The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The North Corral > Black Powder and Cowboy Action Shooting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old September 1, 2012, 10:58 PM   #1
red96ta
Member
 
Join Date: July 6, 2012
Posts: 50
I did it!!!

I finally got enough time to go out and shoot my Pietta 1860. Had no powder measure, no capper, not much anything.

Despite the lack of a measure, I had found a 45 auto casing a few weeks ago on my last trip to the mountains and did a bit of research and found out that it holds about 28 grains of black powder...close enough for me. So I packed it all back up into the car and went to the mountains this morning. Right before I got to the spot, I forgot to get a tub of crisco from the store so I ended up at a small mountain market and all they had was margarine....lol....you know what, it worked just fine and made the gun smell like fresh popcorn between cylinders.

I've discovered that shooting black powder isn't like anything I've done before. Normally, you can hear a report and say, 'that's a 45' or 'that's a 9mm' just based on the report...these things sound like cannons.

Afterwards, I broke the gun to it's component parts and cleaned it all up...should I break the gun down to it's last screw to clean, or is just breaking it down to it's base parts groups enough?
red96ta is offline  
Old September 1, 2012, 11:22 PM   #2
4V50 Gary
Staff
 
Join Date: November 2, 1998
Location: Colorado
Posts: 21,824
Congratulations on your improvised power measure. That's good enough to drive a ball downrange.

As to cleaning, I don't do detailed stripping with every range trip. Just basic components and a detailed stripping and cleaning every year (if you're familiar with the action).
__________________
Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. Molon Labe!
4V50 Gary is offline  
Old September 2, 2012, 02:32 AM   #3
jldee55
Member
 
Join Date: July 5, 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 19
Make sure you clean it well..The butter probably contains salt which is not good on the gun..A drop of olive oil works also. There are many easy lube recipes out there that are easy and simple to make, you will learn.. You have been assimulated, resistance is futile..
jldee55 is offline  
Old September 2, 2012, 06:04 AM   #4
mykeal
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 8, 2006
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 2,772
Like Gary, I don't do a complete detailed breakdown each time I shoot and then clean my guns. However, I think that after using margarine for grease it wouldn't be a bad idea. Organic materials may work well as lubricants, etc., but some can contain residual salts that aren't good, and frankly after a while most turn rancid and smell pretty bad. Besides, cleaning my guns is the second most fun thing I do.
mykeal is offline  
Old September 2, 2012, 05:31 PM   #5
straight-shooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 12, 2007
Location: North Central Indiana
Posts: 436
Black powdered popcorn, you could be a millionaire. Sounds almost as good as bacon!
straight-shooter is offline  
Old September 2, 2012, 06:04 PM   #6
Doc Hoy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 24, 2008
Location: Naples, Fl
Posts: 5,440
I take mine down....

...to parade rest every time I shoot but I am in the minority. I am not that fastidious. I just enjoy it.
__________________
Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.
Doc Hoy is offline  
Old September 2, 2012, 06:25 PM   #7
DFrame
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 7, 2008
Location: central Illinois
Posts: 451
Congrats. Sounds like you're on your way. BTW, a 45 acp case is MY standard measure for black powder. Works great.
I'm also one who field strips and thoroughly cleans the barrel and cylinder but DON'T do a detailed strip of the gun. You might splurge on a little bore butter instead of the super market kind It will do the job for you and can be used to protect your gun after cleaning.
__________________
Mark Lane to William Buckley: "Have you ever referred to Jessee Jackson as an ignoramus?"
Buckley: "If I didn't, I should have"
DFrame is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.26094 seconds with 10 queries