I just bought a nice colt 1860 army Uberti clone and I know absolutely nothing about C&B revolvers. Is there a web site that has some info on proper use and loading etc. I have searched and there is a little bit but not much. I guess i need some accessories to go with it also, where in Edmonton can a person find some, Wholesale sports?
Newbie to C&B Revolvers
- Thread starter hunter64
- Start date
there's not all that much different about loading a c& b-EXCEPT FOR A LOT MORE CLEANING- basically, you need a pound of crisco, some soft lead ( they sell bullets if you don't want to cast your own) fffg ( triple f) powder and some percussion caps- lots of caps- and a powder measure - a little scoop- whatever you do, DON'T THROW DIRECTLY FROM THE FLASK/HORN INTO THE CYLINDER- into the scoop first , for both safety and measuring reasons- so it goes like this- cap first, then fire, to clean the gunk out of the cylinder and nipple, then , once you have done your cylinder, go to half -#### to allow the cylinder to rotate freely, then charge your chambers one at a time, seating the bullet on the top of the powder charged chamber, then filling the space with crisco or some other lubricant , (there are black powder wonder mixes out there that burn cleaner as well) repeat this for ONLY 5 CHAMBERS-UNLESS YOU HAVE NOTCHES BETWEEN YOUR CYLINDERS-
YOU NEVER LOAD 6 IN A BLACK POWDER REVOLVER because of the hammer RESTING ON A LIVE CHAMBER , then cap your chambers and pull the hammer back to full #### - if you don't want to fire right away, leave the caps off, and CAREFULLY LOWER THE HAMMER TO THE REST POSITION
then when you GO TO FIRE, PLACE IT ON HALF #### AND CAP YOUR CHAMBERS,THEN RELEASE YOUR HAMMER SLOWLY SO IT COMES TO REST ON THE EMPTY CHAMBER- then when you WANT TO FIRE, GO STRAIGHT BACK TO THE FULL #### POSITION AND PULL THE TRIGGER- REPEAT UNTIL CYLINDER IS EMPTY,ALWAYS ENSURING THE HAMMER RESTS ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER IF NOT IN USE- i purposely have left out your powder charge weight as i'm not familiar with your revolver and they vary with design and manufacturer- it'll probably be around 20 grains for a 44 - the rest of your information should be able to find in one of the BLACK POWDER FORUMS- it's also somewhere in the old LYMAN manuals
YOU NEVER LOAD 6 IN A BLACK POWDER REVOLVER because of the hammer RESTING ON A LIVE CHAMBER , then cap your chambers and pull the hammer back to full #### - if you don't want to fire right away, leave the caps off, and CAREFULLY LOWER THE HAMMER TO THE REST POSITION
then when you GO TO FIRE, PLACE IT ON HALF #### AND CAP YOUR CHAMBERS,THEN RELEASE YOUR HAMMER SLOWLY SO IT COMES TO REST ON THE EMPTY CHAMBER- then when you WANT TO FIRE, GO STRAIGHT BACK TO THE FULL #### POSITION AND PULL THE TRIGGER- REPEAT UNTIL CYLINDER IS EMPTY,ALWAYS ENSURING THE HAMMER RESTS ON AN EMPTY CHAMBER IF NOT IN USE- i purposely have left out your powder charge weight as i'm not familiar with your revolver and they vary with design and manufacturer- it'll probably be around 20 grains for a 44 - the rest of your information should be able to find in one of the BLACK POWDER FORUMS- it's also somewhere in the old LYMAN manuals
t-star said:
Once you follow all of the above one thing will happen...it is going to be very difficult wiping the smile off your face for at least a week. In other words shooting these c&b revolvers is FUN!!!!!!
Enjoy!!!!
Cheers
casting your own bullets is ok, but making your own powder if you do run across the receipie is VERBODEN IN BIG LETTERS- it's a mix of sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal, HANDLE WITH CARE- some folks at the range don't care much for us charcoal burners- at one indoor range i used to shoot at, i could temporarily stop the fans with a fast cylinderful, and no, you don't end up looking like a drag racer after the quater mile with all the soot over your face unless you wipe your forehead with your hand- it's a badge of honour- says I SHOOT BLACKPOWDER- i've got one of the orginal old army rugers , had it since 74 at least and can't tell you the number of times i've shot it- and is it IMPRESSIVE on the firing line- grease , smoke,thunder and flame all at the same time
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I cast my own bullets and according to Uberti's web site I need to get a .454 ball mold. What powder are you using? Have you tried 777 or do you stick to pyrodex and the real black powder. Is black powder getting hard to find and how much is it worth a pound now?
I prefer Triple-7 fffg in the 1860 with a Lee mould .454" round ball. I tend to like CCI caps too 
Treso nipples make a big difference as well.
Lots of fun! But to clean properly you have to totally strip the gun after each range session. It's not too tough. I clean everythign with hot soapy water and then dry in the oven on the lowest setting on cookie sheets. Season the metal with crisco while it's still hot and reassemble
Treso nipples make a big difference as well.Lots of fun! But to clean properly you have to totally strip the gun after each range session. It's not too tough. I clean everythign with hot soapy water and then dry in the oven on the lowest setting on cookie sheets. Season the metal with crisco while it's still hot and reassemble
I phoned around to various gun shops and I can see that the supplies are alot harder to find than smokeless. One place only had BP fff and they wanted 37 bucks a pound. I phoned 4 places and no one has caps so I guess the moral of the story is that when you find some supplies you stock up.
Claven2: Does the 777 stuff still produce the nice blue smoke out the end, according to the web site it is slightly more powerful and easier clean up? Is it about the same price as BP?
