dialing in my rem 1858 cap N ball

lone ranger

lone ranger

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Well I got a new 1858 cap N ball with adjustable sites.

Had to Toss the original "blade site" It was Way to Wide for any kind of long distance accuracy.

I made a new blade that was 1/3 as wide.
Then painted the front post Orange.
Started dialing in at 50yards.
My 1st group was " 3 shots Right. so I moved the blade "Left"
My next shot was TO Far left.
re adjusted & got him straight in the Neck.
My next shot got him Dead center in the head.

Moved the target out to 75 yards and "got lucky" High right in the head, but I dont count it as a hit.
A storm flew in and chased me off the range.LOL

so in a few days I will go back out and do some more 75 yard shots.
The ball is dropping bad at that distance.
I'm loaded near max 30grains "black powder substitute."


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also using custom made 44 balls. I cant get this accuracy with store bought hornady
 
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the orange post is a Tight fit in the sites. makes for pin point shots.
I tried a lot of different Lubes, but Vasaline gives the best accuracy...plus a few hidden tricks.
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Interesting, I have an original 1858 that was manuf as a 1863 "New Model" that i will be working up the courage to do the same thing with this month.
This pistol was manuf for US cavalry use during civil war ( and all indications are that it was), after the war it was one of only 300 Remington's sent back to the factory to be fitted with .46 cartridge cylinders ( The cylinder it came to me with has the "Rollin White" roll stamp indicating the S&W cartridge patent was paid by the U.S.). I wont be using the original cylinder because I dont want to mar the roll stamp but I have a Kirst .45 replacement cylinder to use the BP cartridges in.

I plan on using this pistol along with a # of other guns that fit the criteria to shoot a full 2 day cowboy match with 0ver 100 yr old guns. The other 3 are a Colt's 1873 in .45 that serial #'s to 1882, a Marlin 1889 lever gun in 38-40 that serials to 1890 and a 1897 Winchester shotgun that serials to 1905.
 
I did some 75 yard shooting today. Its the best I can do.
out of 5 shots , I got 4 solid hits.
Had 1 flyer,..no clue where it went lol.
The wind picked up really bad and kept blowing my target over, so I shut it down.
I see no point in going for 100yards. I will hit the target but with NO real accuracy to speak of,.......however,.. I do have six shots & maybe if you had a little luck....its very plausible to hit a man size target at that long distance.
25 & 50 yards is very doable all day long.

I am using a blend of Black powder subsites for the long distance shots. True black powder will NOT get you these results.
If you use a Wad on top of your powder, your accuracy will suffer. Your "load compression " is critical.
75 yards
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to put things into a better perspective ,...I placed my target 75 long steps down the alley.
the RED arrow points to it.
the red car would be 100 yards.

It takes a lot of practice and figuring LOL
this is my 4th summer at this long distance nonsense.
It didnt come easy and I felt I was never gonna do it a few times.

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With my new powder blend, The ball is only dropping 6 inches at 75yards.
using traditional black powder,....the ball wouldn't even be on the target.


My secret formula is down with these.
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You've mentioned a couple of points which have piqued my curiosity...

1) you say Hornady balls won't achieve this kind of accuracy. Just what's so special about your "custom" balls? The Hornady swaged balls are pretty darned uniform, both in diameter and weight, hence my curiosity

2) you say regular black power won't give the energy to make long shots. Please elaborate. Which regular black powder? Which granulation? Again I ask out of curiosity. The MLAIC Donald Malsen match is shot at 50m and most of our guns will produce decent scores with very moderate loads of traditional black powder (under 20gr FFFg). In almost all cases the loads are based on some form of filler, corn meal or Cream of Wheat, to bring the ball up to the top of the chamber. Again, I'm very curious to learn what has worked for you and what hasn't. (BTW, the MLAIC matches are shot with traditional frame sights rather than adjustable square sights - that makes one heck of a difference as our eyes start to age!)
 
"you say Hornady balls won't achieve this kind of accuracy. Just what's so special about your "custom" balls? The Hornady swaged balls are pretty darned uniform, both in diameter and weight, hence my curiosity"

I wished I had an answer for that question. Hornady is Good. But I get better accuracy from the custom ones. I dont make them, so I can tell you nothing about them. sorry. "outward appearance- very shinny, very uniformed....slightly lighter."
I dont ask,,,,he doesnt tell.

I have tried Goex fff powder. Miserable stuff. smokey ,,gums up the gun really Fast. ok at 50 yards but forget about long distance and bullet drop.
putting more powder in didn't seem to change a whole lot. You can fill the chamber to the brim and still has dismal FPS

NOT a Fan of any Filler, wads, corn flakes or cream of wheat, LOL
There is NO way you will get "consistent" load compression with all that in the chamber . It is critical that your load compression is the same in all chambers.

try it for your self. ball on top of powder....then try ball on top of "whatever" and see the difference. Even try a light compression, and then a Hard compression......the gun even sounds different.
50 yards is dope simple. Its all sorts of tips and tricks to get accuracy out farther.

the last remington I had did have the traditional sites. Yikes really tuff to make pin point shots.
my new one has adjustable,..but I still put a custom Narrow blade in it. I am pushing this gun to its limits shooting out this far. Did some work on the front site as well.

well I hope this helps. I learn by the "observable evidence" if some thing works...dont question it, LOL
this has been a TON of trial and Error.
 
Interesting... are you shooting off a rest?
The MLAIC rules require one to shoot the 50m match freestanding offhand, unsupported, with one hand. That makes it something other than "dope simple". :)

It's interesting to see how little elevation change is required in sighting between 25m and 50m with fairly light loads. I shoot 13gr FFFg at 25m and 16gr FFFg at 50m, nowhere near the 30gr you're talking about.

Just out of curiosity, which 1858 is that you're shooting?
 
lone ranger said:
I wished I had an answer for that question. Hornady is Good. But I get better accuracy from the custom ones. I dont make them, so I can tell you nothing about them. sorry. "outward appearance- very shinny, very uniformed....slightly lighter."
I dont ask,,,,he doesnt tell.

NOT a Fan of any Filler, wads, corn flakes or cream of wheat, LOL
There is NO way you will get "consistent" load compression with all that in the chamber . It is critical that your load compression is the same in all chambers.

try it for your self. ball on top of powder....then try ball on top of "whatever" and see the difference. Even try a light compression, and then a Hard compression......the gun even sounds different.

.
Click to expand...

What is the source of these magical balls? I would be interested to try some.

As for consistent compression of the load, that's precisely the reason why a granular filler is used - to enable very consistent compression with loads which don't fill the chamber with powder. MLAIC rules require the cylinder to be loaded in the pistol, not on a cylinder loading stand, so getting consistent compression is a little more challenging with the cylinder in the pistol.
 
He moved from the farm into an apartment in the city. ,,so he cant do it any more.
not worried, I have lots.

I have tried fillers and wads with no luck. Maybe they work for some , but not for me.
I can only speak for what I have found that works for me.
other guns may act differently with different load mixes......I dont know.

I am NO expert on this. Just a bunch of trial an error. found a recipe that works for me, and gonna stick with it LOL
 
lone ranger said:
I did some 75 yard shooting today. Its the best I can do.
out of 5 shots , I got 4 solid hits.
Had 1 flyer,..no clue where it went lol.
The wind picked up really bad and kept blowing my target over, so I shut it down.
I see no point in going for 100yards. I will hit the target but with NO real accuracy to speak of,.......however,.. I do have six shots & maybe if you had a little luck....its very plausible to hit a man size target at that long distance.
25 & 50 yards is very doable all day long.

I am using a blend of Black powder subsites for the long distance shots. True black powder will NOT get you these results.
If you use a Wad on top of your powder, your accuracy will suffer. Your "load compression " is critical.
75 yards
100-0694.jpg
Click to expand...

Same results with a 22 target pistol or 38 special target revolver would be just as braggable, iron sights.
If your 1858 is a modern replica/modern steel frame-cylinder, you should be fine. I don't think I would risk blending powder in an original antique.
 
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Thank you Brutus.
Its a modern steel replica. she's tough LOL

This rem is now more accurate than my ruger security 6 in 357 Mag.
I like distance shooting. a few years back I used a Taurus model 608 that was scoped with a ported barrel. 100 yards was very simple.
I then tried pushing it to 200 yards, and was getting close....but my loads were so hot that I burnt out the forcing cone on the barrel.


608 pre scope pic
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pic shooting at 100yards....hot load.
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It's unfortunate that here in Ontario there are precious few long-distance ranges approved for pistol use. One can cause all sorts of trouble for the range if found shooting a pistol on a longer range approved only for long guns. What a bummer. Even 50m ranges are getting tougher to find.
 
we are very lucky here. the range is about 15miles out of town in the middle of a forest.

they have the "black powder range"...the 500yard rifle range and the 3gun 100m range...and the shotgun range.
I am by myself 90% of the time. Litterly have the whole range to myself.
since covid, everyone disappeared.
very peaceful and you can take your time setting up targets & spotting scope. never have to wait to go down range.

then at dusk the Yotes come out to play. and they come very close ! can be fun........
Rabbits generally sit back about 40 feet and watch me shoot. so I grabbed some mix from the pet store and feed them after shooting.
Plus on the back sides of the smaller berms, the most delicious wild strawberries grow. so I will stop and have myself a feast.
 
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