What have a I done?????

[canoetrpr]

Found a Shiloh Sharps for sale in 45-70. Just call the the seller and committed to buying it!

I don't know the first thing about reloading with black powder. Can anyone point me to a coles notes version on what I need to get started.

Initially thought I'd load smokeless but now I figure I might as well have the whole experience. Which begs the question - what have I done?? My plan was to keep an eye out for a nice 35 Whelen, 9.3x62 or 338 Win Mag. Guess I figured a rifle to plink with at the range is a good idea as I have what I need to hunt with this year.

Any words of encouragement ? or discouragement?

 

[snoopycda]

45-70 = 45 caliber, 70 grains black powder. Pretty straight forward to me. I think that would be with a 405g bullet? There is lots of stuff on the net if your bored, sounds like fun though.
Here are some you tube video's.
ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me8aFwcXKMw

 

[antiqueguy]

get your self a black powder measure and some black powder(goex ffg). you will need cast bullets that are lubed with a black powder lube the rest is priming and seating the BP will want some compression btw

 

[Dmay]

Best resource I found when starting was "Blackpowder Cartridge Primer"......or something like that....written by Mike Venturino and Steve Garbe......invaluable book.

 

[kamlooky]

Happy Father's Day............. nutt'in ventured, nutt'in gained.

 

[ALMAR]

First of all thats a nice buy...a heck of a rifle to have i tell you, i wish i had one

I reload shotgun shells with BP and use a flintlock as well. I'll share a few things i've learned. Relax though it"s much easier and forgiving than smokeless.

Not as important to be precise with BP, a few grains doesnt make any real difference. Use a volumetric measure not weight...BP is measured by volume, the typical brass one is good, i bet you can even use it to calibrate the smokeless powder dispenser and fill many rounds very quickly...never tried it though. Like snoopy said..70 grains volumetric.

I use triple 7 in my shotgun and real BP in my flinter. I would personally prefer to use 777 because its so much cleaner but i since its FFFG i use 15% less. It works great for me so far but triple7 is pricey.

The residue cleans very easily, i just wash shells and rifle with hot water and soap, coat the rifle with oil after. BP is corrosive as heck so clean after every shoot and clean well.

They say that you should use only soap, water and organic type oil(ie bore butter, lard), i have been having less issues with corrosion since i follow this advice. Re-inspect the rifle periodically for corrosion even if you havent shot it in awhile...pass a swab in the bore.

as for bullet lube, i have been using felix for my .308 casts:

2 TBS baby oil
1tbs castor oil
1 tbs ivory soap (shreaded)
beeswax piece aprox 1x3.5x3.5 inches
1 tbs lanolin

Heat and add components in order dont let the stuff start smoking, add the lanolin after taking the stuff off the heat.

you can also use alox or a 50/50 beeswax and vaseline.

well i guess thats it..enjoy it.