Hi guys! Quick question from a noob in the sport. I have a Pietta .31 Remington Pocket Revolver. The cylinder chambers measure .314" or 7.975mm. I have made a brass mold to cast my own ammunition. My ammo comes out as .324" or 8.23mm. When I load it a firm pressure is needed and a nice lead ring is shaved off, but the reloading lever makes a round ring indentation on the ball when pressed in. I presume this is because the underside of the reloading lever is hollowed out for a diameter of .31. That means my slightly oversized ball does not snugly fit inside that hollowed out section of the reloading lever and leaves that ring indentation. Something I need to worry about?
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Reloading Lever Damaging Balls
- Thread starter RATKAS
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smoothshooter
50 Cal.
No need for worry.
I filled the concave end of the loading lever ram flush with metal set epoxy anyway on a couple of my guns. Makes one less nook and cranny to clean.
My only concern would be the extra stress on the gun when loading what I consider oversized roundballs. The loading lever on your pocket revolver isn’t all that strong. Maybe load in a press out of the gun, or get some .317” or so diameter pure lead roundballs.
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Hehehe thanks for the info. Might do that as well!
Thank for the reply. Yeah I have also heard those levers are not that strong. I don't think the amount of force I have put on it will break it, but I will definitely consider loading with a press outside of the gun. I have melted lead air rifle pellets to use as my ammo. The balls came out perfectly on my first cast, yay.
Thanks!
I saw a used one without a loading lever for sale locally. Shop owner said it was broken when it came in, so he removed it.
You don’t need a press to load the cylinder out of the gun. A small plastic faced hammer would do it.
Thanks for the info SDSmlf. I like your simplistic approach!
You can recountour the ram face. I have a Pietta that came with a weird cross thing instead of the older rounded interior face of the ram.
Took a die grinder tool and a ball and worked it until it fit nicely.
I don't know if it makes a difference, but I sure hate to distort something like that. Accuracy is hard enough with these to have mashed balls.
Took a die grinder tool and a ball and worked it until it fit nicely.
I don't know if it makes a difference, but I sure hate to distort something like that. Accuracy is hard enough with these to have mashed balls.
Hey Smokerr. Thanks for the input. I know myself and will eventually give in and mcguyver something to get the ball seated properly without damaging it too much!
Carteret Kid
45 Cal.
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For these size revolvers, it helps to have a small length of pipe to use as a leaver extention when loading.
Yeah, that should help with the leverage......but also breaking off the thing hehehe. Cheers!
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You will break your loading lever off the little Remington VERY easily.
If you have the hand-strength just north of a toddler's, you won't need a pipe extension to pry the lever off of a Pocket Remington.
If you have the hand-strength just north of a toddler's, you won't need a pipe extension to pry the lever off of a Pocket Remington.
Agreed, but yeah I intend to keep my Remington Pocket in tippy top shape so I won't be reloading with the lever. It will be outside the gun with a small press or mallet and pin.
CaptainVane
Colt ‘51 & Remington ‘58 .36; Colt ‘48 .31
Ive heard that. If you need an extension the ball is too large. Just fyi. I use a .320 and it doesn’t shave the miracle ring. I tried .323, shaved a ring, was a bich to seat. Just yesterday i got some .321 to try. Will see.
I am not a believer in the miracle ring theory. I saw zero accuracy difference between .320 and .323. As for chain fire, i use wads.
Are the pellets pure lead? I have seen where some pellets are an alloy. Pure lead is preferred in casting for percussion BP revolvers.
Ream out the cylinder mouths a little?
About ball and bullet damage - Hornady did some testing to determine the effect of bullet damage. They found no bad effects from nose damage, even going so far as to file the bullet nose at an angle. However, a very small defect in the base caused accuracy problems. Now, this was with jacketed center fire bullets but I suspect it would apply to round balls also. It could be tested if anyone wanted to burn the powder and lead but I'm just not going to worry about balls with a ring on the nose.
On the tin they said it is lead. How pure it is remains a mystery. The do however cast nicely and if I rub my fingernail agains the cast ball it leaves an indentation so it's kinda soft. It's actually a nice balance between soft and hard.
