load for 1861 navy

[bubba15301]

need a load for a 1861 colt navy .36 cal i have pyrodex ,777, and bp .

[Fingers McGee]

I shoot 22 grains fffg BP, wad & .380 roundball in my steel framed Uberti 1861 Navies, Leech and Rigdons & Navy Arms Frontiersmen.

My brass framed Navies only get 18 grains fffg BP

I do not use T7 or pyrodex in my C&Bs. T7 is too finicky & I don't like pyrodex.

[bubba15301]

dont have .380s ,have .375rb

[New Englander]

i would imagine you would be just fine with something near 20 grains that seems to be the norm for those.

[Hawg]

I use 25 grains of Pyrodex in my 51 Navy with .375 round ball.

[Doc Hoy]

Welcome to the group.

Post early and post often.

[madcratebuilder]

The Colt spec for the 61 Navy was 15-20grs with 18grs recommended. The originals and 2nd gens call for a .378 RB, but .380 are fine. .375's if you still shave a lead ring.

I like a 20-24 gr load in my .36's, and 16-18gr if it has a brass frame.

[capper]

Welcome to the forum,New Englander.Don't worry 'bout Doc none,he does'nt bite .HaHa

[Doc Hoy]

Doc doesn't bite....males.

[capper]

[radom]

What ever will fit and still get the ball to still seat is all.

[bubba15301]

would 30 grains of 777 be to much

[Hawg]

That would be about 35 grains of bp. I don't think it would be too much for the gun but would be pretty stout for a .375 ball.

[Gatofeo]

It is FAR TOO MUCH!
DO NOT put 30 grs. of Hodgdon 777 into a .36-caliber 1851 Navy!
Instead of asking here, you should go to the source of the powder: Hodgdon.
Its website shows a recommended load of 15 grs. of 777 in a STEEL-FRAMED 1851 Navy in .36 caliber. Hodgdon does not recommend the use of 777 in brass-framed revolvers.
The maximum load listed by Hodgdon for the 1851 Navy .36 is 20 grs. These loads are with the .375" ball and a Wonder Wad between ball and powder.

If anyone tells you to put in more than what Hodgdon recommends, ask them what ballistics lab they used, what kind of pressures they got, and how many ballisticians they employ to interpret the data.
The point is, until you have access to a ballistics lab, exceeding Hodgdon's recommendations is just guesswork. Hodgdon has a ballistics lab and the expertise to interpret data.

[Gatofeo]

Now, back to your original question ...

In my Uberti-made 1861 Colt and Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy:

Goex FFFG black powder - 24 grs. by volume.

1/8" thick wool felt wad I make from hard felt purchased from Durofelt.com

Wad lubricated with Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant (search the internet for the recipe named after me)

.380" swaged ball.

I've gone as much as 27 grs. of Goex FFFG, but couldn't use the felt wad because I needed all the room I could get to seat the .380" ball.

Hodgdon Pyrodex P -- Same measure as above. It's designed to be used volume-for-volume with black powder.

Hodgdon 777 is NOT designed to be used volume-for-volume against black powder. To obtain the same velocities and pressure as black powder, reduce 777 by 15 percent. Full instructions are on the Hodgdon website.

The Colts most often shoot high, as much as 10 to 12 inches high at 25 yards. This is true to the originals, which also shot high. My 2nd generation Colt 1851 Navy hits dead-on at about 80 yards, and about 6 inches high at 25 yards.
My Uberti-made 1861 Navy is new, and I haven't tried it at long range. At 25 yards it shoots about 3" high. If I had to guess, I'd say it will probably hit dead-on at 50 yards or so. I haven't tried it, though.

A good target load is 20 grs. of Goex FFFG black powder with the same wad and ball as above. You can use a little filler, or perhaps a second wad, to bring the ball closer to the forcing cone at the breech of the barrel, but considering the crude sights that these revolvers have you probably won't notice a difference between using a filler and not.

The Remington .36 holds a little more powder than the Colt. I have two Remington .36s, made by Uberti and Pietta, and this is true for both.

Best accuracy will be with the plain, ol' round ball of .380 inch. Conical bullets, even those cast from the Lee mold, have never been as accurate for me in any of my .36 cals. The round ball rules.
Conversely, my Remington .44 made by Uberti loves the Lee 200 gr. conical and will put six of them into 1-1/2" at 20 yards. But the .454 or .457 ball will duplicate this accuracy, and is more readily available.

You'll have to search the net for .380" balls. Neither Speer or Hornady makes them in that diameter.
Gad Custom Cartridge at http://gadcustomcartridges.com/ sells them for $6 per 100, which is about the best price you'll find. There is no online ordering, however. You'll have to call him first, to ensure he has them in stock.

Use nothing but natural lubricants on your revolver, no petroleum products (except for the canning paraffin contained in Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant, as explained in the instructions for making it).
Natural lubes include vegetable oil, olive oil, bacon grease, lard, beeswax (the real stuff, beware of today's toilet seals; they haven't been made of real beeswax for some years and are now petroleum-based), Crisco, mutton tallow, etc.
Natural lubes not only offer superior lubrication for black powder, but they won't create the hard, tarry fouling associated with using petroleum lubes and oils with black powder. Natural lubes are also easier to clean from the gun's surfaces, with soapy water or commercial black powder solvents.

Never let anyone stand to the side of you when firing a cap and ball revolver. They eject a lot of flame, smoke, grit and possibly shavings of lead when fired. Always wear eye and ear protection; black powder is LOUD.
Keep your powder and caps behind you, when firing, or well-covered on the bench.
A fishing box -- larger than you think you'll need -- is a good place to keep all your accessories together. But store the powder and caps out of the box, separately.

And DO NOT do like I did years ago: My fishing box and cap-and-ball box were identical, both tan plastic ones made by Plano. My buddy and I drove nearly 30 miles outside of Spokane to do a day of shooting with various guns, including my Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy.
Come time to use it, I opened the box and found a wonderful collection of lures, lead weights, leader, snelled hooks and whatnot!
I've moved on to a larger box -- of a different color -- for my cap and ball revolvers. I also wrote "Cap and Ball Revolver" on it.

Could have been worse. Might have got out in the middle of a lake and opened my box to find a nice assortment of balls, black powder, wads and caps!

[OutlawJoseyWales]

Well, you can't get better than that. No other advice is needed.
Thanks Gatefeo, I've been following your advice since I started shooting B.P. revolvers.
OJW

[Hardy]

Ya'll think I might be crazy on this one--but on the 1861 Navys make sure the left shoulder stock screw is not too long or tighten too much because it might scrape against hammer hand. I love the 61 Navy and use 20 grains of goex or 25 grains of pyrodex. If you use too much the screws will pop loose.

WBH

[straight-shooter]

Come time to use it, I opened the box and found a wonderful collection of lures, lead weights, leader, snelled hooks and whatnot!
I've moved on to a larger box -- of a different color -- for my cap and ball revolvers. I also wrote "Cap and Ball Revolver" on it

Gatofeo, the fix to your dilemna with the tackle boxes would have been to start using lead sinkers the same diameter as your BP guns use. Borrow a little powder from your partner and problem solved!