-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
How to best use a cap and ball revolver
- Thread starter Gatofeo
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Rat
50 Cal.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2004
- Messages
- 2,310
- Reaction score
- 593
Excellent post, great for a beginner. 35 years is about where I'm at with revolvers too.
I would suggest one thing and that would be to delete the part about corn-meal fillers. There just is no reason to do that. I think that just got started in the "dark ages" of muzzle-loading, and like an old wive's tale or false rumor it just carried on. But again, with wonder wads or thier home-made equivelent, it would be silly to stuff any kind of meal or filler in the cylinder, and burn it in your gun. Absolutely no reason...!
Anyhow great information.
Rat
I would suggest one thing and that would be to delete the part about corn-meal fillers. There just is no reason to do that. I think that just got started in the "dark ages" of muzzle-loading, and like an old wive's tale or false rumor it just carried on. But again, with wonder wads or thier home-made equivelent, it would be silly to stuff any kind of meal or filler in the cylinder, and burn it in your gun. Absolutely no reason...!
Anyhow great information.
Rat
I've seen the same reactions about 'parafin' from a few people about Natural Lube 1000/Bore Butter...like most old wives tales, they're normally the case of one individual posting something incorrectly, then others just repeating what they've read, etc.
NL1000 is all I use and it's outstanding of course, but as soon as I refer to it as a natural, non-petroleum product, (as TC advertises it) somebody invariably jumps in claiming that parafin is petroleum with the implication that it'll still cause a petroleum influence on fouling, which is totally false.
Parafin in Bore Butter is completely removed, filtered, and altered from anything resembling petroleum and it introduces no petroleum type influences on fouling at all.
Indeed, Bore Butter's whole design & purpose is just the opposite...it minimizes fouling and keeps it soft, which it excels at doing...glad to see you have it right...
:winking:
NL1000 is all I use and it's outstanding of course, but as soon as I refer to it as a natural, non-petroleum product, (as TC advertises it) somebody invariably jumps in claiming that parafin is petroleum with the implication that it'll still cause a petroleum influence on fouling, which is totally false.
Parafin in Bore Butter is completely removed, filtered, and altered from anything resembling petroleum and it introduces no petroleum type influences on fouling at all.
Indeed, Bore Butter's whole design & purpose is just the opposite...it minimizes fouling and keeps it soft, which it excels at doing...glad to see you have it right...
:winking:
Excellent. I agree with everything you say. I too have been at it for about thirtyfive years. I make my own wads with parafin/grease and also use wonder wads and have settled on the wonder wads because I don't have to spend time making my own. If I have any criticism on the wonder wads it is that they are a little too thick. I put a mark on the loading lever of my replica Navy 1851 Colt so the balls are seated at the same depth. I use FFFg ranging from 18 to 20 grains. With no wads you can use more powder and fill the ends of the chambers with grease, like crisco. I think FFFg is the only choice because of the short barrel of the revolver but I may be wrong about that. I weight the black powder charges and I think it makes a difference, may be I am more confident and that makes for better shooting. You obviously would not weight a volumetric equivilent.
I belive it was Elmer Keith's book, "Sixguns" where I read that the Colts shoot high because the pistol was supposed to be aimed at the opponent's belt buckle. I messed around with my repilca so that it will shoot to point of aim. If I forget about strays, most of the shots, most of the time, will be in about a two inch bull at twentyfive yards when shooting from a rest. I have no idea how that compares to what others obtain but it seems pretty good. I read that the Colt45 cartridge had bad quality control when it first came out. Folks have pulled apart old cartridges and weighed the powder charges and they are all over the map. That could not have been good for accuracy. MAYBE that explains why some of the Western Lawmen stuck with percussion revolvers. Carefully loaded, perhaps they were more accurate and if you were a good shot that may have made a difference.
