Cap and ball revolver supplies?

pete_viking

pete_viking

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Hi all,
I am about to buy an Uberti Remington 1858 revolver (just got the RPAL!) and want to be sure I have everything I need to go shooting right away. I already shoot a Lyman Great Plains .50 cal flinter and have lots of FFF Goex powder. I'd like to show you the list I have and ask if there's anything missing.

1) Round ball - for a revolver the ball is over bore size right, ie .44 cal uses .45-something?

2) Lube or wads to prevent chain fire? I've heard of using either. I have lots of wonderlube I don't use in the flinter so I'd like to skip wads if thats a viable way to go.

3) Caps - is it just regular #10 primers you can get at any gunstore, or is it worth buying BP specific caps?

4) Capping tool.

5) Cleaning rod, bore brush etc for the caliber, nipple wrench. I assume I can clean the revolver the same way I do the flintlock.

6) Safety stuff. Trigger lock and a locking case difficult to break into.

7) Optional at first:

-decapping tool. Is this needed or is it more for modern inline muzzle loaders?
-cylinder loading press, or loading stand.
-powder flask with measured spout (I currently use a powder measure for the rifle).
-extra nipples. Do they need replacing often if you don't dry fire a lot?

If I have missed anything important I'd appreciate any advice.
 
Sounds like you have it all pretty well figured out.

A stand is helpful to hold up the gun while you are loading and pressing in the bullets but I've never seen anyone use a seperate press though they are available.

The balls you want will be pure lead at about .454 or .457. Conicals are available too but I've never used them much as the round balls are easier to line up and seat. For the most part I use a gob of lube over the seated bullet (messy but makes cleaning easier). I've also tried wads under the bullet but don't like putting the lubed wad right on the powder if its not going to be shot immediately.

I have no idea what a decapping tool is? Pliers or a knife will get a cap off if needed but that should not really come up often as they should split when fired.
A flask with a calibrated spout is about the easiest but there is a miniscual possibility of it acting as a gernade if there is a spark left in the cylinder when you pour in the next chagre. A seperate measure is a little more awkward but also works fine as long as it goes down to the small charges that you will be using. If you stick to real black there is no way that you can overload a revolver in a dangerous way. If the charge is too big though you won't be able to seat the ball deep enough for the cylinder to turn. This is a royal pain and to be avoided. Too small a charge will not be compressed by the ball and leave a seperated load which could be a danger. Use a little cream of wheat as filler to fill the gap if you go to really light loads.

Regular caps are what you will need (they are the BP specific ones). Depending on the nipples you will need either #10 or #11. The #10's are a little smaller fit and won't go on a bigger nipple very well and may even take 2 hits to go off. The #11's will fall off a nipple made for #10's and irritate you too but can be made to stay on if you give them a bit of a squeeze first.
Nipples should last for years if you aren't dry-firing and the gun is set up properly.


Now you just need a cowboy costume, holster and horse and you can have some real fun!
 
A loading stand is useful and easily made. Here are photos of some.
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When you load it, make sure the ball is tight against the powder with no air space.
If you use a reduced load of black powder, use corn meal to replace the powder behind the bullet so there is no airspace.
I use crisco as an over bullet lube to prevent chain fires.
There was one warm summer day at the range when I was using a reduced load with cornmeal filler and crisco over the ball that a newcomer came up and said "It smells like breakfast in hell!"

Under no circumstances do you leave an airspace over the powder. The ball must compress the powder slightly. Or the cornmeal filler slightly.
 
Steppenwolf said:
"What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving,how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god!"
Click to expand...
"The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals, Yet, man delights me not".....Hamlet...
 
I have an 1860 .44 C&B repro. I cast Lee .44 cal conicals for it. It takes a little jiggling to seat them but are pretty accurate.
 
sunray said:
Go buy a copy of Lyman's Black Powder Handbook and Reloading Guide. BP is loaded by volume not grains.
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The volume is measured in grains. And it usually isn't that far off be weight either depending on the granulation size.

Drams is pretty well dead and I've yet to meet a metric BP shooter who uses Cubic Centimetres or anything like that. Or one that brings a scale to the range for that matter.
 
A set of decent hollow ground gunsmithing screwdrivers is nice to have. When I take my BP revolver apart after a shoot, there is often a lot of crud in the inside guts including fragments of percussion caps.
 
MauserMike said:
A set of decent hollow ground gunsmithing screwdrivers is nice to have. When I take my BP revolver apart after a shoot, there is often a lot of crud in the inside guts including fragments of percussion caps.
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That is very true. The black powder fouling gets everywhere and a soak in oil does not cure the problem.
Hot soapy water and a blow dryer work the best.
I also use copper coat on the threads of the screws and never tighten past snug. The screws do not have to be smoking tight - just bottomed and a bit.
 
vagrantviking said:
The volume is measured in grains. And it usually isn't that far off be weight either depending on the granulation size.

Drams is pretty well dead and I've yet to meet a metric BP shooter who uses Cubic Centimetres or anything like that. Or one that brings a scale to the range for that matter.
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I repeat
Cap and ball revolvers require that the ball be pushed firmly on the powder with no air space. A wad can be used as filler, as can cornmeal.
Leave an airspace and you can raise pressures enough to damage the chambre.
An airspace will also reduce accuracy considerably.
If you want to shoot reduced loads, top up with a filler.

Because of the nature of black powder it is very important to not leave an air space between the powder and ball or bullet in any black powder gun.
 
10x said:
I repeat
Cap and ball revolvers require that the ball be pushed firmly on the powder with no air space. A wad can be used as filler, as can cornmeal.
Leave an airspace and you can raise pressures enough to damage the chambre.
An airspace will also reduce accuracy considerably.
If you want to shoot reduced loads, top up with a filler.

Because of the nature of black powder it is very important to not leave an air space between the powder and ball or bullet in any black powder gun.
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Mmmmmm ya :confused:.....

I mentioned that too. In the very first response to the original post even.
 
vagrantviking said:
Mmmmmm ya :confused:.....

I mentioned that too. In the very first response to the original post even.
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Good! It can not be said too often.
There are folks out there who are unaware of the dreaded air space over the powder.
I have seen two bp revolver cylinders that had a bulged chamber because of reduced loads and airspace. A single bulged chamber in a cylinder intrudes into the adjacent chambers.
 
I would agree that a seperated load is probably the most dangerous thing that you can do to a BP gun besides put smokeless into it.
Apparently even filling the barrel to the muzzle with powder is less likely to burst it.
 
loading blocks are nice, where you have a similar setup thats on the gun, but in a press sorta way. You load the cylinder, then install, it saves the wear on the gun, and is very consistant in pressure, tripple 7 , light pressure, and if using 35 gr bp, use 30 tripple 7. I use lubed wads, and .457 ish round ball, correct size bullet/ball will have a bit of a ring of lead cut off when loading.
 
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