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Max load for 36 Caliber?
- Thread starter gooddw
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Dixie says most .36's used 22 grains of FFFg in the back of the Catalog.
I think these are the standard loads originally used because they never seem to list this in their firearms for sale section.
In fact, in this volume in the for sale section, they say 15 grains for a .36 and 22 grains for a .44. :grin:
I don't know about your Remington Police so I don't know if it will hold that much powder or not.
The 1862 Colt Police has a slightly smaller 5 shot cylinder and if my memory serves me, it held slightly less powder than the 1851 Navy.
I think these are the standard loads originally used because they never seem to list this in their firearms for sale section.
In fact, in this volume in the for sale section, they say 15 grains for a .36 and 22 grains for a .44. :grin:
I don't know about your Remington Police so I don't know if it will hold that much powder or not.
The 1862 Colt Police has a slightly smaller 5 shot cylinder and if my memory serves me, it held slightly less powder than the 1851 Navy.
paulvallandigham
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Stay away from " Maximum loads" in these replicas. Although they are made with better steel, they are still old designs, and the parts in the action can't take continuous pounding of " Maximum " loads for long without wearing down, breaking, or getting very lose. Want to shoot maximum loads? Get a modern Magnum pistol.
Most .36 caliber revolvers shoot fairly well with as little as 15 grains. Don't exceed 20 grains, for safety, and longevity. Now, understand, the companies, and some dealers want you to abuse your gun, so you have to buy another in a couple of years, or sooner. That is how they make money. The question is, do you want to have a nicely made gun that you can shoot for years to come, and pass on to your grandchildren in good enough working order that he or she can shoot it for his lifetime?
With the lighter loads, you may have to use a filler to make up the space difference in each chamber between the powder and the ball, which you want to keep out at the mouth of the chamber, to lessen the jump it has to make going from the cylinder, to the barrel. Reloading cap and ball revolvers is not a speed shooting event. It takes time, and you want to do it correctly to get any accuracy out of the gun. You may have to do a little cleaning with each reload, too. I suppose if you can buy extra cylinders fitted to your gun when you buy it new, then you can try to do the Clint Eastwood stunt as shown in High Plains Drifter. But remember, he was shooting blanks, not real lead ball. The guns get a lot dirtier shooting live ammo, and I have had guns get so dirty that they were locking up by the third cylinder if I didn't do a little cleaning when I reloaded the gun. In the civil War, they did not reload these guns. They often carried more than two revolvers, carrying the extras in scabbards hung over the saddle horns. The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably a better depiction of how these guns were used by horse soldiers, if you are getting your firearms history from the movies. The only thing that was a stretch of the imagination was that the Eastwood character, did not carry or use a sword in battle, and didn't even have one in a scabbard on his saddle. You don't have to reload a sword.
Most .36 caliber revolvers shoot fairly well with as little as 15 grains. Don't exceed 20 grains, for safety, and longevity. Now, understand, the companies, and some dealers want you to abuse your gun, so you have to buy another in a couple of years, or sooner. That is how they make money. The question is, do you want to have a nicely made gun that you can shoot for years to come, and pass on to your grandchildren in good enough working order that he or she can shoot it for his lifetime?
With the lighter loads, you may have to use a filler to make up the space difference in each chamber between the powder and the ball, which you want to keep out at the mouth of the chamber, to lessen the jump it has to make going from the cylinder, to the barrel. Reloading cap and ball revolvers is not a speed shooting event. It takes time, and you want to do it correctly to get any accuracy out of the gun. You may have to do a little cleaning with each reload, too. I suppose if you can buy extra cylinders fitted to your gun when you buy it new, then you can try to do the Clint Eastwood stunt as shown in High Plains Drifter. But remember, he was shooting blanks, not real lead ball. The guns get a lot dirtier shooting live ammo, and I have had guns get so dirty that they were locking up by the third cylinder if I didn't do a little cleaning when I reloaded the gun. In the civil War, they did not reload these guns. They often carried more than two revolvers, carrying the extras in scabbards hung over the saddle horns. The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably a better depiction of how these guns were used by horse soldiers, if you are getting your firearms history from the movies. The only thing that was a stretch of the imagination was that the Eastwood character, did not carry or use a sword in battle, and didn't even have one in a scabbard on his saddle. You don't have to reload a sword.
During the Civil War these guns used both loose powder from a flask(has anyone seen an actual military flask carried by cavalry units? Where was it carried?) and combustible cartridges. Both the army and navy used about the same charge of 17 grains. This may have been because the conical bullets took up more room in the chamber and a heavier projectile raises pressures. In any event 17 grains was enough to fight a war. It would be a good standard load if used with a wad. You can cram 22-25 grains into the gun(without the wad) and Western gunfighter did this to get maximum power- longevity of the gun wasn't an issue.
paulvallandigham
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Crockett, while some of the western fighters stuffed those cylinders, that is no reason to justify, nor recommend doing such with guns today. No one is going to a gunfight with a Cap and Ball gun. I know very few shooters who bother to cast and load the conicals. A light load, with those expensive wonderwads, if you must, or with corn meal, provided both a filler to the chamber, and also a barrier so that you don't expereince a double fire, where the flame from one chamber cooks off a second chamber next to it. That gets down right exciting, and is another reason not to use those max loads.
I agree. Just for fun I shot a few rounds with the 22 grains and a RB. Quite a recoil and if I had to use the gun for self defense that would be my load but generally I use 18 grains- just seems to work well in my gun. I used to do the 10 grain/cornmeal routine but one time I REALLY missed the target and hit the frame and the ball was only about half way into the wood. I went back to 18 grains, if I wear out the gun I'll get another but so far the Colt 51 (Euroarms) is 37 years old and still going strong (I do baby it- lots of tlc) so I'm not too worried about excessive wear and tear.
On the conicals. The buffalo bullet style is sort of like a wadcutter but they aren't PC. Dixie has some PC looking conicals but they tend to twist out of line as they are being seated. The result isn't good for accuracy. Sometimes I make up a batch of combustible cartridges just for fun. Elmer Keith in SIXGUNS always preferred RBs for accuracy. The military probably went with the conicals because they needed a flat base for attaching the combustible cartridge case. In any event I think 18 grains is a pretty good standard load with a RB and I like the wads just to save having to mess with the grease/crisco. In any event it works for me. If I use a rest I can get about 2 1/2" to 3 " groups at twenty five yards most of the time.
On the conicals. The buffalo bullet style is sort of like a wadcutter but they aren't PC. Dixie has some PC looking conicals but they tend to twist out of line as they are being seated. The result isn't good for accuracy. Sometimes I make up a batch of combustible cartridges just for fun. Elmer Keith in SIXGUNS always preferred RBs for accuracy. The military probably went with the conicals because they needed a flat base for attaching the combustible cartridge case. In any event I think 18 grains is a pretty good standard load with a RB and I like the wads just to save having to mess with the grease/crisco. In any event it works for me. If I use a rest I can get about 2 1/2" to 3 " groups at twenty five yards most of the time.