Claven2: Does the 777 stuff still produce the nice blue smoke out the end, according to the web site it is slightly more powerful and easier clean up? Is it about the same price as BP?
Yea, it makes a blue cloud of smoke (all BP and substitutes do to one degree or another) and it's about the same price. I like it MUCH better than Pyrodex for cleanup too.
Don't use in a flintlock though. Doesn't ignite as well as BP without the help of a percussion cap.
Don't use in a flintlock though. Doesn't ignite as well as BP without the help of a percussion cap.
I want to clarify charge amounts, there seems to be two conflicting theories or I am reading it wrong. On some black powder forums they talk about a charge amount by volume and some by weight. Well obviously I understand the weight 20grn of 777 but then they say don't measure by weight it is by volume, huh!!! Is there a measure vessel/tube or something you use and you pour the powder in the top and fill it to a 20 grn line and then put that in the revolver? Sorry for the dumb questions but this forum is great and with the wealth of knowledge that is out there, one can be up and running in a short order and I can hardly wait to try this revolver out. I have loaded BP in my SBH .44 mag and it was alot of fun to shoot but after about 30 rounds it bound up with crud and what a mess to clean up. With the crisco covering the ball and using 777 it won't be so bad as I understand it.
bdft
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Get yourself a powder measure. Try SIR, Dixie Gunworks, or Track of the Wolf. They all have online catalogues. Set it to 20 grns, pour the powder in and then charge the cylinder. I shoot 30 grns of fffg in my Pietta 1858 and have never had any problems. I doubt you could overload a c&b revolver with fffg, although I imagine there's some here that would argue that point. Once you start shooting c&b revolvers, you watch western movies with a whole new appreciation.
bdft said:Once you start shooting c&b revolvers, you watch western movies with a whole new appreciation.
Yep, a whole new appreciation for how fake the movies are. 1873 Cattlemans in the 1850's, C&B revolvers that don;t spew blue smoke and take 10 minutes to reload. Colt pattern revolvers that fire 12 shots before needing to be reloaded. The list goes on.
I am an avid reloader so I have the scales, so I guess it is by weight because by volume doesn't make any sense at all to me. Yes watching the movies is a joke sometimes when you are a gun nut. I take people out to the range for the first time and they are totally amazed at how fake Hollywood is. I remember one guy that shot only one cylinder from my model 29 and turned to me and said , that Dirty Harry show if full of it.
Black powder is measured by VOLUME. Not Weight.
This is because all the different brands make bp in a given grain size to be roughly equivalent by volume, but if you measure by weight, Triple7 and Pyrodex, for example will throw a charge much higher than Goex because they are less dense powders.
Buy a BP measure. Nice brass adjustable ones are available for not alot of money.
This is because all the different brands make bp in a given grain size to be roughly equivalent by volume, but if you measure by weight, Triple7 and Pyrodex, for example will throw a charge much higher than Goex because they are less dense powders.
Buy a BP measure. Nice brass adjustable ones are available for not alot of money.
there's a spout on the end of the flask that'll get you by- throws about 25 grains or so , or you can do like i did- measured the depth of the chamber, subtract the bullet length, and cut an empty rifle casing( with the primer still in) to fit with a pipe cutter- cut a little short for safety- granted, it doesn't compress the powder,but it works- throws about 30-33 grains in MY REVOLVER- notice i said my revolver- it varies between manufacturer-
i've used nothing but fffg BLACK POWDER- IT'S ALL I'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET for some time and i'm happy with it
i've used nothing but fffg BLACK POWDER- IT'S ALL I'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET for some time and i'm happy with it
Well now that I look at a couple of web sites there BP powder measures are indeed cylinders that are adjustable for volume amounts so I will order one of those. Thanks for the info.
Anyone tried making there own black powder before, looked at a couple of web sites and it doesn't look all that hard to do.
Anyone tried making there own black powder before, looked at a couple of web sites and it doesn't look all that hard to do.
yea, but it's a class a EXPLOSIVE which means it doesn't take much to go wrong - you have to ask yourself is it worth death and or dismemberment to save a few bucks- we used to make the stuff when we were kids and didn't know any better- besides, i think it's illegal to make your own- but i could be wrong- and then if you do get the recepie right, how do you make the granulation right , believe me, PURCHASING IS A BETTER IDEA ALL AROUND
shotgunjoe
CGN Regular
- Location
- winnipeg mb
Purchase the powder,get a volumetric measure specific to black powder and use #10 caps.These things,as has been said,are a hoot to shoot.I got my first back in the mid seventies when I was just a young feller.It was a .36 navy with brass frame,once the frame got powdered it looked authentic for sure.
Some folks use a little rack to hold the revolver vertical while loading. If you are using a separate measure that has to be filled from your flask, it might seem as if you don't have enough hands to hold everything.
If you are loading on the firing line, and will be firing as soon as you have loaded the revolver, I can't see any reason why all chambers should not be loaded and capped.
If you are loading on the firing line, and will be firing as soon as you have loaded the revolver, I can't see any reason why all chambers should not be loaded and capped.
i've seen these- they look like the old time boot press- basically, 2 pieces of wood at 90 degrees to each other, with a v notch cut in it- i haven't seen anybody actually using one, howevertiriaq said:
as far as the 5-6 shot thing goes, it depends on the range/rangemaster- some of them will allow you to reload at the firing line, others DICTATE that unless you are ready to fire, you have no business being there- you have to retire to the 'SAFE LOADING AREA-' to reload your cylinder- you MAY cap at the firing line, but that's it- or at least that's been my experience- if you're drawing from a holster, the empty chamber thing does make sense- and you're not tying up a firing point that someone else could be using
besides, chances are you're none too popular with the cartridge shooters on the line anyway