I belive it was Elmer Keith's book, "Sixguns" where I read that the Colts shoot high because the pistol was supposed to be aimed at the opponent's belt buckle. I messed around with my repilca so that it will shoot to point of aim. If I forget about strays, most of the shots, most of the time, will be in about a two inch bull at twentyfive yards when shooting from a rest. I have no idea how that compares to what others obtain but it seems pretty good. I read that the Colt45 cartridge had bad quality control when it first came out. Folks have pulled apart old cartridges and weighed the powder charges and they are all over the map. That could not have been good for accuracy. MAYBE that explains why some of the Western Lawmen stuck with percussion revolvers. Carefully loaded, perhaps they were more accurate and if you were a good shot that may have made a difference.
I do not believe that the wax toilet gaskets commonly sold in home improvement centers and hardware stores actually contain real beeswax. Natural beeswax is far too expensive for such mundane use. It is more common in certain cosmetic products, such as a thickener in cremes used as skin lubricants because of assumed hypoallergenic properties or a preference for a "natural" product. Real beeswax also has a distinctive aroma of honey, which is completely lacking in the toilet gaskets I've installed.
(Toilet gasket material also has some fireworks applications, mostly in conjunction with powders that are pressed into tubes for drivers and rockets. The soft wax added in very small amounts in a suitable solvent makes powders easier to handle and press without becoming airborne).
(Toilet gasket material also has some fireworks applications, mostly in conjunction with powders that are pressed into tubes for drivers and rockets. The soft wax added in very small amounts in a suitable solvent makes powders easier to handle and press without becoming airborne).
Ah, shoot. Sorry, I should have finished reading the whole thing before I posted instead of doing this piecemeal.
"Lanolin" is made in sheep's sebaceous glands (in the skin) and the commercial product is derived from the wool of sheep during the washing after sheering. Tallow OTOH is "meltable" fat rendered from the meat. If there is ANY lanolin in mutton tallow, the amount would likely be vanishingly small.
"Lanolin" is made in sheep's sebaceous glands (in the skin) and the commercial product is derived from the wool of sheep during the washing after sheering. Tallow OTOH is "meltable" fat rendered from the meat. If there is ANY lanolin in mutton tallow, the amount would likely be vanishingly small.
Thanks for the information about lanolin, Old Dog. I've searched the net to find out if lanolin is, indeed, in mutton tallow --- without success.
Your comment sounds right. I knew that lanolin was in the wool and skin, from what I'd read on the Net, but I couldn't understand how it got into the fat.
Anyway, the use of mutton makes a decidedly better lubricant than the use of lard or Crisco.
For the best results, order mutton tallow from Dixie Gun Works or, if you live in sheep country, contact the local slaughterhouse or butcher.
You can make your own tallow if you have the raw fat. Some people heat the lumps of fat in a large skillet, at low temperature, and pour off the tallow.
I prefer to boil the heck out of the fat, in a kettle. The remnants of the fat usually sink to the bottom but the tallow rises to the top as grease.
Then I put the kettle in the refrigerator (or outdoors if it's above freezing yet below 50 Fahrenheit) and let it sit overnight. The next day, a huge "cookie" of tallow may be tipped in the water and pulled out whole, or in large pieces. Towel off with paper towels, to remove water drops, and there's your tallow!
The boiling method squeezes every little bit of tallow out of the fat, whereas the pan method always leaves a little in the fat remnants.
One man tried deer tallow with the recipe I listed but later told me it wasn't as good as mutton tallow. Another wrote to say he'd tried bear tallow --- and found mutton tallow best.
So, whatever's in mutton tallow makes a difference, apparently.
Anyway, thanks for the information on lanolin, Top Dog. Obviously, I'm not as familiar with sheep as you are! ::
Your comment sounds right. I knew that lanolin was in the wool and skin, from what I'd read on the Net, but I couldn't understand how it got into the fat.
Anyway, the use of mutton makes a decidedly better lubricant than the use of lard or Crisco.
For the best results, order mutton tallow from Dixie Gun Works or, if you live in sheep country, contact the local slaughterhouse or butcher.
You can make your own tallow if you have the raw fat. Some people heat the lumps of fat in a large skillet, at low temperature, and pour off the tallow.
