Pdersoli Quigley 45-90, Black Powder Only?

MC One Shot

MC One Shot

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The Pedersoli Quigley in 45-90 is marked "Black Powder Cartridge Only" on the bottom flat of the barrel forward of the nose cap. Is this a must or is it a recommendation? I read that people are loading smokeless powder for this gun or are there BP and smokeless variants to this rifle. Their web site doesn't mention black powder only. I would like to load Accurate 5744 and 535 Postells in it. Advise welcomed. Thank you.
 
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I don't see why really light smokeless loads wouldn't work, though I would maybe phone them up and ask the company what pressure is the rifle proofed for.
 
BP ONLY!!!!!!! I am guessing as to why you might want to load anything other than BP? That is the period propellant for the cartridge and rifle. The 45-90 is a very husky cartridge and loading "light" loads might give you 100 yard groups but this is far more than a 100 yard rifle. Yes, I have loaded duplex and straight smokeless loads in my BP rifles but always with much care and respect and always with reduced velocity which will make the factory sights difficult to adapt to. Using some of the pistol propellant powders has the danger of double charges as well. Some are only looking to eliminate the difficult cleaning process after using BP but that is an old wives tale. So .... Dave
 
Your definition of "easy cleaning "and mine must vary a good bit, lol. I have loaded 5744 in a 45-90 and had no issues, but that was a Win 1886, and I can't vouch for the strength of the Quigley rifle. A 74 Sharps is generally a pretty strong action though. If it were mine I would start low and work up carefully. FWIW. - dan
 
Send Pedersoli an email including the serial number asking them if it's safe to use smokeless powder.
They built it, so they should know.
 
I'm sure that if you called them they'd tell you to use black powder only. Otherwise they would't have stamped that on the barrel. I'm a big fan of black powder so would only use that.

However, it's your rifle, and I'm sure that you could load it with SR-4759 or 5744 and it'd be fine. From what I remember, the Pedersoli 1874's in .45-70 are to be limited to 29k CUP. I don't see why the .45-90 chambering would be any diferent. So "trap door" pressures. I'd double check the strength rather than going on my word :D. You should be able to find safe loads in the Lyman books.

If you do get the chance you should give real BP a try though. It's a hoot, and a lot more pleasant to shoot than the newfangled smokeless stuff :D
Chris.
 
Talk to the DCRA's black powder section guys about duplex loads in 45/70 up to 45/105. There are acceptable ratios of smokeless over (or under) black powder to make better pressures without the gunk of cleaning. These guys have been experimenting for two decades and have forgotten more than most of us will remember.
 
American pioneer, shockey's gold in powder form, F ,FF has the exact same , pressures , and velocities as goex Fg or FFg and is cleaner burning, i use it in my 45-110 quigley rifle, made by pedersoli,
i wrote them and inquired about their pressures and load data. before i tried American pioneer
I never have given using smokeless powder a thought,
you might be looking for trouble if you do use smokeless powder,
if it was a 1885 high wall or ruger number one i would consider it but not in an 1874 action, even though it is a strong action, here is my question to american pioneer and their answer
Q
hello
I am inquireing on any load data you may have for a bpcr
in paticular a 45-110 2" 7/8 sharps
would you by any chance have any info on this cartidge
and particulars on loading it wth youre powder or products
thank you
Reply
load it volume to Volume the same as recommended for black powder. Thanks Wendell
Q

thanks for yer reply
this sounds ver very interesting
so what yer basicly saying is that i should load it the same as i would wth goex powder fg,or swiss powder 1 1/2fg?
should it I compress it at all ???
is the burn rate aproxamatly the same ??
thank you very much for yer reply


Reply
yep ya got it. on most 1/16 to 1/8" lil more in big cart. my 45-70 i run about a 1/4" . something to play with see what works best. Thanks Wendell

Q

okeedokee thanks for the reply & info
one more question is this Shockey’s Gold is a premium grade version of American PioneerTM Powder
basicly the same as well?
what math (as I,m basicly mathematecly iliterate )formula do you use to figure out the preasure
powder in grains + bullet weight x ??? = cpu/psi

Reply

Shockeys is the premium grade of APP. < mathematecly challenged also. ...Thanks Wendell
 
Check the proof marks on the Pedersoli, you may find they have not proofed it for smookless powder. They have the proof psi ranges on their web site.
 
duplex loads

maple_leaf_eh said:
Talk to the DCRA's black powder section guys about duplex loads in 45/70 up to 45/105. There are acceptable ratios of smokeless over (or under) black powder to make better pressures without the gunk of cleaning. These guys have been experimenting for two decades and have forgotten more than most of us will remember.
Click to expand...

So I asked a DCRA BP cartridge rifle shooter about duplex smokeless and blackpowder loads. The answer is yes, of course.

Working back from 64grs in 45-70, the first choice would be 15grs of 4759 smokeless, and about 49grs of Swiss 1 1/2 BP on top. Use a drop tube to get the particles accellerating fast enough to compress themselves in the case. Load up to the bottom of the seated bullet, but not to the point of compressing the load. Second choice would be about 15grs of 2400 loaded the same way. Third choice would be 15grs of IMR 4227 loaded as above.

When casting bullets, be ruthless with even you very best results. Select for the smoothest noses and bands. Twenty - thirty or forty percent can go back in the melting pot. Sort the best of those bullets for long range. Yes the points lost at short range can't be recovered, but you will always have bigger gains at the longer ranges because those points are easier to lose.

Finally four shooting tips: every 100yds will put about a minute of drift on the bullet, right rifling drifts right, add that minute each distance or have a perfect shot on the edge of the target; be very careful to keep the rifle vertical and avoid cant; accept that long range BP shooting is not as easy as modern cartridges, so don't chase your errors; and finally, the fellows found that a piece of 1/2" plastic tubing to blow a warm moist breath in the bore after each shot went a long way towards keeping fouling down during long strings.
 
The reason the 45-90's are stamped "black powder only" is because there are no SAAMI standards out for the 45-90 cartridge.
A few years ago, Winchester did a run of 1886's in 45-90, and they were stamped the same way, for the same reason.
 
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