rookie question

[Hawg]

It is messy while shooting, though.

You're using too much. All you need is a little around the edges of the balls. Any more is just going to get blown all over the gun. Wads under the balls are much neater.

[jimbob86]

You're using too much. All you need is a little around the edges of the balls. Any more is just going to get blown all over the gun.

Witha 20gr charge ....theres plenty of space in the cylinder .... fat fingers can't push it down around the edge of the ball and nowhere else .....

Wads under the balls are much neater.

....and something else to buy .... and keep track of.

[Trum4n1208]

I prefer the wads personally. Just my 2 cents.

[oldknotty]

Went out to shoot my revolvers yesterday for the first time , Followed the instructions on here began with 20 grains and moved up to 30 and had NO problems ,In fact i am so hooked on BP right now that i really really want more :-) I am looking for civil war era replicas that i can shoot , if any one knows of a source i would be very grateful .I wonder if they mix crack in with the gunpowder because i am so hooked i cannot wait to get out again :-)

[hartcreek]

Rookie stated that his BP pistols were .44 cal but there is a large difference in actual bore diameters with BP pistols.

Telling someone to use .454 round balls is just nuts. I have four BP revolvers. All are .44 cal. made by ASM, Pietta, CVA and Uberti. Three of them require .440 or .445 round balls with .440 using a over shot wad and an over ball wad with grease around the edges to prevent chain fire.

My Uberti Walker I can load .445 round balls with double wads or .454 round balls.

He really needs to slug his gun or at least use calipers to determine what size RB to use.

[Hawg]

Telling someone to use .454 round balls is just nuts.

You're the one that's nuts if you're using .440 balls in a .44 revolver. Those would rattle down the bore like a marble in a sewer pipe. .440 balls are for a .45 caliber single shot and to be used with a patch. .454's are the gold standard for bp revolvers. Some use .451's but the .454's cut a better ring. Some use .457 but those are for Rugers. Oh and CVA never made anything, they import all their guns.

[Stormson]

Went out to shoot my revolvers yesterday for the first time , Followed the instructions on here began with 20 grains and moved up to 30 and had NO problems ,In fact i am so hooked on BP right now that i really really want more :-) I am looking for civil war era replicas that i can shoot , if any one knows of a source i would be very grateful .I wonder if they mix crack in with the gunpowder because i am so hooked i cannot wait to get out again :-)

Yup! They are pretty cool arnt they? Thats EXACTLY how i felt when i got back into it recently too!

One thing.. The 30gr is ONLY for the steel framed gun. NEVER use that much, or more then 20 for that matter, in a brass one. It may not blow apart, but it will ruin your gun in really quick order. A lot of people say heavy loads in a brass frame will only stretch the frame and hammer the back plate (ruining the gun anyway), BUT, I have seen one where a brass frame actually cracked from the lower\back part of the cylinder opening, at a downward angle towards the grip. Dangerous stuff. At any rate, the best that can happen if you shoot those loads in the brasser is that you will ruin it.. Now, the steel frame? Hehe.. Pack as much as you can without loosing accuracy is my motto!

[maillemaker]

Rookie stated that his BP pistols were .44 cal but there is a large difference in actual bore diameters with BP pistols.

Telling someone to use .454 round balls is just nuts. I have four BP revolvers. All are .44 cal. made by ASM, Pietta, CVA and Uberti. Three of them require .440 or .445 round balls with .440 using a over shot wad and an over ball wad with grease around the edges to prevent chain fire.

My Uberti Walker I can load .445 round balls with double wads or .454 round balls.

He really needs to slug his gun or at least use calipers to determine what size RB to use.

As Hawg pointed out, .454 seems to be the "gold standard" for most revolvers.

There's no need to slug the gun - the chamber determines the ball you need. If you shave off a small ring of lead, you've got the right size. If you don't shave any lead on loading, then the ball is not achieving an interference fit, and you are running a risk of chain fires.

Slugging the gun is useful if you want to determine whether your chambers are matched to your bore for optimal accuracy.

But for loading, it all comes down to the chamber size. You gotta shave lead on loading.

My Pietta's (2 1851 brass Navies, 1 1860, 1 1858) all take .454. My Uberti Walker takes a .457.

Steve

[maillemaker]

I've never used wads. I like the idea of lube in front of the bullet as it lubricates the bullet as the bullet runs over the lube as it travels down the barrel. Lube behind the bullet may keep the fouling soft but it's hard to see how it provides any lubrication for the bullet in front of it.

However, if you're only shooting 50 or so shots before cleaning maybe it doesn't matter.

Grease over the balls does get blown onto the gun during shooting. But I always have shop rags at the range when BP shooting for wiping up my hands and guns. I always leave the range looking like I was juggling nuggets of coal.

Steve

[EliasKell]

I've used 30 grains of powder under a .451 ball in my 1860 and have had fantastic results. No chainfire concerns. The .451 balls from Hornaday have also worked great in the paper catridges I've made for the 1860. Slightly higher load of 30 grains of powder for that gun, but it runs like a champ and at seven yards one-handed I can put out a four inch group with my cartridges.