I prefer to boil the heck out of the fat, in a kettle. The remnants of the fat usually sink to the bottom but the tallow rises to the top as grease.
Then I put the kettle in the refrigerator (or outdoors if it's above freezing yet below 50 Fahrenheit) and let it sit overnight. The next day, a huge "cookie" of tallow may be tipped in the water and pulled out whole, or in large pieces. Towel off with paper towels, to remove water drops, and there's your tallow!
The boiling method squeezes every little bit of tallow out of the fat, whereas the pan method always leaves a little in the fat remnants.
One man tried deer tallow with the recipe I listed but later told me it wasn't as good as mutton tallow. Another wrote to say he'd tried bear tallow --- and found mutton tallow best.
So, whatever's in mutton tallow makes a difference, apparently.
Anyway, thanks for the information on lanolin, Top Dog. Obviously, I'm not as familiar with sheep as you are! ::
[One man tried deer tallow with the recipe I listed but later told me it wasn't as good as mutton tallow.]
I'm surprised it was worth the effort - I've always heard venison is very low in fat - a good diet food, in fact.
[Obviously, I'm not as familiar with sheep as you are! ]
Ouch! :haha: Actually, I've dabbled rather extensively (since around 1969) in folk remedies and herbal medicines, and the bit about lanolin and tallow comes from reading about and direct experience of it's roles in various lotions and ointments used for external application. One of the best remedies for a deep chest cold involves mutton tallow, spirits of turpentine, and spirits of camphor. It's not exactly what you'd want to apply before a hot date, but then if you needed it you probably wouldn't be thinking about women at the moment. Then again...
An interesting sidenote about lanolin is that it seems to keep almost forever. I have a small white glass ointment jar of the solid anhydrous type that I purchased at the Canton Road pharmacy in Marietta Georgia over 30 years ago. The pharmacy has long since disappeared, but the lanolin is exactly the same now as it was then - a translucent yellowish jell-like solid very similar in both outward appearance and consistancy to vasoline petroleum jelly, though considerably "stickier" to the touch.
If y'all do make your own mutton tallow, try to be very careful to remove ALL the solid and water-soluble bits before storing it. They both contain proteins and other organic compounds that support bacterial growth. The solids can be removed by careful and patient straining, the liquids by repeatedly "washing" the tallow with boiling water and skimming the hot liquid tallow from the surface or allowing it to harden.
I don't know how prices compare, but a Google search of "edgar cayce products mutton" will bring up a lot of store sites that sell the pure refined stuff.
-Old Dog
I'm surprised it was worth the effort - I've always heard venison is very low in fat - a good diet food, in fact.
[Obviously, I'm not as familiar with sheep as you are! ]
Ouch! :haha: Actually, I've dabbled rather extensively (since around 1969) in folk remedies and herbal medicines, and the bit about lanolin and tallow comes from reading about and direct experience of it's roles in various lotions and ointments used for external application. One of the best remedies for a deep chest cold involves mutton tallow, spirits of turpentine, and spirits of camphor. It's not exactly what you'd want to apply before a hot date, but then if you needed it you probably wouldn't be thinking about women at the moment. Then again...
An interesting sidenote about lanolin is that it seems to keep almost forever. I have a small white glass ointment jar of the solid anhydrous type that I purchased at the Canton Road pharmacy in Marietta Georgia over 30 years ago. The pharmacy has long since disappeared, but the lanolin is exactly the same now as it was then - a translucent yellowish jell-like solid very similar in both outward appearance and consistancy to vasoline petroleum jelly, though considerably "stickier" to the touch.
If y'all do make your own mutton tallow, try to be very careful to remove ALL the solid and water-soluble bits before storing it. They both contain proteins and other organic compounds that support bacterial growth. The solids can be removed by careful and patient straining, the liquids by repeatedly "washing" the tallow with boiling water and skimming the hot liquid tallow from the surface or allowing it to harden.
I don't know how prices compare, but a Google search of "edgar cayce products mutton" will bring up a lot of store sites that sell the pure refined stuff.
