mm drill bit or an appropriate sized reamer (4.50mm), personally I always use a reamer as the finish on the bore is far superior to using a standard drill bit and reamers are made to far more exacting tolerances, certain drill bits are (especially the cheap ones) far from perfect and are not really suitable for our needs, but in a 'pinch' they're better than not doing it at all.
I've seen some larger (4.54mm) pellets stuck in Colt SAA BB shells that ultimately needed to be forced out and the shells then had to be reamed to allow a standard 4.50mm pellet to travel through them properly. Any shell that constricts the pellet will effectively be acting as a pellet sizer and reducing it down to a size that will stop the pellet from engaging with the rifling of the barrel and that would be defeating the whole process of firing pellets through a rifled barrel in the first place.
EDITS
I'm hoping to be able to add the Chiappa Rhino to the DW715 compatible shell list as soon as I can get confirmation. (information now confirmed and added to compatibility list 2/10/20).
Added the confirmed information relating to the Umarex S&W model-29 & 629 cartridge shells being exactly the same as the Umarex Colt SAA cartridge shells (added 1/2/22).
Added section on firing pellets through Colt SAA BB shells (15/3/22)
Updated Chiappa Rhino cartridge information to include the 60DS (31/7/22)
