Reload BP revolver from flask or measure?

[CaptainKirk]

"Will-it or Won't-it" have no bearing here, IMHO. Let's just suppose (humor me here) that for whatever reason the powder pouring from your flask into the cylinder ignites...I don't care why!...static, smoldering powder, bit o' glowing cap...doesn't really matter....the powder trickling in ignites. And you're holding 100+ grains in your clenched fist. Would your shooting days be over? Perhaps. And that's enough to make my common sense meter swing over to the "don't" side of the scale.
Of course, your meter may be different than mine, but I just had mine calibrated. :hmm:

 

[renovato]

Static spark is DC current ,its voltage &amps will be different due to an infinant number of variables.Can you measure the heat range of a static spark?. If a static spark can melt steel why is it not able to ignite black powder? Charles Darwins theory perhaps.If you keep trying you will get a result ,just be sure you or your next okin let us know when you get a hot one.

Nope, I can't measure it. But I'm also not saying that lightning and other high energy sparks can't set it off.

Relax guys. I used a coat hanger to keep my hands a safe distance from the powder, and the pile is about what I'd use to prime with. Worst case scenario would be FOOF and some smoke in the hall.

Speaking of hall. I don't know what's with the carpet in my hallway, but I chose it deliberately for the test. Just walking down the hallway normally, in your shoes, will generate enough of a spark to make you dread touching the doorknob. Scooting back and forth down it a few times in socks almost gives you super powers when it comes to fat painful sparks. If one of those aren't going to set it off, I can't think of anything else that we'd normally encounter that would.

On a side note, even my dogs soon learned to hate the hallway. They'd come down the hall into the bedroom for a visit. But as soon as I'd reach over to pet one, POP! They'd yip and I'd jump a foot. They'd go tearing back down the hall into the living room. In which I'd soon hear another POP and yip. I really need to get some new carpet.

I'll never forget when we first moved here. I had made some homemade ice cream. I took some down the hall to the bedroom to give my girlfriend at the time a taste. I poked a spoonfull at her and just as it got to her mouth I heard POP! Apparently the spark jumped from the spoon to her teeth. She was almost in tears and was mad at me for the rest of the night. Apparently teeth conduct electricity extremely well. :rotf:

 

[pargent]

Over here in AUS. Revolvers at a range are usually loaded at a bench,from a flask .Because the chambers are shorter than a barrel,the caps are removed (spent or otherwise), a range officer haschecked the rev. before the shooter moves it away from the fireing line backto the loading bench.A patch is not used in a revolver so no smoldering cloth . A lot of shooters take the extra caution of using a measure.Brass is used for spouts & flasks because it wont produce a spark.As stated above it is the flow of powder that may build up a static charge ,a spark may ocour if conditions are right.The use of syn. materials for spouts ,flasks &clothing will also help to build up a static charge.(there are non sparking syn flasks available ).NB. when pouring the spout vlv is open.

 

[Leatherbark]

For 33 years I've been using a flask for my revolvers only. But I do always spin the cylinder and blow into the chambers before loading from the flask after the initial firing. Hopefully extinguishing any spark..............Or fanning oxygen to a lingering one?.................Bob

 

[TFoley]

I never tried FFFFG or the fines I sift out of my powder though. Who knows. Now I'm curious again.

Don't fergit ta let us know the hospital visitin' hours, eh? :wink:

tac

 

[goon]

I use empty .45 Colt casings with a plug in them to hold premeasured charges. Unfortunately, I don't have any with me now so I'm stuck with the old "pour from the flask into the measure, now pour that into the chamber..." routine until I get mine back.

I've heard of people using Pyrodex pellets but I have to wonder if they're worth the extra price when you can essentially do the same thing yourself with some little containers of some sort.

 

[bkovire]

as a former user of them :cursing: pellets it is better to get 3f! :thumbsup:

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I never tried FFFFG or the fines I sift out of my powder though. Who knows. Now I'm curious again.