-Old Dog
Dixie Gun Works sells mutton tallow as "Old Zip Patch Grease". This product works great as a patch lube. Far superior to beef tallow, which I've also tried. Mutton tallow is "oilier" than beef tallow. The Old Zip also lasts forever practically. I bought several cans back in 2001 and it's still good just stored at room temperature. Old Zip isn't that expensive, so it's worth buying it over making your own.
Yep, I've used Ol' Zip Patch Grease from Dixie Gun Works for many years. Good stuff.
But as I said in the above recipe, the addition of paraffin seems to stiffen the felt wad somewhat, making it a more effective fouling scraper. At least, that's my experience and theory.
For patches, I doubt the recipe I included above would have an advantage over Ol' Zip, since there's no need to stiffen a patch. But with felt wads, the above recipe works great.
Paraffin also raises the melting temperature somewhat, which makes it better-suited with lead bullets --- either in muzzleloaders or in black powder cartridge guns.
As you noted, a can of Ol' Zip will last forever. I recently finished a can of it purchased back in the mid 1980s. It didn't go rancid or change its characteristics in nearly 20 years. But then, as you, I stored it at ambient temperature (the spare room).
It's good stuff, no doubt. If I were going to use it for nothing but patches with roundballs, it would be all I'd use. But the recipe above is a little more versatile if you're also going to use felt wads, shotgun wads and lead bullets.
But as I said in the above recipe, the addition of paraffin seems to stiffen the felt wad somewhat, making it a more effective fouling scraper. At least, that's my experience and theory.
For patches, I doubt the recipe I included above would have an advantage over Ol' Zip, since there's no need to stiffen a patch. But with felt wads, the above recipe works great.
Paraffin also raises the melting temperature somewhat, which makes it better-suited with lead bullets --- either in muzzleloaders or in black powder cartridge guns.
As you noted, a can of Ol' Zip will last forever. I recently finished a can of it purchased back in the mid 1980s. It didn't go rancid or change its characteristics in nearly 20 years. But then, as you, I stored it at ambient temperature (the spare room).
It's good stuff, no doubt. If I were going to use it for nothing but patches with roundballs, it would be all I'd use. But the recipe above is a little more versatile if you're also going to use felt wads, shotgun wads and lead bullets.
ValleyForge
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2004
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 0
Gatofeo -
This is a great post - but I have a question. I've run into all sorts of conflicting advice regarding whether or not to use a wad with my 1858 Remington repro. While I use one with my flint rifle, I've been told just to seat the ball directly on the powder with my pistol. In fact, some guys here have been nothing less than horrified with the idea of using wads.
Thus far I've been going with ball-on-the-powder, with reasonable accuracy for my old eyes. What, in your mind, is the advantage of using the wad, or disadvantage of not using it? And you other troopers out there -- chime in.
- ValleyForge
This is a great post - but I have a question. I've run into all sorts of conflicting advice regarding whether or not to use a wad with my 1858 Remington repro. While I use one with my flint rifle, I've been told just to seat the ball directly on the powder with my pistol. In fact, some guys here have been nothing less than horrified with the idea of using wads.
Thus far I've been going with ball-on-the-powder, with reasonable accuracy for my old eyes. What, in your mind, is the advantage of using the wad, or disadvantage of not using it? And you other troopers out there -- chime in.
- ValleyForge
The pre-lubed felt Wonder Wads do a couple of things in a revolver. They take up some of the space when using lighter loads,and they help prevent the fouling from getting hard in the barrel. Some will also say they help prevent chainfires, but i think if your ball is shaving a ring of lead when you seat it there ain't much chance of any fire getting to the powder from the front end. I think most chainfires are the result of a cap falling of a nipple during firing and the flame gets in through the nipple hole. :m2c:
Well, some are opposed to wads for aesthetic reasons.
I've never found a reference to felt wads being used during the period when cap and ball sixguns were popular (1830s to 1880s).
