.36 Navy

[lstrickland]

I have what apears to be a 1960s production of a Navy Arms M1851 .36 cal. The only rounds i have found are conicals. Are they safe for this weapon, or are they more a rifle round ? Thanks in advance.

 

[Greg Hardy]

Conicals are perfectly safe for the '51

 

[Swtodd]

.375 roundballs should work fine. What conicals did you find? Just curious.

steve

 

[lstrickland]

Toots, they look identical to a .45 maxi ball only in.36

 

[Swtodd]

Are they made by TC? Can you measure the diameter? I'm thinking(not a good sign) you have rifle conicals if they look like maxi-balls. Might be kinda long and heavy if they are indeed rifle projectiles. Can you weigh them? Sorry for all the questions, i'm easy to confuse.

steve

 

[lstrickland]

Im thinkin the same thing,they are a shad over a half inch long. Im thinkin they want leave much room for powder.dont really want to shoot rb.

 

[Swtodd]

Buffalo ball-ets weigh 120gr IIRC. Claim they are the only commercial manufacturers of conicals for cap&ball revolvers.
Lee still makes a 130gr conical mould. Cast your own or find some cast bullets on flea bay. They should be .375 diameter.
steve

 

[lstrickland]

Thanks a million, I'll give them a check.

 

[tg]

FWIW the rb is and was the typical projectile for this gun

 

[lonehunter]

dont really want to shoot rb.

Why?

 

[lstrickland]

Chicken factor really. Keep hearing about chain firing due to improper loading. I guess the real issue is that an issue?

 

[Swtodd]

You can get chain fires with conicals too! Using a .375 roundball should seal the cylinder. If you use a overpowder wad then the projectile it will pretty much eliminate a chain fire. Some use grease over the projectile after loading the cylinders. Chain fires just make you have to reload sooner :grin: , and pry the ball off the loading ram :grin: , and clean the lead streaks off the side of the barrel.

steve

 

[lstrickland]

Ok, powder, wad, .375 rb, grease( crisco?) #11 cap ,good to go. ?

 

[Swtodd]

Yes, the number 11s might be big, just squeeze them a little if they are, try to find number. 10s if the 11s are too big. I use the felt wads, lubed over the powder. I don't use grease over the projectile, haven't had a chain fire in years. Have fun with it. I have found roundballs to be the least expensive and most accurate in any .36 i've shot. If you can find 0000 buckshot, it's less expensive and you get a bizzillion balls in a 25 lb. bag (bizzillion might be an exaggeration if it was a real number).

steve

 

[lstrickland]

0000? Is it the same size?

 

[Swtodd]

I believe they are .380", work fine. Shave what looks like the same ring off when loading. Very hard to find them, not a popular size i suppose. I use pre-lubed felt. Some use milk carton or vegetable wads over the powder. Triple7 powder wants you to use cushion wads, the pre-lubed makes it easy. Sorry, i hogged this thread. Didn't even realize it till now. Again, sorry.

steve
Don't get #4 buck, not the same

 

[lstrickland]

As long as im learnin, hog away! Thanks again guys,this has been a huge help. This is a great site.

 

[lonehunter]

Grease over the ball with good fitting caps and you should not have a chain fire issue.
Crisco works fine! :v

 

[PreserveFreedom]

If you wind up wanting to play with the Buffalo conicals made for the revolver at some point, both Cabela's and Dixie sell them. I used some and they were a tad difficult to load properly. The Cabela's website did warn that the smaller area for loading on the 1851 would make it an issue. I wound up turning them around and loading them with the round end toward the powder. They hit their target like a 38 spl wadcutter.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Chainfire is really a non-issue, provided you follow two simple rules:
1) Use either grease (Crisco, etc) over the end of the ball or a greased wad (Wonder Wad) over the powder. Some use both. I use just the wads and have zero problems.
2) Use the PROPER SIZE cap (i.e. tight fitting) Many shooters advocate using #11 caps and squeezing them to hold them in place....BAD IDEA. I would estimate the majority of chainfires are result of loose/displaced or missing caps rather than improperly sealed round balls. Mic out your chamber diameters and choose a RB .003-.005 larger than that. Seating the ball should shave a nice lead ring which pretty much indicates a tight seal (and eliminates the chainfire worry) I have fired many hundreds if not thousands of round balls and never experienced a chainfire.
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