Pepperbox Loads

[PreserveFreedom]

I got a Pepperbox today. For those of you that love oddballs like I do, what do you recommend for a load? Should I use the same charge that I do for my 1851? Should I use a PRB or can I ram some .375 dia balls down there like I do with my 1851? I do have .375 balls on hand, but I also have some .350 balls on order...they are just backordered and I am not sure when I will get them.

Photos of it are in the photo section HERE.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I would probably go with 15-20gr FFFG, and no more. You could use the .375 cal ball if that is all you have, just use an appropriate sized patch. The .350 cal ball might be too small, and you'd need a thicker patch.

I also have one of those sitting around somewhere. I picked it up in the early 80's on close out. I think it is a winter project. I just don't know which winter :idunno:

 

[Don]

I don't think .375 balls will work. Wait for the .350 balls and try them with a couple different thickness patches. I think the powder loads offered by the other poster sound reasonable.

Don

 

[Zonie]

The patched .350's will be the best thing to use.

Use thin .010 thick patches with the .350 balls and the effective patched ball size will be .370 which should be a nice snug fit in the guns .360 bores.

If you load more than one barrel be ready for chain fires.
If your ready for them they won't hurt you but if your not expecting them they can cause all sorts of mischief.
Ask Mark Twain. :rotf:

 

[PreserveFreedom]

Well I guess I will wait on my backordered .350 balls then. As far as a chainfire, I am not worried. I figure if I do get one then I will already be pointed downrange and the lead balls will have a clear path to fly away. I also speculate that the chance of a chainfire is less likely in a pepperbox than in a cap and ball revolver.

Here is why:

The combination of chamber and barrel in a pepperbox is like having a double length cylinder so the flash would have to travel backward twice the distance around my projectiles. Also, if one believes the nipple end is to blame for a chainfire, these nipples are arranged in a radial (outward) pattern rather than facing rearward as on a standard revolver. Everything is just spaced better on both ends. All the same, if it happens it happens.

 

[hawkeye2]

Actually pepperboxes were far more famous for chainfires than revolvers were. The shroud around the nipples contains the flash and directs it to the other nipples. Mark Twain had some hilarious comments on the pepperbox. Reliability aparently wasn't a big issue with them either. As soon as decent revolvers became avaliable the pepperbox went out of favor.

 

[F.G. Ford]

I have had a Hoppe's pepper box for years.
It shoots well, without chain fire if I do my part.
#10 caps
I would patch each ball to prevent other balls from creaping forward as you shoot each barrel.
You will have a hard time hitting a barn with it ( even if you are in the barn !)
You will be amazed how accurate it does shoot.
Try it at a lake, pond or river, you will hit stumps or the like at surprising distances.
My Hoppe's never misfires!
Best regards
Old Ford

 

[Zonie]

Most if not all chain fires happen because a percussion cap either was not installed on the nipple of a loaded chamber or it fell off because of recoil.

The pepperboxes shroud around the capped area is its own worst enemy because it keeps the flash from the fired chamber in next to the other nipples and, if a cap becomes dislodged there is no way to see it.

Sam Colts Patterson while still in its development stage had a shroud around the nipples. The resulting chainfires forced a redesign which not only got rid of the shroud but caused Colt to redesign the rear of the cylinder to place the nipples down into the pockets that Colt continued to use on all of his percussion revolvers.

So convinced was Colt that this was an improvement that he took out a Patent on the idea of placing a obstruction between the nipples to prevent chain firing.
His wording didn't say to put them in a pocket as he had done. It was much more vague referring to it as a dam.
The Patent did specifically say the purpose was to prevent multiple firing.

In later years he successfully won lawsuits against other pistol makers because they provided their own version of a obstruction between the nipples.

 

[PreserveFreedom]

Wow I had no idea chainfires would be worsened by this design. It does make sense though. Thank you all for the info.