But I submit that users in this 50-year period very likely did not smear grease over the balls, either, as is commonly done today. I've never found any reference to placing grease over the balls. So, the historical inaccuracy argument seems moot to me.
Granted, there are references to sixgunners dripping beeswax or candle wax over the balls and caps of their revolver, but this is done to keep the loads dry, not lubricated.
I load my Uberti-made 1858 Remington --- and all my cap and ball sixguns --- with a greased wad over the powder.
Some claim that the grease in the wad contaiminates powder, especially on hot days, and affects combustion.
I've never noticed a hangfire or widely fluctuating velocities when I use a wad --- and I use a wad nearly all of the time. I also live in the Utah desert, where it's hotter than a debutante in a roomful of doctors' sons! :haha:
The wad takes a little longer to load, compared to seating balls into the chambers with the rammer and smearing grease over them. I don't shoot competition, so the extra time means nothing to me.
Frankly, I find loading a cap and ball sixgun rather zen-like. I get as much pleasure from loading it as I do firing it. That's far more than I can say for my cartridge guns.
Practically, the greased wad lays down a layer of lubricant as it goes down the bore, keeping the fouling soft.
In my experience, it works better than grease over the ball.
If I put grease over the ball, I often end up with a fairly clean bore for the first half of the barrel. Then the rest of the bore is coated in thick, sooty fouling. This tells me that I ran out of lubricant in the bore.
In this instance, the fouling is often so great as to obscure the rifling.
But with a greased wad, my bore remains fairly clean the length of the bore. Just a fine, gray or black ash covers the bore. The rifling is clearly seen.
A stiff felt wad helps to scrape fouling from the grooves.
In my experience, not just any grease works best with a wad.
First, never use a petroleum-based grease such as chassis grease. I've found that petroleum greases leave a hard, tarry fouling when mixed with black powder. They are also harder to remove when cleaning.
Natural greases or oils such as Crisco, canola or olive oil work okay. Better than the petroleum stuff, by far.
But the best lubricant I've found is the recipe I gave in my article: a mix of paraffin, mutton tallow and beeswax.
A beeswax and mutton tallow mix was used by the old timers long ago, well before petroleum greases (and paraffin) were known. It worked then, it works well now.
But as far as felt wads are concerned, this old mix seems much improved by the addition of paraffin, which gives the wad rigidity and helps it scrape fouling from the bore.
Those who poo-poo wads in revolvers may be basing their belief on experience with the dry lubricant used in Wonder Wads, made by Ox-Yoke.
I've never found the dry lubricant in Wonder Wads to be very effective. Fouling is reduced somewhat, but not to the extent of the same wad greased with the above recipe. The dry lubricant does nothing to keep the fouling soft. After a time, fouling builds to a hard coat.
The moistness of the grease helps to keep fouling soft and allows parts to move against each other longer, without drag.
When using well-greased wads between ball and powder, the revolver will shoot longer and not bind as soon. I can't explain it but I've experienced it --- time and again.
Apparently, some grease gets blown as a fine spray onto the revolver. That's my theory. Others may disagree. I can only report the effect, not the precise cause.
Each firearm is an individual. What works in one may be minimal or not work in another. I report what has worked in my firearms, and others have affirmed with their own experience.
However, there is bound to be a certain percentage of firearms in which the above does not work.
Life has taught me one great truth: "You cannot remain a fugitive from the Law of Averages forever."
I've never found a reference to felt wads being used during the period when cap and ball sixguns were popular (1830s to 1880s).
But I submit that users in this 50-year period very likely did not smear grease over the balls, either, as is commonly done today. I've never found any reference to placing grease over the balls. So, the historical inaccuracy argument seems moot to me.
Granted, there are references to sixgunners dripping beeswax or candle wax over the balls and caps of their revolver, but this is done to keep the loads dry, not lubricated.
I load my Uberti-made 1858 Remington --- and all my cap and ball sixguns --- with a greased wad over the powder.
Some claim that the grease in the wad contaiminates powder, especially on hot days, and affects combustion.
