My new cowboy action/BP acquisition

Forklift · May 21, 2010, 10:29 AM

Charles Daly 1873 clone in 45LC & Uberti 3rd Gen Dragoon

Sorry, no other reason to post than i'm happy to show off gun pics.

kwhi43 · May 21, 2010, 11:49 AM

Nice, Thank You for sharing.

suzukibruce · May 21, 2010, 01:01 PM

thanks for sharing, keep coming back...

Forklift · May 21, 2010, 02:23 PM

Thanks, I appreciate it. Been lurking for a month and read pretty much every back log/old post i could til my eyes bled about CAS & BP before i bought. I'm very happy and look forward to a range trip soon!

RemTim · May 21, 2010, 08:25 PM

Looks like research and patience paid off for you,especially that 1873 ;beautiful.

Fingers McGee · May 21, 2010, 10:54 PM

Thanks for sharing. Let us know how the first range session goes.

FM

surbat6 · May 21, 2010, 11:49 PM

Nice sixguns, pard! I have a few Colt C&B revolver repros, but no Dragoon, a situation I hope to remedy in the near future!

Forklift · May 25, 2010, 11:28 AM

Newbie question, but I have to ask...

As purely a demonstration load for ooh's and ahh's, would it have any negative impact on the Dragoon if I loaded the cylinder full with grain (no wad or ball) or pyrodex pellets and fire once? I would like to note here that I'm not dumb enough to load more than 1 chamber at a time for this.

mykeal · May 25, 2010, 11:35 AM

I assume you meant powder and not grain...oats or wheat won't go off...

There is no issue as far as the gun is concerned. You'll need some sort of wad to close off the chamber and keep the powder in it. And that wad will become a projectile, so safety is paramount, of course.

Forklift · May 25, 2010, 12:27 PM

What, a full cylinder of cream of wheat doesn't work?

lol No, I meant what I typed. I used the term grain to indicate x grains of powder in the cylinder, because the Dragoon is supposed to be used with anywhere between 30 to 50 grains of BP (as I'm sure you know). I don't follow jargon much... he was always a slippery devil!

Fingers McGee · May 25, 2010, 12:29 PM

I load C&Bs with blanks all the time for reenactments. 1860 Army, 30 gr fffg, 20 gr cream of wheat packed tight as a wad, cap, fire & repeat. You can safely load five chambers this way. Makes plenty of smoke and boom and the cream of wheat disintegrates when fired. You still don't want to point it at anyone though.

Forklift · May 25, 2010, 12:47 PM

Thanks! One more question.. how long does 1lb of powder usually last if you're using 30 grains a shot? I'm looking for a rough round count because I have no idea how many 'grains' are in a pound. We talking 100 shots in a pound? More? Less?

Dino. · May 25, 2010, 01:35 PM

Quote:

I assume you meant powder and not grain...oats or wheat won't go off...

Now THAT's funny.

kwhi43 · May 25, 2010, 02:19 PM

Well There's 7000 grains in a pound

Forklift · May 25, 2010, 04:28 PM

Many thanks!!

Now I can do a little math to check out cost/value of shooting cap and ball. I’m going to break this order down in relation to 100 rounds (like 2 boxes of 9mm Federal Ammo at Walmart).

Prices based on estimated online values.

*edited for crappy math skills*
100 lead balls = $15
100 caps = $5.50 (you usually buy 1000 at a time for around $55, so .055 cents X 1000 = $55)
100 rounds of powder using 30 grains per shot = $8.58 (1lb of powder cost $20 and has 7000 grain, so using 30 grain load increments = 233.33 shots per lb. $20 / 233 shots = .085 cents per shot x 100 shots = $8.58)

Grand total for 100 rounds = $29.08

By my calculations, which have been known to be wrong, it’s almost exactly the same as cheap 9mm rounds. The cheapest in my area is a 50 count of Federal for about $11 per box. Not bad for anti-horse rounds!

azsixgun · May 26, 2010, 12:33 AM

Forklift, I think you've got a math error on your powder calculation. What do you pay for the powder you shoot? At $16/pound, it ought to be $6.86/100 rounds.

Forklift · May 26, 2010, 08:09 AM

Don't confuse the facts with my own bulletnomics!

ok, editing the math...

Now that price is if you buy just the basics. If you were to cast your own bullets, price would go down considerably! If you use wads, then you could make those as well (but since it's not 100% required for function, I didn't add wads, filler and lube into the price).

Hope this gets people interested in BP... especially since casting your own lead is easy as pie.

May 21, 2010, 10:29 AM	#1
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	My new cowboy action/BP acquisition Charles Daly 1873 clone in 45LC & Uberti 3rd Gen Dragoon Sorry, no other reason to post than i'm happy to show off gun pics.

