Load for a .36 Navy

[jaxenro]

36 is my favorite cap an ball revolver caliber I have it in everything from a 3.5 barreled Trapper to a 9” barreled Walker and have used loads from 10 to over 50 gr very versatile

 

[bigted]

I never heard of a 36 cal walker. Bettin that would be very fun indeed. Mote info on this would be appreciated.

 

[jaxenro]

Sleeved cylinders down to .375 and used a barrel liner essentially the same size. Shoot with a .380 round ball and 50 to 55 grains of powder. Even with a 9” barrel not all of it burns but it is fun.

A 380 round ball with 55 grains of black or T7 is about as close to magnum as a BP revolver goes

 

[jaxenro]

BTW the original black powder load for the 38 special was about 21 grains of powder

 

[M. De Land]

Well, I've never killed anything with a .36 and have no clue as to effectiveness on man or game. I guess until I get some actual experience all I can do is hearken back to it seemed to work OK for HIckcock !
Kieth said that the ball was a better killer than was a bullet.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I shot some cottontails years ago with a 36 Remington replica. Of course at 20-30 feet power wasn't an issue. I gave the gun to my son in law.

 

[Rat]

Well, I've never killed anything with a .36 and have no clue as to effectiveness on man or game. I guess until I get some actual experience all I can do is hearken back to it seemed to work OK for HIckcock !
Kieth said that the ball was a better killer than was a bullet.

I think the ball is a faster killer, since you can get more powder under it, and being lighter the velocity is higher. The bullet probably penetrates better. I've killed two grouse and a deer with mine. Although, the deer was laying on the ground with a .62" hole through the rib cage, and the .36 ball was placed in the back of it's head from about...one yard.

 

[Gene L]

My Uberti Navy won't take 20 gr. and a felt wad.

 

[bigted]

Nor will mine ... however ... it will take 25 grains without a wad and that makes the ball scoot rite along. Adding just the smallest amount of my ball grease helps a bunch ... my grease consists of half and half bee wax and good ol lard then adding about 25 percent olive oil. This is just stiff enough to stay put rite next door when the chamber is fired.

Best tho is 25 grains in a paper cartridge then dipped in the lube up to the powder. This carries enough lube to keep everything lubed and shooting well. Very accurate in my Uberti 61.

 

[Grumpa]

The original Colt loads didn't call for any wads, it was just powder and ball. And no grease either. The oversized ball sealed the chamber.

Also, the Uberti and other repros may have slightly smaller chambers.

Richard/Grumpa

 

[bigted]

By the time the military began using paper cartridges, they concluded that if lube was used, the revolver could stay in the heat of battle longer.

As far as i can figure, this is the first recorded that lube was mentioned concerning revolver loads.

 

[drobs]

I think 25gr w/ a wad would be perfect and recently picked up another 30gr nozzle flask I plan to cut down to 25gr.

30gr of FFFg will fill the chambers of my steel frame 36 cal Pietta 1851 Navy to the rim. I can get a ball to compress on top of that without a wad. 20gr seems weak to me. I like a little more pop / smoke.

I have been experimenting with Goex 4Fg. Report sounds louder but recoil seems the same as 3F. Need a chronograph.

 

[Rat]

As mentioned before, the .36 "seems" weak, and the charge it will take "seems" small, but really they are quite effective. Energy formulas certainly give no real reflection, or measure of their effectiveness. I believe in the theory that the .36, in "real life" is right on level with a .38 special, as far as real world, real life effectiveness. I would not feel under-gunned with mine, facing a hostile wolf, coyote, or cougar. Or a crazed crack-head, if that's all I had in hand.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Some years ago I did some testing for a publication called "The Trade Blanket." One such test was a comparison of cap-and-ball revolvers from several different sources, and was later extended to include both Navy (.36 cal) and Army (.44 cal) guns. We were interested in general quality, and performance but along the way we got interested in energy delivered to the target, which is often called "knock-down power." For that testing we used a device called a Ballistic Pendulum which gives a numerical reading for each bullet strike but is not calibrated in foot-pounds. We had to set standards for comparison using modern revolvers and loads and we used standard velocity lead projectile loads for each caliber tested. The calibers chosen were .22 LR, .38 Spcl,
.357 mag., and .45 acp. All modern cartridges were LRN standard factory loads except the .45 ACP. The .45 loads were not LRN, but rather JRN hardball loads. All of our test firing was done at 50 feet for consistency. We were surprised to discover that the .36 Navy delivered only slightly greater kinetic energy to the target than the .22 LR. The .44's approached the energy delivery of a standard .38 Spcl. After scratching our heads for a while, we agreed that there were other factors that contributed to the appalling death rate of people shot by cap-and-ball handguns during that era, and we concluded that it was more attributable to shock, infection, lack of anesthesia and pain medication, inadequate medical treatment, lack of sanitation, and (literally) lead poisoning than to the effects of the bullet strike.

 

[Gene L]

I read somewhere that the .36 in its original loading (which I've forgotten) was about like a .380.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I have several Uberti replica 36 caliber Navy revolvers. These have a cylinder mouth that requires a 0.380 ball to properly shave off that ring of lead on loading to seal the powder chamber.

 

[Gene L]

I've got two Ubertis. One is a bit looser chamber-wise than the other. I'd feel more comfortable with a .380 ball in that one. I use a felt wad in both of them which cuts down on powder capacity but increases my sense of security.

 

[bigted]

My paper cartridges take 25 grains 2Fg powder. I then dip the ball end in lube down over the paper bout a 1/8th inch. Upon loading a bit of lube is under the ball and then a bit over the top of the ball rite on the wall of the chamber just ahead of the ball.

These are a bit bolder then the 380 auto. My thinking is that they are on the par with the 38 spcl. They are both safe and have a thump to em ... no 44 mag but as rat mentioned ... "sure hate to recieve one of em to any place on my bod".

 

[Rat]

I'd use the slug, in my Remington Navy/.36, and have a mold for one, but the difference between it, and the ball, as far as accuracy is noticeable. And for small game, accuracy is #1. !! Tangle, did you use balls and slugs, or just balls in the cap-n-ball revolvers? I would agree that getting hit with anything, back in the day was a major problem, due to infection, not being able to get the ball out, etc. Any crippling wound would mean no more work or hard labor...which might mean you ain't gonna eat. They didn't NEED powerful pistolas!

 

[Gene L]

"My paper cartridges take 25 grains 2Fg powder. I then dip the ball end in lube down over the paper bout a 1/8th inch. Upon loading a bit of lube is under the ball and then a bit over the top of the ball rite on the wall of the chamber just ahead of the ball.

These are a bit bolder then the 380 auto. My thinking is that they are on the par with the 38 spcl. They are both safe and have a thump to em ... no 44 mag but as rat mentioned ... "sure hate to recieve one of em to any place on my bod"."

Big difference in the weight of the projectile...from 80 gr ball to 158 gr .38 Special.