What do I need to shoot my revolver?

[bobthemotorcycle]

My son got me a Confederate 1851 Navy from Cabelas this Christmas and I do not know much about shooting black powder.

I have a bunch of stuff my step dad left me when he passed away this I will use.

So far I have-
The revolver.
A flask to hold powder (Also a horn but I believe I will use the flask).
A brass adjustable mesuring thing.
A brass percusion cap holder/loader.
5 or 6 tins full of Remington and CCI #11 caps.
About 8 or 10 pounds of real black powder that I hope works.

What I need are some lead balls for bullets. I plan on casting my own I just need to get a mold. I have about 10 pounds of .50 and .36 cal balls I will meld down and cast into .44 cal.
What size die/mold should I get for this .44 cal?

I also need to get some crisco to cap my chambers.

My last question is, Do I have to use a wad between my powder and bullet or can I just load the powder then bullet then top it of with crisco? I really do not want to fool with wads.

Thanks.

 

[cynthialee]

wads not needed

I would use a .454 roundball for that pistol. (in fact thats exactly what I use for this pistol)

 

[ronnie_kennedy]

I have the exact pistol that i also bought from cabelas. Cynthia said she uses .454 which is fine, but personally i use .451.Not sure of the need for a bigger ball, since when you press it into the cylinder it shaves a small amount of lead off to make it the proper size. So if you use .451 or .454 it seems it will be the same size in the end as it is pushed into the cylinder. No need for the wads like she said. I know some like to pour powder, then wad, then ball, to make the ball sit higher in the chamber. I haven't had any problems not using them though. I pour my powder, load the ball, and then squirt a small about of bore butter (also bought from cabelas, but you can find it elsewhere too) on top of the ball. Don't know if yours is brass framed like mine, but i have heard that the brass frame will stretch a little over time if you use a big charge. Personally i have found that my best groupings come from using 24 grains of 3f pyrodex in my cylinder. I use goex in my rifle, and have used it in my revolver, but find that it gunks up quicker than the pyrodex. Dirtier powder i guess you can say. I have been shooting the 24 grains in my revolver and have put approx 300 balls through it will no problems. You can use many different things for lube, i just find that the bore butter works for me and helps keep the fouling down and my barrel nice and lubed. Another thing you may want to think about getting is some ballistol. There are varying opinions on here as far as cleaning products go, but ballistol have been great to me. Cleans very well and leaves a nice thin oil coat on your gun that doesn't evaporate too much since it is not a water or alcohol based solvent. Have fun! These are great shooting guns and pretty reliable as far as groupings go.

 

[cynthialee]

the reason I advocated for the .454 instead of the .451 is that sometimes one of the chambers will be right at .451-.452 and a .451 ball may not shave lead

 

[Shifty]

I was told by this guy I buy my BP from that in the CB Rvolvers he shot in competition was he used the bigger ball so that when he rammed the ball it would shave the excess and would result in kind of a short conical,and he got better accuracy with his guns.

 

[No Deer]

My last question is, Do I have to use a wad between my powder and bullet or can I just load the powder then bullet then top it of with crisco? I really do not want to fool with wads.

Thanks.

In my opinion, wads are easier and less messy to deal with than crisco. In my .44 Uberti Walker Colt, I use .457 balls. I was not comfortable with the small amount that .451 or .454 shaved off, and .457 load easily enough.

 

[Many Klatch]

Sounds like you have most of what you need. I'd go with at least the .454 ball. I personally don't like the mess of the crisco so I use the wads instead but to each his own.

Here are some things to remember.

1) always use the measure. Don't pour directly from the flask into the chamber.

2) Start with 25 grains or there about. You don't need a max load to put holes in paper.

3) Make sure the caps are on snug. If they fall off you could get a chain fire.

4) Make sure that you do get a ring of lead when you press the ball in the chamber. If it doesn't that can be another cause for a chain fire.

5) Clean the gun with water and a soap of your choice after shooting. There are a number of videos on YouTube that show how to dismantle your gun.

Have fun.