I've never noticed a hangfire or widely fluctuating velocities when I use a wad --- and I use a wad nearly all of the time. I also live in the Utah desert, where it's hotter than a debutante in a roomful of doctors' sons! :haha:
The wad takes a little longer to load, compared to seating balls into the chambers with the rammer and smearing grease over them. I don't shoot competition, so the extra time means nothing to me.
Frankly, I find loading a cap and ball sixgun rather zen-like. I get as much pleasure from loading it as I do firing it. That's far more than I can say for my cartridge guns.
Practically, the greased wad lays down a layer of lubricant as it goes down the bore, keeping the fouling soft.
In my experience, it works better than grease over the ball.
If I put grease over the ball, I often end up with a fairly clean bore for the first half of the barrel. Then the rest of the bore is coated in thick, sooty fouling. This tells me that I ran out of lubricant in the bore.
In this instance, the fouling is often so great as to obscure the rifling.
But with a greased wad, my bore remains fairly clean the length of the bore. Just a fine, gray or black ash covers the bore. The rifling is clearly seen.
A stiff felt wad helps to scrape fouling from the grooves.
In my experience, not just any grease works best with a wad.
First, never use a petroleum-based grease such as chassis grease. I've found that petroleum greases leave a hard, tarry fouling when mixed with black powder. They are also harder to remove when cleaning.
Natural greases or oils such as Crisco, canola or olive oil work okay. Better than the petroleum stuff, by far.
But the best lubricant I've found is the recipe I gave in my article: a mix of paraffin, mutton tallow and beeswax.
A beeswax and mutton tallow mix was used by the old timers long ago, well before petroleum greases (and paraffin) were known. It worked then, it works well now.
But as far as felt wads are concerned, this old mix seems much improved by the addition of paraffin, which gives the wad rigidity and helps it scrape fouling from the bore.
Those who poo-poo wads in revolvers may be basing their belief on experience with the dry lubricant used in Wonder Wads, made by Ox-Yoke.
I've never found the dry lubricant in Wonder Wads to be very effective. Fouling is reduced somewhat, but not to the extent of the same wad greased with the above recipe. The dry lubricant does nothing to keep the fouling soft. After a time, fouling builds to a hard coat.
The moistness of the grease helps to keep fouling soft and allows parts to move against each other longer, without drag.
When using well-greased wads between ball and powder, the revolver will shoot longer and not bind as soon. I can't explain it but I've experienced it --- time and again.
Apparently, some grease gets blown as a fine spray onto the revolver. That's my theory. Others may disagree. I can only report the effect, not the precise cause.
Each firearm is an individual. What works in one may be minimal or not work in another. I report what has worked in my firearms, and others have affirmed with their own experience.
However, there is bound to be a certain percentage of firearms in which the above does not work.
Life has taught me one great truth: "You cannot remain a fugitive from the Law of Averages forever."
Vey interesting. I have read Keith's (no relation :crackup
"Sixguns". He mentions using wads in C&B sixguns, but I always wondered when this becme a common practice. Do you have any idea when this came about?
Also, with wonder wads can you add a little lube, NL, water soluble oil or other to help soften fouling? My experience with wads is limited to using them in rifles recently.
"Sixguns". He mentions using wads in C&B sixguns, but I always wondered when this becme a common practice. Do you have any idea when this came about?Also, with wonder wads can you add a little lube, NL, water soluble oil or other to help soften fouling? My experience with wads is limited to using them in rifles recently.
ValleyForge
40 Cal.
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2004
- Messages
- 105
- Reaction score
- 0
Thanks, UglyCat. I've been out in that Utah desert - around Monument Valley. Just like being transported into a John Wayne movie.
ValleyForge:
Monument Valley is about 300 miles south of me. I live in the northwest corner of Utah, near the Idaho and Nevada borders. Though this area doesn't get the tourism that other parts of the state get, it has its own charm and sights. You just have to know where to look.