Don't fergit ta let us know the hospital visitin' hours, eh? :wink:

tac

I have used a .32acp case of 4F as a 'starter' charge under the main load of 3F in my ROA. noticeable more 'kick'.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I use those little red plastic tubes with orange rubber caps that I buy from Dixon Muzzleloading. RMC makes them. They're about $1.00 each and you buy 'em in a five-pack. I own over 200 tubes! I pre-pour all of my charges for each revolver and store them in separate cigar boxes, marked with the name of the gun and the quantity of black powder in each tube. When I wish to compete with a particular firearm, I merely take the correct cigar box with me.

Takes less time at the shoots this way, and more relays can get shot in the same time period. Also more accurate with less spilled powder!

Great for Scout Days at the Range too--especially when you're doing over 200 Scouts in a single day!

Dave

 

[token tory]

I use a cut off brass 30 cal case as a 28 Gr. measure on the flask. This I dump into a cut off 45-70 case I keep for the purpose.
Then I dump the charge from the 45-70 into the chamber mouth. I don't cut the 45-70 case all the way back, just enough so I can see the level of the powder & double check I threw a consistent load. The extra length helps a klutz like me from tipping powder anywhere except into the chamber mouth!

A bit slow? well, yes, but I just heard of a (rare) case of a flask exploding & causing serious injury. My thought is that if I wanted to reload fast I'd use a cartridge gun anyway & I like (& need) all my fingers. It only has to happen once to spoil the day so I take the hit on time for safety reasons. :thumbsup:

 

[grampaJ]

Last accidental blowing up of a flask that I heard of was a fellow using a priming flask in his left hand and a flintlock lock that he was trying to get to spark in the right hand. Lost several left fingers with extensive grafting required. Moral: Do not cut corners and forget safety concerns. End of sermon. GrampaJ in NC. :nono:

 

[Mike M.]

I use a measure for practice. Both N-SSA and MLAIC rules require pre-measured charges for competition.

 

[TFoley]

I use a measure for practice. Both N-SSA and MLAIC rules require pre-measured charges for competition.

Same here in UK [MLAGB] and the rest of the world where BP or any loose propellant is loaded and fired.

Seems sensible to me to spend time preparing beforehand so you can shoot safely.

tac

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

:thumbsup: At League Events with a common firing line it just makes sense all the way around!

Dave

 

[goon]

My thought is that if I wanted to reload fast I'd use a cartridge gun anyway ...

Or just pull a second revolver!

I'm a newbie at C&B revolvers but quick reloading is something they don't seem to mix well with. But I still love them.

 

[goon]

I use those little red plastic tubes with orange rubber caps that I buy from Dixon Muzzleloading. RMC makes them. They're about $1.00 each and you buy 'em in a five-pack. I own over 200 tubes! I pre-pour all of my charges for each revolver and store them in separate cigar boxes, marked with the name of the gun and the quantity of black powder in each tube. When I wish to compete with a particular firearm, I merely take the correct cigar box with me.

Takes less time at the shoots this way, and more relays can get shot in the same time period. Also more accurate with less spilled powder!


Dave

This is a good idea, but I already had a handful of range pick up .45LC cases on hand. I've found BP shooting to be a bit costly actually, so anywhere I can save a buck gets me closer to another pound of powder or another box of balls. I could probably use .357's too come to think of it...

 

[Michael Mayfield]

I make paper cartridges for my rifles. I turned an aluminum rod about .005 larger than the bullet(but you could use wood dowel and a drill motor with a file) and cut paper to make a tube. Glue them up and slide them off the rod to dry. Then you put a bullet in one end, twist and tie with white thread. Fill with powder, twist and tie with red thread. Colour coded. This was from Col. Roberts book, and works great. I use paper soaked in potassium nitrate-salt peter- for the '59 Sharps, leaving a tail long enough for the breach block to cut. One of these days, I'm going to make the time to try combustible paper cartridges for my revolvers. These were in use during the war between the states,though they were considered too fragile. For now, I use a cartridge case to transfer from the flask to the cylinder. 8x56R case,berdan primed and not reloadable. I spill less with the necked case, but think it is probably overkill safety wise. I feel that with the way things have been going lately, I need all the safety I can devise. And no, black powder is certainly not a speed sport. Seems funny when the fellow next to me on the line goes through a couple of boxes of ammo in a Glock, and I'm still trying to load my fourth cylinder. Makes one appreciate the change of pace the last hundred years has imposed. Nice to relax, which is why I shoot,anyway.