Many Klatch

 

[onepaw]

i shot both 451 and 454 in mine, 454 holds a tighter pattern

 

[ronnie_kennedy]

Hope i didn't come across as trying to sound like my way and .451 balls were the only way to go. I have never tried the .454's in mine...think i will got buy a box the next time i'm at the gun shop and see how it does in mine. :hmm:

 

[crockett]

You ought to carry some paper towels or the like because you'll get greasy fingers using the Crisco to fill in the ends of the chamber. If you disassemble the gun for cleaning- make a drawing of the parts as you remove them so you'll know how to put everything back together. It is pretty common to get the spring for the bolt/trigger upside down, etc. The threads on the screws can get all beat up from frequent contact with ill fitting screw drivers so buy two screwdrivers that are slightly too large to fit in the screw slots and carefully file them down until they exactly fit the width and length of the screw slot. Then lightly polish the edges of the screwdriver so if it slips out of the slot it will not scratch the gun's frame. Most guns usually have only two sizes of screws so you'll only need two screw drivers.
There are several different ways you can shoot your revolver which can get confusing. They are all okay.
1. Easiest: put in a powder charge 20-24 grains is okay. FFFg black powder is best but any black powder will work to start. Then seat the ball. Push the ball all the way down so no air space remains between the powder and ball. You can sort of hear a "crunch" as the ball meets the powder. It is okay to crunch the powder. To help reduce fouling and prevent a chain fire you want to fill the end of the chamber with Crisco. You will use the paper towels to clean your hands after doing this. Then cap the nipples and you are ready to shoot.
NOW...there are different size caps and there is also some variation in nipples. If you are getting duds or hangfires, etc- it might be a problem with a wrong match between the nipples and caps. If you do get a misfire- keep the muzzle pointed down range at least a minute or two or ask someone else at the range for help. Don't cock the gun to the next chamber- because if the "dud" suddenly goes off- the ball will hit the frame.
2. After you've shot the powder/ball/Crisco for a while you can try different things. One is to use a lubed wad. This wad goes inbetween the powder and ball and it eliminates having to use the Crisco and paper towels, etc. The Crisco is less expensive than using wads.
3. You will hear about fillers, like cream of wheat. Like a wad these fillers go inbetween the powder and ball. The main reason for using a filler is to use less powder, say 10 grains, which makes recoil non-existent and some folks think the reduced powder charges are good for target shooting.
Now, you might wonder why can't you just use less powder and seat the ball deeper into the chamber (remember the "crunch") and forget the filler? Actually you can do it that way but the general belief is that the less the ball has to move forward in the chamber before entering the barrel- the better. You get better accuracy when the ball is closer to the end (muzzle end) of the cylinder.
Well that ought to get you started. Be sure to ask more questions if any of the process is not clear.
And...if you have never shot a revolver before, there can on occasion be a sideways spitting of lead and hot gases so don't have anyone standing closely beside the revolver as you are shooting at a target.

 

[Atlast357]

Fired my 1851 brass .44 first time also. Follow note in the Cabela's instructions, not to use more than 25 grains of powder, so I used 22 plus 3 grains of corn meal then the Crisco. Make sure the #11 caps are seated fully ,use a wood dowel to "push" them on the nipple. One cap fell off when I held the gun pointed up.
With .454 balls the accuracy was great.

 

[t.l.a.r. eng]

A small hinged loading stand could be helpful as a third hand. :thumbsup:

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

Thanks for the answers everybody. Everybody who responded to this post has taught me something and I will try all of your answers.

It will be a few more days before I get to the range to shoot but when I do I will post some pictures.

Also thanks for the screw driver tips. I have been wanting to take it apart for a few days now but I do not have gun smithing screw drivers so I have held off until doing so. I have some experience on taking Ruger Blackhawks apart. My Dad was really into Fast Draw back in the 70s so I still have his John Phillips made fast draw guns which me and my son take apart on occasion to learn how stuff works. We used just whatever screw drivers we had and the screw slots are butchered up so we learned our lesson but at the same time we also learned how to slick up an action so in the future this black powder revolver will be very nice to shoot.

Thanks for all the answers, please let me know anything else you know so I will know also.

 

[swathdiver]

You can also shoot with just 15 grains but need a filler as the rammer won't get the ball down on top of that little powder. My solution is to fill my powder horn with corn meal and put 15 grains of that on top of the BP.

Wads are less mess than crisco, especially when it gets warm/hot outside!

 

[cynthialee]

I use filler in my cylenders and borebutter over my cylenders.
The filler is to prevent chainfires and get my ball closer to the front. And the borebutter over the cylenders is to help keep the fouling soft.

 

[crockett]

Bobby: the lock work on the Colt type percussion revolver is almost identical to that on the later Colt Peacemaker 1873. The only big difference is on the Peacemaker there is a visible gap between the bottom of the cylinder and the frame- which let's you see the bolt drop. There is more written on the Peacemaker so any instructions on disassemby/assembly on the 1873 Peacemaker can be pretty much applied to the Colt percussion revolvers.