Well now I have to ask ...

[davy]

May I ask a question here of you cap & ball experts? Since I do not shoot cap & ball revolvers on a regular basis, I would ask what is the valid use for the filler such as cornmeal etc. is in the chamber? :hmm:

Now I understand its use in cartridge guns to remove excess space in the cartridge thus remedying the dangerous issue with air space while loading lighter rounds, but why in non-cartridge loading ... unless it is for putting the ball forward enuff to be able to seal with minimum grease? Am I missing something important here?

Any safety issues NOT using the filler in a cap & ball setup? Just curious as I am getting ready to borrow a friends repro Walker and shoot it, but may elect not to use full power loads until I verfy the safety of the gun. :hatsoff:

Thanx

Davy

 

[Blizzard of '93]

I began shooting C&P revolvers before I got a muzzler, more years back than I like to admit. So I learnt a thing or 2-or 20. A full powder charge usually isn't the most accurate load, and meal or filler of some sort is used to bring the seated projectile up to the chamber mouth for best accuracy. I use a felt disk overpowder except when hunting hogs at close range, reason being the disk improves group size. When hunting I use a disk made from juice cartons to keep the pre-lubed slug (I use Lee mold conicals, more punch) off the powder charge. That disk also helps accuracy. I guess it keeps 'gas cutting' down. Can't recollect when I practiced shooting with reduced loads, since I like to practice with hunting loads. Plinking I put a drop of Go-Jo atop the felt disk to keep things lubed and spinning. Felt or wax disks also help seal the chamber but always be sure you have that all-important 'ring of lead' shaved off the slug or ball when you press it into the chamber. If not using a pre-lubed slug or using a ball some lube atop the load helps keep things lubed and probably minumizes flash-over chances to boot. I would use a less than full charge with that Walker starting out, say 25 grs. then a disk and/or filler under the ball or slug. Use the right size of caps also, should be a light 'press fit' on the nipple. I always press the caps on with my thumb, then carefully press the hammer down on each one in turn (keep muzzle pointed in safe direction while doing so) to fully seat them, rarely if ever a mis-fire. I have left pistols loaded in this manner for over a year and had instant 'BANG' when shot them.

 

[rickystl]

Hi Davy. The main use for the corn meal is to prevent chain fire in the case of C&B revolvers. However, you may find it easier to use the currently available pre-lubed revolver wads you can get from TOTW, Dixie, and elsewhere. I use these and eliminate the grease over the top of the balls in each cylinder. But, if you don't have any revolver wads available, use Crisco or other such over the top of each cylinder after loading. Otherwise, you will probably have chainfire. :shocked2: You don't want that, I promise. I've never had a chain fire using either or both methods.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:grin: I have never used corn meal filler nor Crisco (yuck-yuck, pew-pew)I opt for the pre-lubed wads, with an extra bit of lube on the base of the ball. No chain fires and I learned something new about carefully pre-seating the caps---though I have usually turned down my nipples in advance so they fit without much pressing. I do know a member on this site that lost a chunk of his thumb pressing caps down on the nipple---so beware. :hmm: :hatsoff:

 

[Don]

Davy,

Blizzard has you headed in the right direction here. The closer to the chamber mouth the ball is the less jump it makes to the forcing cone and the better your accuracy is. Full loads with any BP gun are not usually the most accurrate but smaller charges mean your ball is further from the forcing cone thus less than optimal accuracy. Add corn meal and the accuracy problem is fixed.

Don

 

[dlocke]

The cornmeal will also help keep the bore clean during shooting. I really like pre-lubed wads. I used crisco the seal the chambers in a BP revolver once when I didn;t have any wads. What a mess.
DJL

 

[Boomer]

Blizzard nailed it.

My L&R likes 15gr of 3f & 10gr cornmeal. If I shoot it with just the 15gr the ball is seated about 1/4" from the cylinder mouth & will throw 6" groups at 25yds. If I add 10gr cornmeal the ball sits just shy of the cylinder mouth & groups shrink to 2-3".

 

[J.S. Colt]

Blizzard and Don have got it right; the closer the ball is to the forcing cone the better the accuracy. However, you touched on another important reason to use the filler: making sure there are no air spaces 'twixt the ball and powder when using light loads. Most time the loading lever doesn't travel far enough on light loads to properly compress the powder, leaving a potentially dangerous airgap. Filler takes care of this. On a Walker, I'd consider 50 grains to be a full load (some say 60), so balance your powder and filler percentages accordingly (e.g. 35 gr powder, 15 gr filler, etc.). I've also heard of folks using Cream of Wheat and Instant Grits as a filler.
And, as an added incidental attraction, the filler does help prevent front-end chainfires!

 

[jboyer]

I have an 1860 Colt Army revolver that I haven't shot alot over the last couple of years but when I have, the accuracy hasn't been good. I'm new to BP revolvers and what I'm hearing on this forum is that the ball needs to be seated close to the end of the cyclinder for good accuracy? So am I correct in thinking that I should load a BP charge, then put a prelubed wad on top of the BP charge, and then measure out enough cornmeal so that the ball seats close to the end of the cylinder? If my thinking is correct I'll give it a try and see if my accurancy improves.

Jeff

 

[J.S. Colt]

Charge, filler, then wad and ball. Wad isn't really necessary when using filler except as a lube; I use Spitball instead of a wad, and use paper cartridges pre-made with powder and filler in the correct proportions to make up a full load. But by all means, experiment! That's part of the fun with this hobby!