Took The Plunge

[Glenfilthie]

Oh jeez. I am done for, I have the BP bug.

Fellers, I am an expert on the care and feeding of the percussion Spaghetti Plains Rifle and have been using one with great success for years.

Now I just bought one of those new fangled repeating revolvers from Uberti (1860 Army). I am gearing up but need to confirm a few things:

Preferred powder for these revolvers is FFFg. will FFg work for plinking?

Do I absolutely HAVE to put grease over the ball? I am at a loss here - I have read that this prevents sparks from the cylinder being fired from getting into neighbouring cylinders - and causing a chain fire. How can that happen? With the ball firmly seated how can a spark get in and set off the charge on a neighbouring cylinder?

I intend to use felt wads as well - will this prevent chain fires?

Finally - is it feasible to load these things on the trail? I see the guys using stands to load up at the bench but I would rather not. Did the old Navy and Army guys keep all the feed for their guns on their belt instead of a possibles bag?

Your two cents is sincerely appreciated.

 

[Robert an saa fan]

FFg in a .44 revolver is fine.

The following recent thread on chain fires is good reading:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/264363/

I'll step aside for other's to respond also.

 

[junkman_01]

Did the old Navy and Army guys keep all the feed for their guns on their belt instead of a possibles bag?

They used prepared paper cartridges, not loose components.

 

[loki04]

Sir,

A few items from my own experience, limited though it may be; make sure that the caps fit the nipple. I bought a army colt about a year ago, and the nipples were smaller than a size 11 cap, but to big for a size 10 Remington cap. Try to find a cap that will fit, or you can toss the nipples in a drill press and file them down to fit a specific cap size.

Chain fires and grease. There is a long standing argument about grease preventing chain fires, but it is far from settled. I do not put grease over the ball, as it tends to melt off and get everywhere in the summer. I am of the understanding that if you have a ball in the chamber that you had to shave a ring off of to get it seated, then you are pretty safe. Also of importance to preventing chain fires is avoiding loose caps. If you want insurance, try a dry lubed felt wad under the ball. (This can also increase the accuracy)

And finally,I have never had any problems loading in the field without a stand. Two ways that I have found to work are to sit down and hold the revolver pointed up and away with you legs to load the powder (slightly faster,) or to stand and hold the revolver upright in one hand, and the powder flask in the other. Hold the powder measure in the revolver hand while measuring, and switch it to the other to load the powder. (slower, but keeps your seat dry) After all of this, I ram the balls in while resting the grip on my hip. It works for me, although my brother tells me that the juggling act can be hysterical to watch.

My two cents, and worth every penny you paid for it.

Regards,
Loki

 

[aeatwood]

1) FFg will work great, even in .36's. I prefer it for open top and brass framed guns.

2) Yes, lubed felt wads will help prevent chain fires from the front of the cylinder. I believe that most occur from loose or missing caps.

3) Lubed wads will help keep the fouling soft. Removing the cylinder every 3-4 cylinders of firing, and cleaning/greasing the cylinder pin will allow you to shoot all day w/ no major problems of bore leading or fouling buildup.

4) All hope abandon, ye who enter here. There is no cure, only .... treatments.

 

[Coot]

There is an ongoing debate on grease over vs wads under but the gun will shoot fine either way. Sometimes things are just personal preference, minor cost or cleaning issues, or simply how one learned & the "good enough for me" approach. It is perfectly practical to load while standing with no bench or stand, I have done it since my first BP revolver in the 60s - it's just a bit more time consuming. As others have mentioned, properly fitting caps should be confirmed. Good shooting.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

May I recommend you read the thread “How to fill the space in BP revolver.” I had been firing my BP revolvers with no grease or wad for years and after I read that thread I tried using Cream of Wheat over the powder and found it gave me better results, is so far as accuracy and cleanliness than I had ever experienced. And it’s a lot cheaper. I have started using two flasks one with powder and one with CoW as recommended by M.D.

Oh, yes and I do add just a very small dab of BP lube on top of the CoW before I seat the ball. I have used 50/50 mix of bees wax and tallow, or Wonderlube or various others in doesn't matter. I only add the lube when I going to be shooting a lot without getting a chance to clean, such as at Cowboy Action Shoot.

 

[Glenfilthie]

Thanks for all the help fellas! I just got my revolver home today boy...this thing sure stirs the soul. The balance and fit in the hand...ahhhh.

It's time to go play. Can you get conicals for these guns? Is it worth it in your opinion?

 

[RADeO]

Thanks for all the help fellas! I just got my revolver home today boy...this thing sure stirs the soul. The balance and fit in the hand...ahhhh.

OK boys, should we tell him, or let him find out for himself? :rotf:

It's time to go play. Can you get conicals for these guns? Is it worth it in your opinion?

Yes, conicals are available. Some guys use 'em and like 'em. Some find they are almost as accurate as round balls, some don't. It all depends upon your particular revolver, style of conical, and the use to which they will be put. If you just want to punch paper or maybe hunt small game, my recommendation is to stick with the round ball. The most important points are to be safe and have lots of fun. :thumbsup:

Others will be be giving their studied opinions right quick also.

 

[huntinguy]

someone is going to have to explain to this dense old boy just how flame passes around a ball that is swaged into a hole? Flame is going to go around a ball that is held in by the compression of the ball against the cylinder wall?

