Secondly I asked him about center fire cylinders like 45 ACP. He said that they can make those but the demand for the 44-40 has been so intense it's hard for them to add other cylinders. That did surprise me. We didn't talk about it but I know you have to neck up the brass for the 429 bullet vs the 427 bullet in the 44-40 to get the accuracy you might want. Guy I talked to seems to think it's the CAS pushing that demand. Anyway, if you've had those questions, now you know.
Yes, CAS demand is likely the driver for those. FWIW, Al made me .44-40 cylinders for two old model Bisley Vaqueros. VERY nice. Took almost two years from when I first ordered, because the demand for 10-shot .22s was keeping him from getting on with the .44 WCF project. Ruger just wouldn't sell .44 WCF cylinders to anyone unless the revolver was originally sold as a "convertible" model... and Al Story is maybe the only game in town to get there from here. Reason is often about pairing Ruger revolvers with Win 73 rifles chambered for .44 WCF, etc. for CAS matches.
These .44-40 cylinders are actually sized properly for .429 bullets. Almost nobody uses (or can even find) suitable .427 bullets (without casting, themselves) and most of the pistol manufacturer's are using .429 for bore anyway. New .44-40 brass readily accepts .429 bullets; no issues with handloading dies.
-Chris
