Whitworth,
Jack Huntington related the ERH loosening on 500 Maximum revolvers he had experience with. And Brett at BFR Magnum Research informed me that they had not had a perfect solution using epoxy to keep the 500 Linebaugh ERH from becoming loosened. I do not believe Brett was inferring a rash of ERH failures.I feel that Brett wants perfect performance and even a few or even only ONE incident is TOO MUCH and gets his attention. Just what I sensed and picked-up from the two conversations I had yesterday with Jack Huntington and Brett at Magnum Research.
For me it's very important that information disseminated on these sites is accurate. It's the .500 S&W BFR that has experienced the occasional ERH issue, not surprising in that the pressure ceiling on that cartridge is nearly 62,000 PSI. There are literally only a few .500 Linebaugh BFRs that have thus far been built. Keep in mind that they only started offering them to the public a couple of months ago and by nature, the .500 Linebaugh is a low-pressure cartridge, in fact considerably milder than typical .500 JRH loadings. My .500 JRHs as such are much harder on parts than my Linebaugh. I have damaged two scope bases on mine thus far. It's a relatively violent bugger the way I load it. And yes, Brett is not only dedicated to his craft, he takes a lot of pride in building some of the finest revolvers available.
Yes, the .500 Maximum can be a problem child as they are light in weight (a little bit more than the standard Blackhawk on which they are based) and they generate a lot of recoil (again, the way I load it). But ERH problems on a Ruger Maximum are unrelated to the BFR.
Just for the record.
Now, having said all of that, I do agree that the deadman is always a good piece of insurance and I too love the look (and function) of a barrel band. It's a nice detail.
