.36 Seneca Loads

[kencolamarino]

Just bought a .36 Seneca and paid waaaaay to much for it, but had to have it. It won't show up for awhile, and I'm putting in an order with Track for necessary accessories. I have molds for both .311 round balls, and .36 maxi's, both from Lyman. I want to try wads under the maxi's and I don't think the .36 diameter wads will seal the bore, and the pistol wads are .38. Has anyone used these? How do you start them without going sideways? Any load data for the round balls with a tight patch and for the maxi's would be appreciated. I'd be using 3F black powder only and No. 11 caps. Plan on using the Seneca as a tree rat rifle.

Ken

 

[kencolamarino]

Sorry, round ball molds are .35. I was thinkin about the .32 rifle.

 

[BrownBear]

I only tried lubed felt wads once in my 36 (not a Seneca). I wasn't using a conical and the wad didn't make a difference under PRBs, so I quit. I bet they will make a difference on conicals, if combos I have tried in other calibers are indicators. I used Oxyoke intended for 36 cal revolvers from Track without a hitch. Though they're .375 I think, they're soft enough that they deformed nicely to fit the bore without resorting to starting them sideways. Cards that large would be an issue I bet, but felt wads were easy.

Congrats on your buy! I'm betting it's a real shooter. In my 36 20-25 grains of Pyro P or 3f is a real head swatter for snowshoe hare, so I bet it will do well for tree rats. BTW- In both my 32 and 36 Pyro P is a lot cleaner shooting than 3f.

 

[sundog]

You are gonna love that Seneca ! I love mine.
I am target shooting with Maxis and use 35 grains of Goex 3F. Currently I am lubing them with a 50/50 mix of bees wax - crisco.
I do not use any wadding under the maxi.
The maxis shoot a good group but not near as tight as a .350 RB patched with ticking, lubed with Lehigh Valley lube and over 25 Grains of Goex 3f

 

[MikeChapin]

My wife has shot a Seneca for about 20 years. She uses 30 grains of 3F, a .350 ball with a .018 ticking or .020 denim patch. Both seem to shoot about the same.

 

[torn moc]

I have been taught that you can determine the max powder load for a rifle by multiplying the caliber by 1.5 Using this formula your .36 can handle 54 grains of powder....it will be a Stout load....but your most accurate load will be with less powder.

 

[shmrck1]

Scalper,
Your maximum load data may or may not be correct.I personally think the all important
question should be: What is the most accurate
load for the cal.you are shooting.To that thought
if using a .36cal, start at 36grns 3fff. Move up
5grns at a time,till you find what you want for
accurracy.IMHO The Max load is never the most accurate and in most cases unnecessary.IMHO
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[glenn mcmurray]

Be real careful when trying to load max loads in the Seneca. T/C uses different loading charts for this gun do to the smaller barrells and frames. I've got three barrells for mine and the gun shoots great. Couldn't think of a better tree rat gun.

 

[kencolamarino]

Thanks to all for the load info. I've got the T/C load data also. I'll develop the most accurate load with both the round ball and maxi, and I don't expect it to be anywhere near a max load. From what info I've gotten, the rb load should be between 20-35 grains, and the maxi between 30-45. Just cast a couple hundred maxi's and they really look good with very little weight deviation. Will cast the balls next, and as soon as the rifle shows up I'll get to the range. Will take it apart first and locktight the rib and ferrule screws. Have seen pictures of the innards of the lock, and will take it apart and clean it up as well. Hope the trigger is OK as with spare parts hard to get I'd have to be really careful doing my normal sear engagement work to get a good trigger. Thanks again.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Try 30-35 grains of FFFg behind a .350" patched ball or 40-45 grains of the same behind the 128 grain Maxi. Never chronographed those but the ball worked of coyote/fox sixed critters to 50 yards with the ball and even farther with the Maxi. Good luck.