I became hooked on black powder shooting over the past summer. I bought a Rem .44 1858 from Cabelas.
Most people complain about the cleaning. But, by now I am pretty fast and efficient in cleaning my pistol.
My issue is the loading.
This is what I do now. I lean my gun up against my ammo box. Measure powder. Pour into cylinders (I use a beaker style measure, so I spill a few grains usually). load a lubed wad over the powder. Put a ball in each chamber and depress the loading lever. Then the worst thing... those little #10 caps. It's a huge pain picking them out and worse putting them on the nipples. The caps are so small and difficult to manipulate.
All of this seems to take forever.
I'm thinking that I can buy more cylinders, maybe a loading block, or a loading stand. I need to get a capper. But, I've heard that you have to get the right one for your style of pistol.
What are you great and wise people doing that I could steal from you to make my shooting (loading) easier?
I suffer from the same ailment as you! Darn Cabelas had the brass framed .44 Colt Navies on sale for $129 (it was a few years ago) and I couldn't pass it up. It is something addictive in all that smoke!
I'll tell you how I do it, and maybe someone wiser will pipe up and say I am wrong, right, or just plain off kilter
Well, I gave up using the wads, and my 'minute-of-soda-can' hasn't suffered. I don't exactly measure powder but to cap a 30 grain spout with my finger, then into the chamber. I have been using 777 powder and I think the recommended amount is 25 grains so I could be overdoing it (fingers grow back, don't they). I top it with a .451 ball and tamp it home. I sit on a concrete bench top and keep the components in their own containers (which I close before I shoot) and the pistol rests vertically on my knee as I do the operations. Caps go on last once I get up to the shooting line. Seems like it doesn't take but a minute once I get warmed up, but the most important thing is that it makes me appreciate each shot. I am more likely to pace myself when I have a little down time to reload. I think of it as a Zen moment.
I think BP guns get no respect in the power department. Basically the .44 calibers are about equal to older .38 special loads, and I think a few people may have met their end to the puny .36 caliber Navies back in the day.
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I take my coffee how I take my women: bitter and overbearing.
There are many techniques for loading a c&b revolver. In frame, with a loading stand, remove the cylinder and use a loading tool and on and on. I've done them all.
If I'm shooting targets for score I use a loading tool like this.
Measure powder with a volume measure like this.
I get total control of seating depth of the ball.
I use a capping tool like this.
NOTE FOR REMINGTON USERS!
You have to do some grinding on the fingers that grip the cap so you have room to get them in close enough on the 1858 frame.
For casual shooting I charge from a flask, hold my finger over the spout. Don't worry about spilling a little. You need about a five gr change in charge to see any difference in your aiming point.
I make my own wads "grease cookies" mix of beeswax, paraffin and Ballistol (animal or veggie oil) Mix it together, pour it on a cookie sheet about an 1/8 inch thick, punch out cookies with a .45 or .38 case. I place these between powder and ball. The grease cookie keeps the fouling soft and provides lubrication. You can use the cookies to lube your cylinder base pin on Remingtons and the arbor on Colts.
Use a ball large enough so you shave a ring completely around the chamber mouth, this seals the chamber at the barrel end. Caps should fit fairly tight to avoid chain fires. You can chuck the nipples in a drill and use a file to reshape them for a good fit. They must seat completely and be tight enough that the recoil does not cause them to fall off.
Quote:
Weren't the .36 Navies what Wild Bill Hickock carried?
Mr Hickock preferred the 1851 Colt holster frame revolver of Navial caliber (.36). His were silver-plated with ivory handles, and were engraved: "J.B. Hickock-1869". He wore his revolvers backwards in a belt or sash , and seldom used holsters.
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Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.
I think BP guns get no respect in the power department. Basically the .44 calibers are about equal to older .38 special loads, and I think a few people may have met their end to the puny .36 caliber Navies back in the day.
If you look at some of the old pictures of the dead from a shootout they are usually peppered with several holes, I think you needed to be shot several times to die from one these guns.
If you look at some of the old pictures of the dead from a shootout they are usually peppered with several holes, I think you needed to be shot several times to die from one these guns.
Look at some new pictures of shooting, the bodies have several holes. When your in a shootout you do not stop shooting usually until you are out of ammo.
The big Colts hit like a .38spl+P, the holster frame .44's hit like a .38swc, the .36's hit like a .32acp. With proper placement a single bullet well kill you very quickly. Would you care to volunteer for a demonstration?
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Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.
If you look at some of the old pictures of the dead from a shootout they are usually peppered with several holes, I think you needed to be shot several times to die from one these guns.
I shot a deer at about 35yds once with a .44c&b and it dropped dead within 50yds. ,,,sam.
I and most of my buddies use pre-measured charges kept in small stoppered plastic vials for ease of loading, along with a capper and a small plastic straight push grease gun (or icing syringe) for greasing on top of the balls/bullets.
A lot of ranges have banned the use of powder flasks due to the number of accidents that have occurred with them.
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How can I 'Soar with the Eagles' when I'm working with such 'Turkeys'!
Look at some new pictures of shooting, the bodies have several holes. When your in a shootout you do not stop shooting usually until you are out of ammo.
The big Colts hit like a .38spl+P, the holster frame .44's hit like a .38swc, the .36's hit like a .32acp. With proper placement a single bullet well kill you very quickly. Would you care to volunteer for a demonstration?
Another one of my many theories shot down in flames.
I've ordered a second cylinder and a straight capper. I keep hearing about having to grind down or otherwise manipulate the capper. I will see how my new capper works, and go on from there.
I use #10 on my Pietta Remington and .454 lead balls. They leave a nice ring when driven home.
I am angered when people act as if a .44 cap n ball is as dangerous as a bb gun.
I took this issue to the forum a while back.
Some members had actually chrono'd their revolvers (900 to 1200 fps). People equated the .44 cap n ball to .38 special or .44 special. Some talked about the walker with a 60 grain load being similar to a modern .357 mag.
I went with my son to my local range. We set up a target at 25 yds. He fired his .22 lr revolver, while I shot a .38 special and my .44 remingtion 1858 at the target. The huge holes the .44 made in comparison to the .38 were insane.
Also,a large spinning ball of lead entering a living thing, tends to spin around inside making a huge mess.