May 21, 2010, 01:01 PM	#3
suzukibruce Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2010 Location: camden maine Posts: 137	thanks for sharing, keep coming back... __________________ Guns don't kill people, jealous husbands that come home from work early kill people

May 21, 2010, 10:54 PM	#6
Fingers McGee Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks Posts: 2,113	Thanks for sharing. Let us know how the first range session goes. FM __________________ Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce

May 21, 2010, 11:49 PM	#7
surbat6 Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2010 Location: Northampton, PA Posts: 164	Nice sixguns, pard! I have a few Colt C&B revolver repros, but no Dragoon, a situation I hope to remedy in the near future! __________________ I think of my gun as a tool for converting worthless human garbage into valuable fertilizer.

May 25, 2010, 12:29 PM	#11
Fingers McGee Senior Member Join Date: March 19, 2008 Location: High & Dry in Missouri Ozarks Posts: 2,113	I load C&Bs with blanks all the time for reenactments. 1860 Army, 30 gr fffg, 20 gr cream of wheat packed tight as a wad, cap, fire & repeat. You can safely load five chambers this way. Makes plenty of smoke and boom and the cream of wheat disintegrates when fired. You still don't want to point it at anyone though. __________________ Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts - Alter ego of Diabolical Ken; SASS Regulator 28564-L-TG; Rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman, Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, NMLRA, SAF, CCRKBA, STORM 327, SV115; Charter member, Central Ozarks Western Shooters Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision see things as they are, not as they should be. Ambrose Bierce

May 21, 2010, 11:49 AM	#2
kwhi43 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,393	Nice, Thank You for sharing.

May 21, 2010, 02:23 PM	#4
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	Thanks, I appreciate it. Been lurking for a month and read pretty much every back log/old post i could til my eyes bled about CAS & BP before i bought. I'm very happy and look forward to a range trip soon!

May 21, 2010, 08:25 PM	#5
RemTim Junior member Join Date: April 10, 2010 Location: North Carolina Posts: 225	Looks like research and patience paid off for you,especially that 1873 ;beautiful.

May 25, 2010, 11:28 AM	#8
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	Newbie question, but I have to ask... As purely a demonstration load for ooh's and ahh's, would it have any negative impact on the Dragoon if I loaded the cylinder full with grain (no wad or ball) or pyrodex pellets and fire once? I would like to note here that I'm not dumb enough to load more than 1 chamber at a time for this.

May 25, 2010, 11:35 AM	#9
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	I assume you meant powder and not grain...oats or wheat won't go off... There is no issue as far as the gun is concerned. You'll need some sort of wad to close off the chamber and keep the powder in it. And that wad will become a projectile, so safety is paramount, of course.

May 25, 2010, 12:27 PM	#10
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	What, a full cylinder of cream of wheat doesn't work? lol No, I meant what I typed. I used the term grain to indicate x grains of powder in the cylinder, because the Dragoon is supposed to be used with anywhere between 30 to 50 grains of BP (as I'm sure you know). I don't follow jargon much... he was always a slippery devil!

May 25, 2010, 12:47 PM	#12
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	Thanks! One more question.. how long does 1lb of powder usually last if you're using 30 grains a shot? I'm looking for a rough round count because I have no idea how many 'grains' are in a pound. We talking 100 shots in a pound? More? Less?

May 25, 2010, 02:19 PM	#14
kwhi43 Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,393	Well There's 7000 grains in a pound

May 25, 2010, 04:28 PM	#15
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	Many thanks!! Now I can do a little math to check out cost/value of shooting cap and ball. I’m going to break this order down in relation to 100 rounds (like 2 boxes of 9mm Federal Ammo at Walmart). Prices based on estimated online values. *edited for crappy math skills* 100 lead balls = $15 100 caps = $5.50 (you usually buy 1000 at a time for around $55, so .055 cents X 1000 = $55) 100 rounds of powder using 30 grains per shot = $8.58 (1lb of powder cost $20 and has 7000 grain, so using 30 grain load increments = 233.33 shots per lb. $20 / 233 shots = .085 cents per shot x 100 shots = $8.58) Grand total for 100 rounds = $29.08 By my calculations, which have been known to be wrong, it’s almost exactly the same as cheap 9mm rounds. The cheapest in my area is a 50 count of Federal for about $11 per box. Not bad for anti-horse rounds! Last edited by Forklift; May 26, 2010 at 08:13 AM.

May 26, 2010, 12:33 AM	#16
azsixgun Member Join Date: April 2, 2010 Location: Arizona Posts: 21	Forklift, I think you've got a math error on your powder calculation. What do you pay for the powder you shoot? At $16/pound, it ought to be $6.86/100 rounds.

May 26, 2010, 08:09 AM	#17
Forklift Member Join Date: April 20, 2010 Location: Middle TN Posts: 22	Don't confuse the facts with my own bulletnomics! ok, editing the math... Now that price is if you buy just the basics. If you were to cast your own bullets, price would go down considerably! If you use wads, then you could make those as well (but since it's not 100% required for function, I didn't add wads, filler and lube into the price). Hope this gets people interested in BP... especially since casting your own lead is easy as pie. Last edited by Forklift; May 26, 2010 at 08:29 AM.