chazz11B said:
...
I really don't want to make a new post for an ammo question. What brand and or where would you buy minnie balls, patches, powder horn, and powder (a starter kit for that matter) from for a .45 cal?...
Speaking of ammo let me begin by saying that using real black powder will give your gun faster, more reliable ignition.
That said, because the rifle is a percussion style which uses caps to fire it, it can use any of the modern synthetic black powder substitutes like Pyrodex, 777 or one of the others.
Typically, they produce less fouling but they also often have a slight hesitation before firing.
Real black powder cannot be placed on the shelf at a gun store because the Federal laws mandate that store owners must keep it under lock and key.
You will have to ask the store manager if they have it.
This is not true with the BP substitutes. They may be placed on the shelf along with other powders.
Speaking of other powders, NEVER try to use ANY smokeless powder of any kind. Doing so can cause your gun to blow up.
Last but no least thanks for down to earth about me not buying a 1000.00+ piece right from the start. I was worried about getting snubbed or razzed over that. Don't get me wrong I'll be looking over one of the MUCH nicer ones if I end up liking this BP rifle hunting "Scene".
No problem.
Everyone has to start somewhere and buying one of the inexpensive guns makes more sense.
About the things you will need:
A .45 caliber cleaning jag. (a cylindrical, grooved tip that is screwed onto a cleaning or ram rod.
It is used along with a cleaning patch to clean the bore. Some folks including me often use it on a ram rod to ram the patched ball down the barrel.
A adjustable powder measure is needed to measure the powder charge. Get one that can measure from 0 to 100 grains (or more). That will be good for any powder load you will ever shoot.
Patches are needed for shooting roundballs.
They must be either 100% cotton or linen.
They must be a tight weave and should be at least .012 thick.
Many use the blue and white striped "pillow ticking" sold at WalMart.
Factory made patches are fine too but I don't recommend using the "pre-lubricated" ones.
They are great if they are new but if they have sit on a shelf in the store for a year, the lube will break down the fabric and cause it to blow apart when the gun is fired.
Blowing apart will cause the guns accuracy to go from a 2 inch group at 50 yards to a 2 foot group at that range.
A patch lube is needed. Store bought brands like Bore Butter work but so do home made lubes.
These can range from a cheap vegetable oil to complex mixtures of alcohol, Oil Soap, Caster Oil and water. You'll find hundreds of them here.
Buying a Patch Screw or Worm that fits a .45 cal. bore can be a handy thing to have. It's used to fish out cloth patches that might have slipped off of the cleaning jag.
A "ball screw" is a tip that can be screwed onto a ramrod. It is used to extract a loaded ball from the bore.
A Nipple wrench or a 1/4" open end wrench is needed to remove the nipple from the gun.
This is necessary whenever you clean the gun (which must be done any time the gun is fired).
You can buy all of these things at Track of the Wolf (TOTW).
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/list/category.aspx/632
Cloth patches with the ball placed in the middle of them are used to grab the rifling when shooting round balls.
Bullets of any kind are not loaded with a patch. Rather, they are greased and loaded bare, in the bore.
Roundballs are fairly inexpensive and with the right patch and powder load they are very accurate out to 100 yards and beyond.
Bullets or slugs are rather expensive and they must fit closely in the bore if they are going to shoot accurately.
There are different styles and weights and while one or two might be accurate, many of them won't be. The only way to find out which style and weight works best is to try several different ones.
