41 Caliber Pistol Help

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Crashediv

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I basically was given a black powder cooey pistol from a friend. Trying to figure things out on the internet has been fairly confusing. I know the pistol is a 41 caliber. This has been pretty much impossible to find in local fun shops.

I can do the casting for the round ball. Not an issue. Trying to figure out the diameter of the cast I need is becoming an issue. From what I can find, a .375 diameter cast ball, with a .018 patch will do me perfectly fine. Basically I am looking to CGN for confirmation and clarification. I did meet a very nice older gentlemen who informed me of all I would need to actually fire the pistol, the only hang up I have now is getting the right cast. I so far have not been able to find any called 41 caliber.

Any insight into figuring out the diameter I need would be fantastic, all hints and things to know as I am very much looking forward to seeing this smokey thing fired.

Thanks.
 
if you are describing a muzzle loading pistol, you would normally use a ball that is .010" under bore diameter and patch it to a snug fit. You need to use something to measure the bore diameter and you might try a piece of gradually tapered wooden dowelling and measuring the diameter where it stops using a micrometer. A 41 cal muzzle loading (or cartidge) Cooey pistol does not really equate with anything I can think of

cheers mooncoon
 
Crashediv said:
I basically was given a black powder cooey pistol from a friend. Trying to figure things out on the internet has been fairly confusing. I know the pistol is a 41 caliber. This has been pretty much impossible to find in local fun shops.

I can do the casting for the round ball. Not an issue. Trying to figure out the diameter of the cast I need is becoming an issue. From what I can find, a .375 diameter cast ball, with a .018 patch will do me perfectly fine. Basically I am looking to CGN for confirmation and clarification. I did meet a very nice older gentlemen who informed me of all I would need to actually fire the pistol, the only hang up I have now is getting the right cast. I so far have not been able to find any called 41 caliber.

Any insight into figuring out the diameter I need would be fantastic, all hints and things to know as I am very much looking forward to seeing this smokey thing fired.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Is this pistol a rimfire, center fire, or a muzzle loader? I've never seen a cooey pistol before, pictures would be cool.

There are some antique .41 caliber cartridges: 41 rimfire (long and short varieties) and the .41 Long Colt. If it is a .41 rim fire or 41 Long Colt, then the groove diameter should be about .401" - .406", which is in the ball park for what you have described.

Both the rimfire and centerfire versions used a heeled bullet (.386" heel / .401" head). The .41LC used a 185-200 gr lead bullet, and the rimfire used a 130 gr(ish) lead bullet. Loaded cartridges for either the .41LC or the .41 rimfire are almost impossible to get, although they might turn up occasionally at gun shows and private sales. This ammo hasn't been made commercially for 60 years or more but it is possible to hand load them.

If you can describe the gun and what you're trying to do with it, then someone here can probably offer more advice.
 
I didn't even think about shaped black powder bullets, just went off assuming it was a round ball I would end up using. All I am trying to use it for is simply the joy of shooting it at the range, seeing just how accurate I can be with it. It is a single shot pistol.

As for background, it is registered as a cooey, from what I was told it was essentially made by an older gentlemen who is no longer with us. It is a 41 caliber pistol, that looks in fantastic shape. The idea of using a wooden dowel to get a caliber size seems like a good idea, just to get some sort of idea what I would actually need.

Hopefully the photos help clear up anything else,

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9vxzxt0a9q5rged/Dqeru1Wd-g/2014-02-17 17.29.23.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9vxzxt0a9q5rged/jooMyzGmxv/2014-02-17 17.30.49.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iatp4gyu66urd7d/2014-02-17 17.30.15.jpg
 
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Thanks for those pictures. Very cool. It looks to be a percussion black powder muzzle loader with a threaded breech plug. I'd venture a guess that the receiver began life as a cooey single shot shotgun and that's why it is registered as a Cooey.

Round ball is what you need. Your .375" ball with a .018" patch will give you about .411" (.375+.018+.018). I'm not a muzzle loader guy but now that we know what it is there will likely be people here who can offer black loading advice. Have fun.
 
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With only the pictures to go by, I have to lean toward JETHUNTER's idea that this was made by a talented person, who may have used a Cooey .410 shotgun barrel for it. This would account for the "41 calibre" bore size. Are there any markings on the Barrel?

It would be best to "slug" the bore by pushing a SOFT lead slug through it, then measuring it. With a more accurate idea of the bore diameter, you can then proceed with finding a mold to cast some round balls. LEE makes some inexpensive round ball molds, but you can also buy a small package of round balls at any good gun shop and patch them to try them out.

IMPORTANT - with that "in line" breech, WEAR A GOOD PAIR OF SAFETY GLASSES WHEN YOU FIRE IT. Gas and debris can, and WILL escape backwards through the vent hole in the nipple.
 
If the barrel is from a 410 shotgun, you might want to make sure that it is not the muzzle end and choked. If so, the measurement at the muzzle would be significantly smaller than the rest of the barrel (in bore diameter). When slugging the bore, you would probably feel the ball get tight about 1 1/2" from the muzzle as you pushed it through. Relative to a 375 ball and an 18 thou patch in a bore of .410, I think that is way too small. ,390 and .395 balls are available and start with a 10 thou patch and work up to find one with a snug fit. That of course assumes the bore is not choked at the muzzle. Assuming the gun is smooth bore, it is possible the fellow made it for shooting grouse while out hunting (no longer legal)

cheers mooncoon
 
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