I have read about how "back in the day" so and so put wax over their chambers to keep chain fire down. Now, lets think of this... You are loading your gun, in battle, and you stop... pull out your candle and drip wax on it??? or you grab some soft wax and spread in over the end of the chamber... I guess if the other guy is doing the same thing you would be alright... Does that for one slight moment sound logical?????? I can see it if you were to have a gun that was not going to be shot for a while... maybe... putting wax on it to keep moisture out but... that is back to how is water getting around a compressed ball in a hole? All those wine bottles must have the foil around them to keep the wine in because there aint no way that cork is going to do it!!!

Make sure your caps fit the nipple tight AND are on tight. That is where, in my opinion, the flame is directed from on to the adjoining cap. And if you want to put lube on the chamber, realize it is for fouling. That will stop your action like it was welded shut. Don't ask how I know... But, a wooden mallet was used... and on the gun too.

 

[crockett]

huntingguy: As far as the "Flame", I think the concern was hot gases, ALTHOUGH...the evidence seems to indicate that there is a lot more chance of an opening from a loose fitting cap on a nipple rather than at the chamber end.
On the wax deal- The only place I ran across that was on general Lee's Navy 51 but I think the idea was he would probably never fire the pistol so it would stay loaded for an extended period of time and the wax was likely to keep the powder dry in the chamber- not to prevent a chain firing.
On the battlefield re-loading- they didn't use a flask and balls, they used combustible cartridges that came in small wood boxes called "packets" (originally Colt used soft cardboard which is where the packet word originated) and the cavalry man's belt pouch held two packets of this type ammunition.

 

[crockett]

Flash Pan Dan- I've always used wads but actually the CoW would save some money, so...maybe I'll give it a try. How do you handle the CoW?- measure it from a container? Keep it in a flask with a measuring spout? In comparing the two (wads and CoW)- the CoW actually keeps the bore cleaner? On your loads- how much powder? how much CoW? On the grease question, I would think (always dangerous) that if you have CoW over the powder and then the ball- that such is a good barrier to protect the powder charge and that no grease would be needed. Thanks for any help.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

Crockett - I use two flasks. My first throws 32 grains of 2Fg and then my second flask throws 15 grains (by volume) of CoW. I pour the powder and then the CoW into each chamber and then I dab a little lube on top of the CoW and then seat the ball. This is the load I use in my Pietta NMA revolvers. When I’m shooting less than 30 rounds I skip the lube. Yes, the CoW has a scrubbing action on the fouling in the barrel that keeps it clean. I add the lube for the sake of keeping the cylinder pin greased during CAS matches or when I am going to shoot the pistols a lot or if it’s a particular dry day. But again it is a very small amount of lube and I add it before I seat the ball. If you add it on top of the ball it gets blown out and is of little benefit.

Glenfilthie ”“ be aware that if you use conicals they will have a much higher point of impact than round balls. The sights on my two NMA revolvers shoot dead on at 15 yards with balls. The conicals shoot about 4 inches high at the same distance. Also, the frames on modern reproduction revolvers are not cut the same as originals because it is very difficult to load conical bullets with the cylinders in the revolvers. When I shoot conical bullets I load the cylinders off of the frames. I usually preload 8 to 10 cylinders at home with conical bullets and then just change cylinders and cap them at the shoots.

 

[MSW]

for whatever it's worth, my load sounds similar to Dan's: first the powder, then a wad made from paper milk carton, then Cream of Wheat, then the ball, then some grease. the intent of the grease has little to do with chain fires, but it really helps keep things lubed, and it makes clean up easier.

my free opinion, and well worth the price...

i would try a few different methods, and go with whatever one works best in your particular gun.

 

[smokeum54]

How do you handle the CoW?

i came up with these little dippers awhile back. great for loading on the bench, ive never loaded a revolver in the feild.

i made them from 9mm brass,3/16 brake line and some cut off pieces of horn. one holds 15 grains and the other 10.

 

[crockett]

Thanks everyone, I'm learning something new :grin: which is a good thing. I'm a little confused about the purpose of the lube- is it to keep fouling soft?
On the conicals- a Colt Navy 51 has a very small cut- pretty much for a ball. The old combustible cartridges used a conical with a tapered point and a fairly small charge- most likely so as to fit into the chamber but on some of the newer conicals- like buffalo bullets- which are more of a SWC shape- it can be very difficult to get them into the chamber on the Colt 51.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

Crockett - on the NMA revolvers (often called model 1858, and wrongly so) the cylinder spins on the exposed cylinder pin which gets a lot of fouling from firing. The lube keeps fouling on that pin soft so that the cylinder keeps working freely.

 

[crockett]

Thanks- I always shoot Colt clones- didn't know.

 

[Glenfilthie]

So guys - what kind of accuracy can I expect from the sixgun?

I am going nuts - I had to order an in-line capper, wads, a flask and some other stuff from the turkeys at Track Of The Wolf and now I have to sit for two weeks waiting for all that to get here before I can fire it!

To help kill time I am making a holster for it and hopefully it will turn out right...nothing to do now but hurry up and wait! :shake:

 

[gl1200a]

I am going nuts - I had to order an in-line capper, wads, a flask and some other stuff from the turkeys at Track Of The Wolf and now I have to sit for two weeks waiting for all that to get here before I can fire it!

Two weeks? Unless your overseas, my average for TOW is two days.