Taurus Thunderbolt: Additional notes

Good evening!
As my initial goal with the posts I have made so far regarding this rifle, my intention is to get more published in a forum such as this one so that real, recent work and thought with this rifle seeps out onto the net. At this point, the info and findings are many years old. I think conclusions in regard to this rifle look unrealistically at this rifle as one that some had hoped might become a giant in the Cowboy Action Shooting area and just did not make it. I feel that one needs to look at it as an interesting replica of an action type (pump) that originated during the last 30 years of the 19th century, and not as a "hold-the-trigger-back and slam-operate that action and put rounds downrange NOW" type of rifle. The Model 97 Winchester shotgun, probably one of the best working tools of shotgun fame, while having no disconnect and thus having a similar rapid fire capability as the Taurus T-bolt, those who own a '97 know it is a beast to fire this way and only a strong man can hold it on target through muscle or fear or both! I have rebuilt a number of these and know that all of the 114 parts give or take) in the action ALL take energy to operate, and while you might try to get all these parts in split second motion, the end result is usually not equal to the effort you applied.
When I had the T-bolt taken apart the other day, I noticed a couple of things about the magazine tube. I looked carefully at the end of the tube where it enters the action and noticed that several interesting cuts and filings had been made upon it. Intricate, as they say. Too bad that each cut or filing edge contained burrs that were sharp to the touch and actually hindered putting the tube in the action or taking it out. I carefully fine-filed those burrs off so the edges were now smooth. I made sure not to change the depth or angle of these cuts. There has been some discussion about the inside diameter of the tube as being too large for the base of the cartridge, allowing the cartridge base to slip over the shellstop and shoot under the cartridge lifter, jamming the mechanism. I intend to continue to use the Starline .45 Schofield casing for reloading, as the rim diameter is a full .001" larger than the .45 Colt rim, and to the eye, obviously thicker. The casing itself is shorter than the .45 Colt case length allowing me to use almost all (note the word "almost") of the .45 caliber lead slugs intended for the Colt .45, and crimp each slug in the Schofield case using the bullet's crimp groove without violating the "too long sin". This "too long sin" has to be avoided in the replica .45 Colt 1866 Henry, and any of the other Winchesters using the block type shell lifter. Also has to be watched in the Remington Model 14 rifles. (Try to get a jam out of one of these Pedersen creations if you want an afternoon of fun)! The speed of operation has to be relatively steady if you want these stubby, fat, cartridges to get out of the tube and into the chamber. There has been some complaint about the rifle when you try to fire it with the loading port facing the ground or with the rifle pointing 90 degrees into the air, causing a jam or mis-feed. I would suspect if one can resist the urge to "gangsta fire the rifle" while tipping it on its side, you might just reduce jams caused by trying to shoot it this way. Also one should resist shooting at low fly geese directly over head, more so because using a rifle on geese is illegal entirely.
Last for now is the gas blow-by situation that not only leaves a powder fouling mess in the action but also spits this same crap at high speed into your face! When your rifle spits back at you due to the cartridge not sealing the chamber due to low pressure not expanding the walls of the brass casing, into momentary sealing with the chamber walls, you have a bad situation. If the casing does not grip the chamber wall for that spit second and release as the pressure drops and the bullet leaves the barrel, you have a rather bad problem called "bolt thrust". With a .45 Colt firing and creating a chamber pressure of, say, 14,000 pounds per square inch, if all goes well and the casing grips the chamber walls for that split second, you also have about 3,400 pounds per square inch of backward thrust on the bolt face of the cartridge base. If you have a greasy or crapped-up chamber, you have no casing seal on the chamber walls and the bolt thrust sends the unsealed casing back into the face of the bolt with a huge load, stressing out what would normally be an adequate locking system. This is one reason that you need to take down the Taurus Thunderbolt rifle action: LOOK AT THE LOCKING SYSTEM AND YOU TELL ME IF YOU WANT TO PERHAPS DOUBLE THE LOAD UPON IT WHEN THE RIFLE FIRES? It isn't just how dirty your shiny cases get, folks. You will shorten the shooting life of your rifle. Keep the chamber clean and use reasonable and safe loads to make sure the cases expand to seal the chamber. Or, anneal the top third of the casing so that the softer brass that results from annealing seals the chamber at lower pressure. When reloading a casing, resize it only enough to go into the chamber and hold the bullet. My T-bolt when slugged, shows it has a .454" groove diameter. Some may be .452". Best check it.
All this is food for thought. Rifle and handgun actions have always interested me. They have addicted me... All the different ways to put a bullet down and out of a barrel. I have worked with a Remington Model 14 (1914) and they are a complicated beast and will put new blue words in your vocabulary upon jam removal. The T-bolt is simple. And removing the jams are tedious but simple. Carry a screwdriver so you can pull the magazine tube. Best is to prevent a jam in the first place. Know your rifle.
Your thoughts are certainly welcome. We need to tell the folks who have one of these rifles how to get past the problems and shoot the thing and have fun!
Greg T.
(Only minus 8 below zero at this point at 10:47 in NW Wisconsin.)