conicals 1858

[Da_swed]

Hi never used conicals b4, only rb now i did buy conicals

but i noticed the plundger on the loadinglever is in the way so i cant press em down in the cylinder

its a pietta 1858 new army btw bought these .452 (Lee 90351 - 228gr)

any tips or ideas or did i buy too big once for

the pietta do i have to use a seperate loader ?

 

[Leatherbark]

I would buy a separate plunger from VTI gunparts and modify it to work with that conical. Looks like it needs shortened some. You might take the screw out that holds the loading lever in and pull back the plunger, insert bullet, replace loading lever screw, seat bullet, fire for effect, decide if it likes conicals and then buy a new plunger and modify or modify the one on the gun.

Good luck

Bob

 

[nkbj]

Is the base of the bullet narrow enough to start into the small diameter Pietta chambers? If not they are a problem to load.

 

[Zonie]

The original bullets that were loaded into the cap and ball revolvers had a smaller diameter "heel" at the base of the bullet.

This "heel" fit easily into the mouth of the chambers solving two problems at the same time.

The reduced diameter automatically aligned the larger upper part of the bullet with the chamber so it wouldn't cock or be loaded off center.

The reduced diameter also reduced the height of the nose of the bullet above the face of the cylinder so the partially loaded chamber could be rotated under the ram.

The mold you bought is for a .45 auto bullet without this reduced heel.
That will make aligning it with the chamber difficult.
It will also make using the guns loading lever difficult because it will have to shear off lead for the full length of the bullet.

If you are handy and can find some steel strips and perhaps a chunk of aluminum (or steel) for a base you could try to build a cylinder loading tool like you will see in this link.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=11557&reviews_id=889

The cylinder fits down over the steel pin on the right. The handle on the left has a short swiveling rod that pushes the bullet down into the chamber.

 

[Da_swed]

well i actually dint buy the mold but i did buy

the bullets(100 of em) and thats the mold he uses a

nd sell them for bp guns in his ad for cap and

ball revolvers.i got so much to learn lol :redface:

 

[swathdiver]

By now you know that is a cartridge bullet.

To make it work, pull your cylinder, and by hand try to seat each bullet up to the first groove then pull it out and do another. May take some work as there is .004-.005 difference between cylinder and bullet size.

When you're ready to go shooting, the bottom end is now rebated and will sink in enough to clear.

Happy Shooting!

 

[hawkeye2]

There are 3 issues when using conicals in a c&B revolver;

#1. Getting them in the chamber.
#2. Getting them in the chamber with their axis
aligned with the bore (not canted).

These can be overcome with a little thought.

#3. The rifling twist is too slow.

#3 will get you. I have shot 2 different conicals in two different makes of Remington '58's with the same results. In both cases the groups opened up noticeably. .452 is a little too small for the bore. Of all the various Remingtons I have slugged one had a bore at a fat .452" and the rest were over .453" and some right at .454". This means that your projectile would have to be .454" or larger when it leaves the chamber to be an ideal match to the bore. Don't loose sleep over this, a lot of people get good accuracy with a ball that doesn't fill the bore. However I personally do not believe a ball fired in a revolver bumps up when it hits the forcing cone. I have seen some excellent results with conicals in revolvers but they were by very experienced shooters. I would recommend you stay with round balls and enjoy.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

trade or sell them to some shooter of .45 cartridge guns.
then buy the correct Lee mold (I have but don't remember the product #) to make your own or buy the correct slugs - which is expensive unfortunately. rbs are much cheaper

 

[Gatofeo]

As you've found out, those bullets are made for the .45 Long Colt or .45 ACP.
The design has no heel to start into the chamber.
Also, since it's cast for cartridges using smokeless powder, it's probably the wrong alloy for black powder.
You need very soft, almost pure, lead for use with black powder.
You also need the right lubricant. Lubricants designed for smokeless powder lack the moisture required to keep black powder fouling soft.
A proper black powder lubricant will be SPG, Lyman Black Powder Gold, or a homemade lube that uses two or more of: Crisco, beeswax, lard, mutton tallow, vegetable oil, whatever.
The lubricant must be natural, not based on petroleum products. Canning paraffin is an exception to the petroleum prohibition, for reasons uncertain.
Petroleum products, when used with black powder or its substitutes, tend to create a hard, tarry fouling.
If you bought bullets made for reloading .45 cartridges with smokeless powder, they are likely too hard an alloy, and contain the wrong lubricant.
Take them back or trade them.
Dixie Gun Works sells cast, soft lead, unlubricated bullets of the Remington or Colt cap and ball original design.
The original design had a short heel that slipped into the chamber to help align the bullet. The bullet was also very stubby, to give ample clearance under the rammer.
The bullet mould that Colt made for the 1860 Colt had a groove around it to hold lubricant. I believe this was the first Colt conical design to feature this, but could be wrong.

 

[Da_swed]

WEll actually there made of soft pure lead

and i also use lube for bp cap n n ball revolver

thats natural actually smells relly nice :grin:

i also so far only tried 1075 nobel caps

so far ,yeah idont know if il be buying anymoore

of the conicals if i cant use em i might stick

to good old rb :wink: what caps do u guys like to use ?

 

[crockett]

I absolutely agree. You simply got the incorrect bullets, don't change anything on a firearm for 100 bullets. Return, trade or sell the bullets.
BTW: as far as I know conicals historically were used in combustible cartridges. I'm not sure how many were ever loaded as is with a powder charge from a flask- some for sure but not that common.

 

[rodwha]

I've read of several people using 45 ACP/Colt bullets well in their cap n ball revolvers. I have had a fellow send me a bunch to try out. They are .452". He says they don't creep out under recoil. I'll be trying them out in about a week.

 

[nkbj]

If you can find an old Lyman 452066, it's a treasure. Just about the only "pistol" mold I ever saw that worked well without having to size the rear end of the bullet to fit the chambers.