B.P. r.b. accuracy question.

[jeager106]

I just read the thread on 'which' round ball etc.
I've been shooting b.p. for years & own a few b.p. revolvers.
I'm curious about what dedicated cap 'n ball shooters get in the way
of accuracy & at what distance with what powder, & ball, etc.
I'd be interested in accuracy at, say, 25 yards from a bench rest, caliber, powder load, swagged or cast, & all the goodie info.
I buy Hornady r.b. for all my b.p. arms that shoot r.b. & have no complaints.
Putting Crisco over the seated ball of a cap 'n ball wheel gun does nothing but make a real slippery mess out of the revolver after shot #1.
If the shooter using Crisco fires 1 shot then looks at the seated balls next to that one fired chamber notice that there isn't any Crisco there anymore.
It's all over the revolver, shooter, & everything else.
I often seat a hard card wad over the powder then seat the ball but the wad only serves to take up air space so the ball seats just below the chamber mouth.
I've found my .44s shoot best with charges of 3fg of 25 or so grains, 30 or more (if it fits) generally destroys accuracy.
I have shot rabbits, raccoons & squirrels with a Pietta s.s. with adj. sights.
No it ain't "traditional" but I like it.

[kwhi43]

With the proper load you should get 3 inch groups mebby a little better at
25 yds. I don't have any 25 yd targets shot with revolver right at hand, but
here is a 10 shot target at 50 yds I shot at the Nationals a couple years ago.
It was with my 36 cal. Remington . This is one hand shooting. The 10 ring is
just a tad over 3 inches dia.

[Hawg]

I don't do much target shooting but this was one handed at 25 yards give or take with a Pietta navy.

[maillemaker]

It depends on the gun. Once, off a bench, I got my Pietta 1858 to shoot a string of shots where it tore a single jagged line of holes in the paper at 25 yards.

I have not gotten decent accuracy out of my Pietta 1860 army under any load.

My Uberti Walker, off a bench, put 3 shots in one hole and 2 shots touching about an inch away. I use 45 grains 3F and beeswax/crisco lube over the bullet.

With the same Walker and load, I shot a man-sized steel target off hand single-handed at 120 yards.

Steve

[jeager106]

Thank you all much! I appreciate the responses so keep them comming.
[email protected]
What is the make of the dandy looking revolver in the photo?

[Hellgate]

Maillemaker,
I'd bet that if you miked the chambers on that Pietta Colt army you would find the chambers are a little small for the bore diamter. If you reamed them out a few thou the ball would seal the bore better by engaging the riflings more deeply. Then you'd see that gun shoot much tighter.

[wogpotter]

8" Uberti (Cimmaron) 1858 Remington new army.
0.454" RB papier mache' wad lubed with olive oil 28Gr FFFg.

It will vary with brand a bore though.



Yeah, I fess up, it was 2-handed.

[mec]

These guys really know how to shoot and demonstrate a surprising truth. Accuracy of percussion revolvers loaded with ball is on a par with the best of the modern revolvers and autos and the belt-size colt and remington replicas are a lot easier to shoot precisely than all but a hand full of modern handguns.
In half-hearted defense of crisco or bore butter over the balls, even though the bulk of the visible grease gets blown away, some of it must get blown around the circumference of the remaining chambered balls and seal them off against the hot gasses. I agree with your overall assessment of the practice though.

[Hawg]

Most people use too much lube. They tend to fill the void between ball and chamber mouth when a little around the edge of the ball is all that's needed. Of course all that extra lube is going to get blown all over the gun.

[kwhi43]

I use what you would call just a coating of the lube over the ball. No more.

[mykeal]

I tend to try to reason things out by understanding the physics of the question.

With regard to the question of grease over the ball -

The most popular 'grease' is Crisco, a product resembling lard used in cooking. It melts at a very low temperature relative to the hot combustion gasses seen in black powder shooting. The evidence is pretty clear: the greasy mess found all over the gun after firing, as well as the lack of any remaining solid grease in the mouths of chambers adjacent to the in battery chamber after firing. Now, how is it that this liquid forms a 'seal', impervious to the very environment that causes it to change state?

It is true that causing the state change in the grease will cool the gasses somewhat, but this heat of fusion is miniscule with respect to the amount of heat energy in the gasses at the elevated combustion temperature.

I just don't see how we can consider either the solid or melted grease to be an effective 'seal' against the hot combustion gasses.

[salvadore]

kwhi is a show off, wish I could be a show off. When I've shot my revolvers on paper I get pretty nice groups (not kwhi groups) not quite what my modern revolvers, 1955 1931 get but not bad....3"...maybe..I should take my 1860 out and try.

[Hawg]

kwhi is a professional.

[kwhi43]

I'll have you know I am a professional show off!

[salvadore]

kwhi is a professional.

Wish someone would pay me to go shootin.