The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Shot the old Remington today, first BP rounds

spacecoast · March 22, 2014, 01:32 PM

I had a great time this morning with my Remington New Model Army (manufactured 1864). I only put seven rounds down range (one as a trial and then a full cylinder) but I'm really pleased with the results. The target is shown below, with a 4-1/2" vertical string of shots at 15 yards. The gun shoots about 3" high with the light load used, but is more accurate than I thought it would be at 150 years of age.

Last night I determined that a 1.3CC Lee dipper full of Pyrodex P yields the equivalent of about 23 grains of FFFg black powder. Following wogpotter's loading procedure (described here) the loading went really smooth. I seated the .454" balls fully with the gun's loading lever and a small ring of lead was cut off the edge of them so I knew they were a good fit. Seating the ball was easier than I thought it would be.

The only small glitch during shooting was that one of the unfired caps fell off when I was shooting the full cylinder of rounds. I waited to replace it until that chamber cycled around to be next one in line and it fired fine. I also noticed that the spent caps tend to exit the gun by themselves on the shot following.

I am definitely "hooked" on BP shooting.

I'm not sure if I'll continue to use this old museum piece or invest in a replica, but either way I'll be doing it again soon.

March 22, 2014, 01:32 PM	#1
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	Shot the old Remington today, first BP rounds I had a great time this morning with my Remington New Model Army (manufactured 1864). I only put seven rounds down range (one as a trial and then a full cylinder) but I'm really pleased with the results. The target is shown below, with a 4-1/2" vertical string of shots at 15 yards. The gun shoots about 3" high with the light load used, but is more accurate than I thought it would be at 150 years of age. Last night I determined that a 1.3CC Lee dipper full of Pyrodex P yields the equivalent of about 23 grains of FFFg black powder. Following wogpotter's loading procedure (described here) the loading went really smooth. I seated the .454" balls fully with the gun's loading lever and a small ring of lead was cut off the edge of them so I knew they were a good fit. Seating the ball was easier than I thought it would be. The only small glitch during shooting was that one of the unfired caps fell off when I was shooting the full cylinder of rounds. I waited to replace it until that chamber cycled around to be next one in line and it fired fine. I also noticed that the spent caps tend to exit the gun by themselves on the shot following. I am definitely "hooked" on BP shooting. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use this old museum piece or invest in a replica, but either way I'll be doing it again soon. Last edited by spacecoast; March 22, 2014 at 01:41 PM.