Got the gun...what now?

bladerogers

bladerogers

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A while ago I purchased a Pietta Remington 1858 from a fellow CGNer, and have yet to shoot it. Anyhow, I want to take it out to the range this week, but am missing something...well, everything but the cannon. What I need to know is what equipment you would recommend to take to the range. I mean, is just a powder horn sufficient, or should I also have a measure? Of course some lead (recommendations?) primers and grease (the chain fire deal that scares the living s%&t outta me...and rightfully should). Anything else? Thanks!
 
What now?

Before you go to the range you should get a black powder manual and read it it will answer most of your questions. Also, make sure that you know how to take the revolver down for proper cleaning/lubricating before you go to the range with it. If you know anyone that has a bp revolver, ask them to take you to the range and show you the ropes.

44Bore
 
That's the problem 44Bore, I don't know anyone else that has a BP revolver. I do now how to take it down for cleaning etc. I study all my firearms when I get them to make sure of this. But, I will get a manual and read it through. Thanks!
 
ok, you NEVER load directly from the flask or horn for safety reasons- always carry a good supply of percussion caps- you use them to clean your nipples as well shoot- learn and become VERY PROFICIENT on how to take your cylinder out of the frame and install it- you'll use that skill more than enough- and use crisco on top of the projectile to prevent chain fires
the whole thing is left empty until you get to the range
then it's put on half #### to release the cylinder latch( so you can spin the cylinder)
put your MEASURED powder charge and ball or slug in each cylinder( i use 5 again for safety)and seat the slug down on the charge with the rammer- if its a ball you're using, make sure to center the sprue( the little part that sticks up in the cylinder) in the cylinder sticking up, then top the works off to the top with crisco- right to the cylinder mouth- i use a popsicle stick to level it then you can slowly #### and lower the hammer again- it's still not loaded- only prepped if you will- i do this at the safety point so i don't tie up the firing line-
then when you get to the firing line, half ####, put your caps on and #### and shoot or put your caps on and lower the hammer into a safety notch or empty cylinder until your ready to shoot- then when you've done all 5 or six rounds, recap and pop again to clear any debris from the gun- caps are cheap so use a lot of them
then put the gun on safe or on an empty cylinder and clear the firing point-
repeat the above procedure for each cylinder -
THIS DOES TAKE TIME- A LOT OF TIME-
carry a hammer and rod to clear any rounds that get stuck in the barrel( this happens a lot)- that's why you need to know how to dismount your cylinder
that's basically it
 
you can make a measure out of an empty casing and one of those brass pipe cutters or a hack saw- in this case you don't decap the primer, ( straight cases work best- with a rim if you like- )just weigh out your charge( say 20 grains of ffg) put it in the case and see how far it fills it- then mark the spot, empty the case, and go to work with the cutter or saw-then re-weigh it to make sure it's right- i put coat hanger handle on mine just to make it easier to handle
 
loading cap& ball

44Bore said:
Before you go to the range you should get a black powder manual and read it it will answer most of your questions. Also, make sure that you know how to take the revolver down for proper cleaning/lubricating before you go to the range with it. If you know anyone that has a bp revolver, ask them to take you to the range and show you the ropes.

44Bore
Click to expand...
Go to the CABELLA"s web sight.They have a video you can watch on how to load, and how to clean you black powder pistol. If you dont want to clean your gun all day long,...use TRIPLE 7 HODGDON propellant instead of black powder,It washes off everything nicely with just cold water. I love it. I shoot all day long with zero problems. You load your cylinders with the same amout as black powder. Hope this helps.
 
I have never found it necessary to pop caps between cylinder loads to clear the debris as T-star has stated, and I have never seen anyone else do this either (there are about 10 other shooters I shoot cap and ball with), this seems like a waste of caps to me. I pop caps once prior to the shooting session and find this is more than enough. I use Traditions Wonderlube for sealing the chambers and find it works really good as base pin (cylinder axle) lube as well. You will probably find that your Remington will tighten up after about 4 - 5 cylinders full (hammer will get hard to ####), this is easily cured by pulling the cylinder and wiping the base pin and pin hole clean as well as the front and rear of the cylinder. Have fun.
 
well i'm using straight black fffg and i know it burns sootier than the newer stuff, so that's why the extra caps- plus i'm using crisco in cold weather- as in -20 farenhieght- my old ruger manual says to run a full set of caps before firing,then as many full cyinders as you want, and then another full set of caps at the end of the session- presumeably to clear the debris after the shoot- i've been shooting bp since 75( ruger old army)- i was shown this way by another old timer , so just never questioned it- and caps for me are cheap-
 
T-star

I have used nothing but 3F black too. I realise that caps are cheap I just felt it might be more of a time saver than a money saver. One thing I have to pick up is a capping tool, they look like a real time saver. One of the fellows I shoot with shoots remington style revolvers and uses one of those tools to load the cylinders on the bench rather than in the gun, he also has a calibrated spout on his flask the dispenses the proper charge and he caps with a capping tool - talk about quick reloads. I'd say he can load his remingtons in about half the time it takes me to stoke my Walker!
 
ckid said:
T-star

I have used nothing but 3F black too. I realise that caps are cheap I just felt it might be more of a time saver than a money saver. One thing I have to pick up is a capping tool, they look like a real time saver. One of the fellows I shoot with shoots remington style revolvers and uses one of those tools to load the cylinders on the bench rather than in the gun, he also has a calibrated spout on his flask the dispenses the proper charge and he caps with a capping tool - talk about quick reloads. I'd say he can load his remingtons in about half the time it takes me to stoke my Walker!
Click to expand...
well now we're talkinG GUN- a walker- y'all just made me salivate
i was keeping in mind we are dealing with a complete newbie( no offense intended) and i was trying to help him out as much as possible safely as he's somewhere in nowhere , saskatchewan- kind of like doing surgery over the phone, and i've never dealt with a pietta before- i didn't want to put him wise to any of the so-called short cuts before learning the basics-
personally i use a flask instead of a horn, and use a piece of chrome water supply pipe cut for 30 grains( which is probably an overload for the pietta) as i'm using a ruger old army, which is a ruger blackhawk 44 mag set up for blackpowder-far stronger revolver- therefore , i had to tune my response with that in mind
i use an inline brass capper that holds 18 caps -incidentally the typical spout on your horn throws 60 grains of fffg, and the pistol flask throws about 20-25
and they are interchangable, but cutting the big spout off still leaves you with a hole that's too big for your pistol cylinder- that thing is meant to pour down the barrel of rifle- you need the taper or something that will fit in the end of the cylinder, hence the water supply pipe( that's the pipe that goes between your taps and the cut-offs or piping- you have tap the outside of the pipe for the thread of your horn /flask and don't use the plastic- it's too thick-
i normally load at the safety point, but cap only at the firing line just in case i trip or something on the way there so the gun can't go off- incidentally, some of the so-called wonder lubes tend to run when the weather gets warm, a problem i've never had with crisco- i've also used wheel bearing lubricant- you should see the goo that stuff leaves on the target
 
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