Reloading for Antique Firearms????

Polar_Hunter

Polar_Hunter

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Would be interesting to see how many reload for black powder guns. Are you using real BP or BP substitutes? Any tips and tricks that you have found helpful? What alloy mix is best for cast bullets? How much can you play with the powder weights to get best accuracy? ect,,,,
 
I don't own any antiques at the moment but have loaded for them in the past. I used very light loads of shotgun and pistol powders for essentially gallery loads. I do shoot black powder in a modern 45-70 for fun. One powder that gets thrown around a lot for "black powder equivalent loads" is Trail Boss but if you check published data, it produces higher pressures for lower velocities than nearly any other powder for light loads (mostly shotgun and pistol powders). I've never heard of an old black-powder-era firearm blowing up from Trail Boss but it is a risk. Velocity alone doesn't tell you the whole story. I will use Unique or 700x before Trail Boss if I can.

Don't think I don't like Trail Boss, I use a lot of it for light loads in modern rifles meant for smokeless loads, I just don't consider it a black powder substitute like some people do.

I've heard of people using BP substitutes (Pyrodex mostly) in cartridges but personally if I'm going that route, I'll go all the way and just bring out the Goex.

Most black powder era firearms prefer softer lead alloys in the bullets. 20:1 is a pretty common choice (that's lead:tin). I shot mostly semi-hard cast (12-15 bhn, water dropped wheel weight alloy) and never had issues but the antiques I used to have had strong rifling.
 
You just don't give us enough info OP.

Are you talking about muzzle stuffers or reloading brass cartridge cases???

Antique firearms are a whole different ball game. They depend on bullet upset(obduration) to fit the bore properly as they were designed to shoot cast bullets.

First you need to find out your bore diameter than the type of bullet it was originally designed to shoot. Some need hollow base bullets and some don't, depending on how decent the bores are. Revolvers are really different. It all depends how anal about accuracy you are.

Lots of very knowledgeable people like Yomomma to look up as well as others. He was the first to come to mind. Jet Hunter is another. Just because I name those two certainly doesn't mean there aren't lots of others.
 
I don't care what anyone says. Do not use smokeless powder in a blackpowder firearm and especially an antique. Goex or Pyrodex can both be used in cartridge guns, muzzle loaders or cap'n'ball revolvers. There are plenty of good books out there with time tested loads for all kinds of black powder guns. I would suggest that.
 
I'm getting set up to load for an Iver Johnson in .44 Russian. I have made a few test loads using Blackhorn 209 but I had a lot of un-burned powder on the snow in front of me. That could be due to the fact that I only had CCI 300 primers on hand and 350's are recommended. I also have just purchased two cans of Goex "Clear Shot" which should arrive today.

Just finished melting down my scrap lead and pouring it into usable size ingots this morning. I have about 200 lbs of lead, 20 lbs of pure tin, and 30.lbs of bearing Babbitt. Not sure what to do with the Babbitt as it has no identification stamp, just the manufacturers name.

I would also like to get a muzzle loading rifle or an old cartridge rifle.
 
It all depends on what the firearm was proofed for - I think late 1880s started nitro (smokeless proofing). If it is a proofed for BP - only use BP or a BP substitute. I use pure lead and only (no alloy) and use BP (not substitute) no real reason other than I have a supply of BP and have always used it (as have the guns). I would be more inclined to experiment with BP Substitute with modern muzzle loaders as there will be many more users with experience and recorded loads.
 
I don't want to derail your post, but maybe just add a variation to it.
The 38-55 was developed as a black powder cartridge. When Winchester developed the 1894, I believe especially for that cartridge, the 38-55 was bp, so the rifle was made for a bp cartridge.
I have a Model 1894 rifle in 38-55, which was made in either 1905 or 06, depending on what Winchester figure you use. It doesn't say anything on the barrel about smokeless powder, but a Model 1894 in 30-30 made in 1908, states on the barrel, "Nickel Steel Barrel, especially for smokeless powder."
The 38-55 still has a solid, smooth action and it must have shot standard, smokeless factory loads throughout its life.
So, were the earliest 38-55 Winchester's made weaker, or is this just another of the unproven theories that go the rounds in shooting circles?
 
This is an interesting topic for sure.

Like I posted earlier I load smokeless in several rifles.
In a 71/84 mauser with a single locking lug action I've used IMR4198, 4227 with nice light loads and dacron filler the pressure generated is less then a full case of Black powder.

My Kropatschek is almost identical to the 71/84 mauser and it also started life firing black powder. As soon as the French released the lebel with its as of then state of the art smokless powder guns like the Krop were obselete and soon after switched to the new powder without any modification. I've shot 4227, 4198, 4895, W571 and red dot through that rifle again with zero issues but I keep the loads light.

Now guns I won't shoot smokeless through are:

My1874 Gras shotgun. I don't trust the convetsion barrel on it as its not proofed so I won't risk blowing her up.

My 1861 snider mk2 has an iron barrel so it's straight black for thar to.

I have an H&R 38rf revolver that I'm developing loads for now I won't load anything but black powder for that either.

Smokeless loads in a black powder firearm can be done safely but you have to be realistic as to what type of pressures the barrel and action or frame can take.
 
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