pre-measuring or a better method of measuring for revolver?

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Another advantage that I learned is, I use small adjustable pistol powder measurers and when I started using vials I learned that at times, all the powder does not come out of the vial when pouring it. Learned where some of my low shots were coming from.

This is what happened to one of our BEST Female Shooters at the World Championships in Wedgnok, UK in 1996.

The ONLY reason we caught it was while I was replacing the shot out cone/nipple in her underhammer rifle, she was so nervous she had to do something. So she lined her vials up to count how many she had left on the cross piece of the open 2x4 frame we had to put a tarp over the Team Armourer/Shooter's Rest area. The sun came out from behind them and the differing amounts of powder was very easy to see, though no one had noticed it before.

What had happened was when she had used the vials in practice the day before, she did not notice that not all the powder came out of each vial even though the vials were transparent. So she had just dumped freshly weighed charges in each vial for that day's shoot. Thus the new charges went anywhere from 10 to maybe 40 percent more powder with the old powder that was still in them.

With the new cone/nipple and correctly weighed charges, her rifle went right back to shooting dead center.

Gus
 
Regarding "not charging from a flask" contest rule. I used a kind of workaround (or perhaps the judge didn't know better).

Instead of fiddling with a flask, a separate measure, while holding the revolver by the barrel up I did the following (I didn't p remeasure)

After I shot the cylinder I removed it from the revolver. The original poster wrote he doesn't want to fiddle with cylinders. I take this to mean "multiple cylinders". Taking a cylinder out of my Remington army takes me half a second. Putting it back in similarly.

So, I took the cylinder out. I put the revolver on the table and while holding the cylinder in one hand I used that flask and the built in measure to charge 5 chambers (the rules here don't allow 6 during contest despite having a security notch). Then I put my felt wads in so the powder doesn't fall out.

I then plug the cylinder back into the gun and I use the built in lever to seat 5 balls.

An alternative is to buy a press and load out of the gun almost fully. Capping in the gun.
 
Is your powder box lined with tin or other metal, or is it finished on the inside? It looks like a snug-fitted, rimmed lid that closes relatively tightly.
View attachment 92457

I like it! Wood or sheet metal containers for muzzle loading gear seem more apt (though less convenient) than plastic.

I've got a box that might work for that... but it has no liner.
No lining. It’s just a small box I made in my basement work shop. The lid does fit snugly. Powder is cycled through quickly enough that it’s not a long term storage vessel.
 
I pour some BP into a small plastic container and dip from that. Most any large-mouth container will work.
 
Twenty years into bp revolver shooting now and thousands of rounds later, so i have settled on what works for me and i regard as time saving.

No paper cartridges. The time in making them far outweighs the time loading at the range. I am not restricted to time at range so i may as well enjoy my shooting there.

I weigh my powder at home into glass vials, cork stoppered. Pack these into a 308 rifle cartridge case and stick them in my range box.
Weighing gives consistent accurate loads. Some pne here said vials sometimes do not tip a full load? Never had that...ever. Be diligent watch what you are doing.

At the bench i load quickly and easily. Vial out, cork off, pour, cork on vial back and then next. Wad then ball. All done on a press as the Remington is so quick with cylinder removal. This is quicker than on the gun loading and no parts ever wear or break and as i use .457 balls it is simple.

I have never broken or dropped a vial so no issue there and if i did, so what. Brush it up or whatever and carry on.

Multiple cylinders? Good gods no unless needed for competition. I am never in a rush shooting and cleaning one per gun is enough.

Speed, when i am at the range target shooting i am often shooting with friends with centre fire. We quite often shoot much the same and i never feel i am slow. But we are there to enjoy shooting talk some cobblers and ejoy ourselves.

I do not use the flasks, measure or capper in my range box but it keeps it from getting misplaced!
The yellow tin holds wads, the silver grease for the base pin and the copper box balls.

image.jpeg
 
Twenty years into bp revolver shooting now and thousands of rounds later, so i have settled on what works for me and i regard as time saving.

No paper cartridges. The time in making them far outweighs the time loading at the range. I am not restricted to time at range so i may as well enjoy my shooting there.

I weigh my powder at home into glass vials, cork stoppered. Pack these into a 308 rifle cartridge case and stick them in my range box.
Weighing gives consistent accurate loads. Some pne here said vials sometimes do not tip a full load? Never had that...ever. Be diligent watch what you are doing.

At the bench i load quickly and easily. Vial out, cork off, pour, cork on vial back and then next. Wad then ball. All done on a press as the Remington is so quick with cylinder removal. This is quicker than on the gun loading and no parts ever wear or break and as i use .457 balls it is simple.

I have never broken or dropped a vial so no issue there and if i did, so what. Brush it up or whatever and carry on.

Multiple cylinders? Good gods no unless needed for competition. I am never in a rush shooting and cleaning one per gun is enough.

Speed, when i am at the range target shooting i am often shooting with friends with centre fire. We quite often shoot much the same and i never feel i am slow. But we are there to enjoy shooting talk some cobblers and ejoy ourselves.

I do not use the flasks, measure or capper in my range box but it keeps it from getting misplaced!
The yellow tin holds wads, the silver grease for the base pin and the copper box balls.

View attachment 92855
Works for you and that’s a nice set up too. Nice work on the foam cut outs.
I totally agree on the paper cartridges thing, just too time consuming and tedious.
The soft mouth vinyl tubes I showed eliminate one step as the ball or conical is the “cork”. They,and I’ve done this. can be accidental dropped on a hard surface and stay stoppered and not broken.
Having mentioned that I also take loose ball and powder as frequently I wind up shooting the 48 I’ve loaded and want to shoot more.
Percussion guns were designed to be loaded on gun so that’s my route.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top