I live a few miles from the famous Pony Express route, which ran between Missouri and California in the 1860s. Rather than having a John Wayne Movie moment, out here I see the places that the pioneers, miners, soldiers, Pony Express riders, stagecoach drivers, Indians and desperadoes saw. It's no movie, it's better! ::
Oh sure, you can augment Wonder Wads with a lubricant of your own choosing. I've done it for years, and many others have as well.
It works quite well.
Monument Valley is about 300 miles south of me. I live in the northwest corner of Utah, near the Idaho and Nevada borders. Though this area doesn't get the tourism that other parts of the state get, it has its own charm and sights. You just have to know where to look.
I live a few miles from the famous Pony Express route, which ran between Missouri and California in the 1860s. Rather than having a John Wayne Movie moment, out here I see the places that the pioneers, miners, soldiers, Pony Express riders, stagecoach drivers, Indians and desperadoes saw. It's no movie, it's better! ::
Oh sure, you can augment Wonder Wads with a lubricant of your own choosing. I've done it for years, and many others have as well.
It works quite well.
JT Ward:
Nice gun. I have a 2nd generation Colt 1851 Navy too. With mine, .375 inch balls are nearly a slip-fit in the chambers.
In its brochure, Colt recommends a .378 inch ball.
I used to cast my own .380 balls but now buy them from Warren Muzzleloading of Arkansas, which makes a .380 ball without a sprue. It looks swaged, though I understand that it's cast and the sprue removed somehow. Anyway, these are very high-quality balls. Visit it at www.warrenmuzzleloading.com
With a greased felt wad, I can get as much as 24 grains (by volume) of Goex FFFG in my Colt's chambers, and a lead ball. Without the wad, 27 grs. Either load hurls that 82 gr. ball at about 1,000 fps.
A good target load is 20 grains, with a greased felt wad.
I prefer Remington caps; CCI caps seem to have more misfires.
If your Colt is like mine, it will shoot about 6 inches high at 25 yards.
I've put about 2,000 rounds through my Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy. The wedge needs to be driven in farther than before, to keep it tight, but it still locks up tight.
The blue finish is long gone, replaced by a nice, grayish silver patina that makes it look like an original.
The silver plating on the grip frame and trigger guard still looks like new, showing no sign of wear. Apparently the silver plating is rather thick.
All parts are original, except the screw holding the wedge (lost that years ago but it was quickly replaced). I'd suggest buying a spare screw assortment from Dixie Gun Works, to keep it shooting should you lose a screw.
You've got a great gun there. Treat it well and it will last for generations. Neglect it, and it may not last a month.
Nice gun. I have a 2nd generation Colt 1851 Navy too. With mine, .375 inch balls are nearly a slip-fit in the chambers.
In its brochure, Colt recommends a .378 inch ball.
I used to cast my own .380 balls but now buy them from Warren Muzzleloading of Arkansas, which makes a .380 ball without a sprue. It looks swaged, though I understand that it's cast and the sprue removed somehow. Anyway, these are very high-quality balls. Visit it at www.warrenmuzzleloading.com
With a greased felt wad, I can get as much as 24 grains (by volume) of Goex FFFG in my Colt's chambers, and a lead ball. Without the wad, 27 grs. Either load hurls that 82 gr. ball at about 1,000 fps.
A good target load is 20 grains, with a greased felt wad.
I prefer Remington caps; CCI caps seem to have more misfires.
If your Colt is like mine, it will shoot about 6 inches high at 25 yards.
I've put about 2,000 rounds through my Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy. The wedge needs to be driven in farther than before, to keep it tight, but it still locks up tight.
The blue finish is long gone, replaced by a nice, grayish silver patina that makes it look like an original.
The silver plating on the grip frame and trigger guard still looks like new, showing no sign of wear. Apparently the silver plating is rather thick.
All parts are original, except the screw holding the wedge (lost that years ago but it was quickly replaced). I'd suggest buying a spare screw assortment from Dixie Gun Works, to keep it shooting should you lose a screw.
You've got a great gun there. Treat it well and it will last for generations. Neglect it, and it may not last a month.
