My dad recently gave me 3 black powder pistols none of which has ever been shot. One is a Ruger Old Army. The other two are single shot percussion pistols. I have shot bp a few times, so the process of loading, capping and firing...etc isn't too foreign. I do have a few questions though. The Ruger's manual says .457. Would I be okay using .454 diameter balls? What other diameter balls would work well? Also, the other two pistols have no markings indicating caliber. Should I just buy a set of calipers and measure the barrel to find out what caliber they are? Is there another way besides that to find out the caliber? Also, about how much powder should I use when firing them? And finally, although I have shot bp, I've never cleaned one. Are there any special considerations when cleaning bp as opposed to smokeless? Sorry for the long post, but any advice/tips/warnings...etc will be greatly appreciated.
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Please help a bp noob with questions.
- Thread starter mrbill
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There are two or three threads about cap and ball revolvers that have been active the last two-three weeks. All of those discuss loading and cleaning. Also someone posted the entire text of Elmer Keith's chapter on C&B revolvers (from his book Sixguns) within the last two-three months.
Cleaning muzzleloaders is a lot different than smokeless, and there are numerous threads about that as well.
The ball for your Ruger should be large enough to shave a small ring of lead when you ram it home. If you have the .454 balls you might give it a try. I bought .451 and .454 for my Pietta 1860, because the word was that different revolvers had different preferences. The .451's worked, I have not tried the .454's yet.
I never tried to measure the caliber of a barrel so I will leave that to someone else.
Cleaning muzzleloaders is a lot different than smokeless, and there are numerous threads about that as well.
The ball for your Ruger should be large enough to shave a small ring of lead when you ram it home. If you have the .454 balls you might give it a try. I bought .451 and .454 for my Pietta 1860, because the word was that different revolvers had different preferences. The .451's worked, I have not tried the .454's yet.
I never tried to measure the caliber of a barrel so I will leave that to someone else.
walruskid1
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the ruger uses a bigger ball, use what the manual reccommends. what are the other pistols? maybe i can help you by knowing what they are.
I shoot a Ruger Old Army. I've always used 457RB, but I suspect 454 would be 'okay' but possibly not quite as accurate. The Lyman BP Handbook mentions a 454 diameter 185 grain Conical bullet for the Ruger. If loading a roundball smaller than 457 RB, I'd verify I was getting a sliver of lead when operating the loading lever, else I'd put a felt wad or cornmeal filler under the ball as 'chain-fire' insurance. Max powder charge under a roundball is about 40 grain, but most people seem to use a reduced charge between 20 and 30 grain with a cornmeal filler for target work. I won a state pistol agg earlier this month shooting a load of 30 gr 3F goex, cornmeal filler, 457 RB.
For cleaning, I pull the wood grips, loading lever and cylinder. Use a cleaning rod & wet patch down the barrel and down any fired chambers. Toothbrush for the back of the cylinder around the nipples and around the inside of the frame & around the forcing cone. Then frame, cylinder and loading lever go to kitchen sink to be put under stream of hot water to rinse gun inside and out. From there, into the toaster over (set to 250 degrees) for 10 minutes to dry. When cool enough to handle, oil and reassemble. I never remove the nipples, but you probably should every few months (with application of thread antiseize).
As to your other pistols, the caliper approach is good. They're probably 36, 45, or 50 cal, and ball selection is basically the same as for a rifle - pick an undersize ball to allow space for the patch, e.g. my 36 cal flint pistol shoots a 350 patched Roundball. Good luck, ghh
For cleaning, I pull the wood grips, loading lever and cylinder. Use a cleaning rod & wet patch down the barrel and down any fired chambers. Toothbrush for the back of the cylinder around the nipples and around the inside of the frame & around the forcing cone. Then frame, cylinder and loading lever go to kitchen sink to be put under stream of hot water to rinse gun inside and out. From there, into the toaster over (set to 250 degrees) for 10 minutes to dry. When cool enough to handle, oil and reassemble. I never remove the nipples, but you probably should every few months (with application of thread antiseize).
As to your other pistols, the caliper approach is good. They're probably 36, 45, or 50 cal, and ball selection is basically the same as for a rifle - pick an undersize ball to allow space for the patch, e.g. my 36 cal flint pistol shoots a 350 patched Roundball. Good luck, ghh
thanks for the input. i'm probably going to go get a set of calipers. gonna need some to start reloading anyway.
walrus- don't know what brand they are or anything. they are kentucky style, but bear no markings of any kind. my dad claims he made them, but i was at the gun show when he bought 'em :winking: he has a creative memory sometimes :redface:
walrus- don't know what brand they are or anything. they are kentucky style, but bear no markings of any kind. my dad claims he made them, but i was at the gun show when he bought 'em :winking: he has a creative memory sometimes :redface:
