BP loading info
- Thread starter mp5k
- Start date
Cartridges of the world will tell you the weight of the factory loaded bullet when it was in production, your chamber length or cylinder will tell you overall length and beyond that with black powder, use 3F and fill the case to the bottom of the slug
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
Bullets slightly over cylinder diameter - ie. my 36 uses .375 balls and most .44's are actually 45 cal and use .454 or .457 balls.
Powder can be any amount of 2F or 3F that will still allow the ball to be seated below the cylinder surface. If you load down to the point that the ball is not starting to compress the powder add a filler such as cream of wheat or corn meal.
Use a lubed felt wad below the bullet or a gob of some sort of grease (crisco, bore butter) over the ball to prevent a chain fire (multiple chambers firing while not lined up with the barrel).
Figure out what size caps stay on the nipples but aren't so tight that they won't seat fully. Generally #10 or #11. Fire caps on all chambers prior to loading the first time to burn out the oils and prevent misfires.
Clean fully with soap and water and then oil when done. It will be worth all the fun it is to play with these things!
Powder can be any amount of 2F or 3F that will still allow the ball to be seated below the cylinder surface. If you load down to the point that the ball is not starting to compress the powder add a filler such as cream of wheat or corn meal.
Use a lubed felt wad below the bullet or a gob of some sort of grease (crisco, bore butter) over the ball to prevent a chain fire (multiple chambers firing while not lined up with the barrel).
Figure out what size caps stay on the nipples but aren't so tight that they won't seat fully. Generally #10 or #11. Fire caps on all chambers prior to loading the first time to burn out the oils and prevent misfires.
Clean fully with soap and water and then oil when done. It will be worth all the fun it is to play with these things!
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
Sorry, I took you to mean cap and ball revolvers.
Use 2F or 3F powder and the most you would want to use in any of them would probably be about 40gr is the largest. You could get away with more but there wouldn't be much point in short barrels. This is assuming that they are in good operational shape.
For ball sizes it might be mostly a matter of trial and error. Its a pain to slug the bore of a muzzle loader. Generally you want a ball thats 5 to 10 thousandths under bore dia. depending on the depth of the rifling and patch thickness.
For a lube there are commercial things available or google "moose milk". You should find about a hundred different concoctions based on water soluble oil, windshield wiper fluid, witch hazel, or murphy oil soap. Take your pick.
Same applies to caps and capping. Most guns are 10's or 11's and snap one or two before loading.
For other tools and handy bits you will want an adjustable powder measure and a powder flask of some sort. A loading/cleaning rod and jag that fits the bore. A short starter is good to get the ball started. A knife to cut the patches if using strips or sheets. Pre-cut are nice but not needed if you would rather buy a years supply at a time at the fabric store. Its very nice to have a loading stand to hold the pistol upright while fiddling with all the parts that you are stuffing into it. These may be available to buy but are quite simple top make out of a few bits of 1X6. A capper is also nice to have if you have fat fingers like mine and get tired of losing caps in the grass.
Look to outfits like Track of the Wolf or Dixie Gun Works for parts and supplies. If there are any black powder clubs in your area (and there almost certainly are but they can be hard to find) go to a shoot or get ahold of some members and see how they do it. Something that takes a thousand words to explain and sounds complicated usually isn't when you see some one else do it once or twice.
Take some pics and show us what toys we should be jealous of too if you get a chance.
Use 2F or 3F powder and the most you would want to use in any of them would probably be about 40gr is the largest. You could get away with more but there wouldn't be much point in short barrels. This is assuming that they are in good operational shape.
For ball sizes it might be mostly a matter of trial and error. Its a pain to slug the bore of a muzzle loader. Generally you want a ball thats 5 to 10 thousandths under bore dia. depending on the depth of the rifling and patch thickness.
For a lube there are commercial things available or google "moose milk". You should find about a hundred different concoctions based on water soluble oil, windshield wiper fluid, witch hazel, or murphy oil soap. Take your pick.
Same applies to caps and capping. Most guns are 10's or 11's and snap one or two before loading.
For other tools and handy bits you will want an adjustable powder measure and a powder flask of some sort. A loading/cleaning rod and jag that fits the bore. A short starter is good to get the ball started. A knife to cut the patches if using strips or sheets. Pre-cut are nice but not needed if you would rather buy a years supply at a time at the fabric store. Its very nice to have a loading stand to hold the pistol upright while fiddling with all the parts that you are stuffing into it. These may be available to buy but are quite simple top make out of a few bits of 1X6. A capper is also nice to have if you have fat fingers like mine and get tired of losing caps in the grass.
Look to outfits like Track of the Wolf or Dixie Gun Works for parts and supplies. If there are any black powder clubs in your area (and there almost certainly are but they can be hard to find) go to a shoot or get ahold of some members and see how they do it. Something that takes a thousand words to explain and sounds complicated usually isn't when you see some one else do it once or twice.
Take some pics and show us what toys we should be jealous of too if you get a chance.
thats what i needed to know, Limit to under 40 grains, less in the .31 cal? The pistols are all prohibs from a collection I bought from a member here. Some neat stuff! I am using black powder sustitute, is there a starting point or.... Do i only patch the balls, not the bullets? I have a felt wad for the bullets. Sorry for all the questions but im new to BP pistols.
You don't patch a ball for a C&B revolver. The lubed felt is used to get some grease into the BP residue to keep it soft. Load them under a bullet or ball. Round balls or bullets can get a swipe of grease over top to fill to the cylinder, too.
If they are prohibs, you probably don't need 40 gr even in the .50cal range; the barrel is too short to burn that much. The 31 cal would probably use around 10 grains in a prohib and up to maybe 25 gr for a rifle by comparison. 5 grains of 3F will get the ball out of any of the pistols and work up from there but probably around 30 gr of 3F in the largest guns.
I would suggest shooting only round ball and they as mentioned above are normally .010" undersize and patched with pure cotton that is loose enough to get down the barrel (when lubed) but tight enough to have some resistance. Bullets/slugs are only used in revolvers and unless I am mistaken are slightly oversize similar to round ball in a revolver.
I would suggest getting a copy of Lyman's Black Powder Manual which contains load data for a wide range of calibers and guns.
