Cowboy Shooters: BP in pistol cartridge lever rifles???

358Scout

358Scout

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I have a 45 Colt in a Cowboy Marlin 1894. Presently shooting 255 Keith SWC with 10.2 Gr Unique. Picked up Mike Ventturino's book on "Shooting Lever Guns of the Old West". In there he states quite a few times black powder should be used because thats the way it was done in the old west.
Also when you fire it - there is a big difference in report, smell etc.

I dont shoot cowboy. I take it out to the pistol silhouette range and try to hit those rams at 200 yards.

My questions are these.

1. How many of you actually load black powder in your pistol cartridges for lever rifles?

2. What kind of powder and what are you getting for accuracy?

3. I remember once owning a muzzle loader. Do I still have to completely dis assemble the rifle to clean, or just swab down the barrel?

4. Or should i just stay away from it.
 
I currently load black powder for the 45. The bullet must carry enough lubricant to keep powder residue soft, a fair crimp is needed, and no air space in the powder(I use about a 1/8 to 1/4" of compression ) enjoy the boom, rapid fire is for full affect, and soapy water is your friend to clean-up with. I pull wood off of gun and scrub good, dry well and really soak it down with oil. also make sure you don't have a bunch of copper deposits it the barrel,
 
Certainly alot more fun, alot more cleanup as I would clean inside the action as well as possible. Note also that the fired cases need attention asap after firing, they should be soaked in soap and hot water then cleaned with a brush then dried. Your bullets should have a dif. lube on them, a BP lube, as other lubes will make for more crud. Fill case with settled 2fg or 3fg to bottom of bullet with no airspace, enjoy!!!
 
I believe a lot of guys do this for SASS in some certain categories. Most I have seen do use the stainless rifles, pistols and shotguns for it as it makes cleanup a lot easier. I recall hearing that by the end of the Barrie Annual match my friend's rifle (not stainless) which was used by him and another fellow was really starting to get "crunchy" by the end of the match. He said it took a lot of cleaning. I plan on shooting BP at the match this year, and yes I plan to borrow one of his guns :).
 
.45 Colt will allow a lot of Holy Black residue to blow back into the action.
Many of the Soot Lords in CAS that I know, prefer to shoot BP cartridge in .44-40, (revolver and rifle)
The thinner brass at the case mouth, of the .44-40, expands when the cartridge is fired and tends to keep reidue out of the action.
 
If you shoot one of the BP substitutes such as Pyrodex or 777 you can easily use cast lead bullets. But the usual lube used on cast bullets will go all gummy and tar like when shooting black powder. You need to boil the waxy lube out of the grooves and relube them with a BP friendly lube made from true beeswax and some Crisco lard or similar natural materials.
 
What ever bullet you use, make sure the case is full of B.P. and that everything in the case is compressed.On top of the powder put a cardboard wad(milk carton).I then put a lube cookie (1/8 thick) made from 50/50 beeswax and crisco, then a wad of shiny paper so nothing sticks to the bullet.I do not remove the modern lube from my bullets.I shoot 45LC and have no problems,but I will spray a little moose milk(ballistol and water) in the action of my rifle between stages to keep the fouling soft.Other people will do different but this works for me.I will say that a calibre like 44-40 or 38-40 would probably be a better choice for B.P.but I know people who shoot 38spl. also without any issue's.
As far as cleaning buy some ballistol and a bore snake.Cleaning your guns at the end of the day does not take that long,and I only strip my guns apart a couple of times a year for a thorough clean.
I would not stay away from it ,it is more work with the reloading but for me the fun is x2 over modern powder,besides when your at a match all that smoke irratates the gamers, and all the spectators think that your the cool guy to watch shooting
 
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