Cutting the forcing cone

[Bosshoss]

I have often wondered how much accuracy improvement from things like cutting forcing cones is actually the result of the placebo effect, or the result of subconsciously affecting the testing.

People who spend money and time modifying a gun and really want to see group improvement.....will probably see group improvement, regardless of whether the gun is truly more accurate or not.

It's funny, I see people who obsess about accuracy who have not reached the skill level to extract anything close to the practical accuracy capability of the sloppiest, most mediocre revolver from the factory.

I say forget worrying about forcing cones, invest your cash in primers instead, and go shoot.

Well said Mike.

[pskys2]

I have often wondered how much accuracy improvement from things like cutting forcing cones is actually the result of the placebo effect, or the result of subconsciously affecting the testing.

People who spend money and time modifying a gun and really want to see group improvement.....will probably see group improvement, regardless of whether the gun is truly more accurate or not.

It's funny, I see people who obsess about accuracy who have not reached the skill level to extract anything close to the practical accuracy capability of the sloppiest, most mediocre revolver from the factory.

I say forget worrying about forcing cones, invest your cash in primers instead, and go shoot.

The forcing cone and muzzle both can make a difference.

I tested my PC 625 exhaustively as I first had trouble getting decent groups and then kept getting flyers with the bullets I wanted to use. All my testing was done off of a bench, or roll over prone. It didn't matter whether it was DA or SA, both gave similar results.

I first tried just re-cutting the crown, and that had brought the groups from 4" overall, with no obvious flyers, to 2" with 1 or 2 flyers stretching it to 4"..

Cleaning up the forcing cone, I actually cut it with the Taylor Throat Cutter before they quit making them, and the group size went from 2" with 1 or 2 flyers stretching it to 4" consistently to nice round groups of 2" with no flyers. I finally had consistent groups with no flyers. This was with Plated Bullets and I had already tested it with several crimp variations, both taper and roll.

I did the same thing with a M29 with lead bullets and it did tighten the groups up a bit, but in that case I would agree the issue wasn't worth the effort.

On my 627 I did both, though the forcing cone wasn't Taylor Throated, just because I could. Doing the muzzle did make a difference on the groups bringing them to one ragged hole at 25 yards. Didn't notice the forcing cone helping with the groups, but it was so rough it seemed to build up carbon/lead even with coated bullets. Cutting it reduce that issue.

So making sure the muzzle is crowned properly, with no burrs is definitely a must do.

If you keep having flyers, especially with plated bullets which seem to be the most prone, doing the forcing cone can help. But going to Jacketed Bullets, or even lead, one can probably find a good load without going to the trouble of cutting the forcing cone.

Of course since a reamer (only) costs about as much as 1500 primers, Or as much as 400 loaded rounds,.one can make their own call sometimes piece of mind can be priceless.

[Toolguy]

In my experience, the benefits derived from cutting the forcing cone and muzzle crown depend largely on what you are starting with. I have seen both that were nicely done from the factory, ones that were really bad or not even done, and everything in between. If properly done to begin with, there is little or no room for improvement. If poorly done, there is great room for improvement. When they are just a little off spec., there is a little room for improvement. If you can shoot decent groups off a solid rest then it is easy to determine what state the barrel is in. The condition of the barrel will always show up in how well it shoots a group on paper. Shooting at 25 yards will give a good indication, shooting at 50 yards will tell more.

I have found very few barrels over the years that had bad rifling. There isn't much that can be done about that but replace that barrel. It is very common to find bad beginning (forcing cone) or end (muzzle crown). These are easily fixed in minutes with the proper tools.

I agree with Mike C. that many shooters can't tell the difference. There are many others that can. Sometimes it's the shooter, sometimes it's the gun, sometimes it's the ammo, sometimes a combination of 2 or more.

[toothguy]

It can make a big or small difference depending on how misaligned the factory cuts are, and how far or accurate you need to shoot.