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He's right but for one thing Ricky which I'll get back to in a minute.

It was a terrible, and costly, mistake in judgment. The customers were having a tailgate party just down the hill. There weren't enough tickets, which was an issue, and there there were plenty of scalpers.

Now the cow's name was Big Horn. She was utterly well-endowed and it was assumed she'd provide enough milk for custard for everyone. However, when she didn't the local inhabitants derisively began chanting "Little Big Horn." The manager of the company on the hill, hoping to avoid character assasination, made preemptive threats to Sioux and that's when all the customers went, um, ballistic.

Ever since then Americans have NO IDEA what you lot are talking about re: custard. There is no equivalent here. Like Yorkshire Puds or a Chip Butty. Just no frame of reference in such bad taste with the possible exception of said grits! But I may be of some help... My fellow Americans, let me make one thing perfectly clear, think "artificial melted French-vanilla ice-cream" that is poured all over your Spotted Dick!

Now, in way of correction, Frank Finkel alone survived the rampage. He ducked into a DQ, called the soft serve "custard," and thereby ended the fight.
 
The fun thing about shooting these is trying different stuff.

Try everything and see how it works.

I read everyone say fillers help accuracy but i didnt find it to be the case. I found it one more thing i needed to bring and measure one more wasted step.

I also read round balls are more accurate but i found that not to be the case as well.

I find 2F to be the best load for accuracy. Rather then a small charge of 3F and filler i just use a large load of 2F and skip both.

Say i use 3F with 18 grains then add 8 grains of filler? i just used 26 grains of 2F and the ball sits in the same place.

I wasnt told this i had to try it myself and decide if it worked.
 
So, to be clear, you're using a few grains of FFg as filler? The implications of that should be clear to most other readers. Someone else can do the overbore calculation...

Have you fired it at night yet? We'd like to see the video...

:shocked2:
 
no im just using 2F all together.

One person said he uses filler because his load was so light that the ball stops above the powder leaving an air gap so he fills the space with filler.

Rather then use 2 different things powder and filler i just use a larger granual powder 2F and it does both.

Since 2F is a tad slower i found that the charge i like with 3F is 20G and with 2F 26g felt and shot the same. That extra 6 grains of 2F was enough to fill the void.

I didnt find the part 3F powder part filler to be as accurate as just the single charge of 2F either. So it all worked out, less steps, less equipment and better accuracy.
 
The filler idea is used to keep the ball near the cylinder face and cut down on the distance the ball moves from ignition start till it enters the forcing cone of the barrel breech. How much this aids accuracy or just saves having to seat the ball deep in the cylinder with light charges, is up for debate. My Colt copy liked the filler with light charges and I just wore two powder flasks on my belt...one brass and one silver plated. Same reason a Beechnut chewers buys a Pearl longneck first and Lonestar longnecks the rest of the night! Got to keep spit catchers and filler-holders in the right place, otherwise.... :rotf:
 
Yeah i read that the filler packs easier. 3F is so fine is doesnt pack as easy as a larger granual type.

The 2F has a similar pack as the filler its sort of forgiving.

Ive read that T7 which is what i like doesnt like to be packed very tight.

I came up with this little wedge to sort of block the load lever from moving to far and packing to much.

leverstop4_zps0b341528.jpg


My balls dont sit right at the top but they arnt down that far.

Tripple7solution_zps80e0096c.jpg
 
Top competitive revolver shots almost universally use filler and they don't do anything without a very good reason when it comes to accuracy enhancement.
Recoil reduction alone, through filler use, adds points over the course of a match and moving the ball uniformly closer to the forcing cone is a proven accuracy technique. A fully loaded powder chamber does the same thing but with added recoil.
Now it may be that a shooter is not skilled enough to see the difference but the fact that it does work is undeniable.Mike D.
 
oh i didnt realize we were talking about competitive shooting.

Ide like my shots to be competitive but all the stuff i use it just for play. Heck even my gun

If i were to shoot competitivly i dont think ide be shooting the guns i have now.
 
For casual shooting or defending yourself from an overly aggressive Coors Light can, filler is hardly necessary. Using filler is more a competitive shooter thing, although some folks use it instead of a felt wad for 'chain-fire' protection. It doesn't lube the bore without something smeared over the ball. There's several different ways to go about it loading percussion revolvers, each one works for some shooters!
 
When i tried it i felt i got more fouling.

I used cream of wheat

So far though everything i read has not been true for me.

I read no one used conicals in compitition that round balls were more accurate but i found them better and the same with the filler.

Im still at the stage where i havnt found a favorite of anything. Im not sold on "real black powder" over subs filler or conicals.
 
What it really comes down to is, use what you and your gun like best. The gun will tell you what it likes!
 
You know I heard and continue to hear that phrase regularly but in practice all my guns show several different menu's that achieve results so close I cannot shoot well enough to differentiate between them.
A for instance would be a .530 or 535 round ball with patch adjusted to make them fit the bore correctly in both pistol or rifle. I cannot see any advantage of one over the other. Same deal with going up or down a few grains of powder as long as consistency of charge and loading pressure remains.
There does seem to be a certain plateau region of velocity and component that they prefer but I'm beginning to be skeptical of only one best load. Just one mans opinion. Mike D.
 
The point I was making is you are using 44% more powder essentially AS FILLER. No-one else is saying it for some reason... Try Wonder Wads?
 
From what you have told us about your friend needing something behind the powder to bring it up even with the touch hole tells me that his pistol is poorly made, having the touch hole too far forward. When it is properly made, the touch hole should be right at the back almost flush with the breach plug. When it is located there, no matter how little powder you put in the barrel, the ball will not obstruct the touch hole. While I have not seen his pistol, I would assume that since it does fire, you may have misunderstood his reason for adding a second substance when loading. He could likely have been adding a filler on top of the powder, not behind it. Doing it this way, the added filler material acts to seal the hot gasses from burning through the patch. This can be helpful when using a thin patch.
 
Some one on another forum mentioned this also and then some one replyed with an answer that sounded pretty good to me.

You want to use the thiner patch so the ball can get into the rifeling as best as it can.

Some one wanted to use a 45 cal ball in a 50 cal and just use thick patches to make up for the difference. Because they had alot left over.

now im getting off topic
 
Yeah i tried wads also and accuracy suffered as well.

Ide love to use 3F if it was as accurate as the 2F i just find myself going back to the 2F for some reason.

I also found swabbing between cylinders to be more accurate also. But im sure most already know that lol
 
Billnpatti said:
From what you have told us about your friend needing something behind the powder to bring it up even with the touch hole tells me that his pistol is poorly made, having the touch hole too far forward. When it is properly made, the touch hole should be right at the back almost flush with the breach plug. When it is located there, no matter how little powder you put in the barrel, the ball will not obstruct the touch hole. While I have not seen his pistol, I would assume that since it does fire, you may have misunderstood his reason for adding a second substance when loading. He could likely have been adding a filler on top of the powder, not behind it. Doing it this way, the added filler material acts to seal the hot gasses from burning through the patch. This can be helpful when using a thin patch.


Hi I asked him about it yesterday and it is as you said he uses as a filler between the powder and patch :)

Rick
 
BowerR64 said:
I find 2F to be the best load for accuracy. Rather then a small charge of 3F and filler i just use a large load of 2F and skip both.

Say i use 3F with 18 grains then add 8 grains of filler? i just used 26 grains of 2F and the ball sits in the same place.

I do the exact same thing in my .44 '51 brasser. I didn't want to bother with a filler so instead of a light, 20gr charge of 3F and the oft mentioned "filler", I just use 25 to 30gr of 2F.

Shoots great!
 
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