Uberti 1858 Remington Steel Frame Black Powder

jtmarine0831

Well I am a Green one on this subject, no doubt about that. I am looking into getting one real soon and am intending to cast my own round balls for it. The one I am looking at .44Cal and I am at a toss of whether I should go with a .454" round ball mold or slightly smaller diameter and a specific thickness patch. I would like suggestions, advice, and experinces to help me make a good decision.

Thanks in advance!

JT

ken44-40

C&B revolvers don't use patched round ball. .454 pure lead balls will work just fine in your 58Remmie. There are basically two schools of thought on lube for C&Bs. Those that use lubed felt wads or lube cookies under the ball and those that use some sort of grease/lube over the ball. Both work; but the wad or cookie between the powder and ball is a whole lot cleaner.

Here are some links to sites that will give you more info than you probably want:

http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?board=31.0

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/board,82.0.html

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207029

http://www.curtrich.com/bpsubsdummies.html

http://www.curtrich.com/frontiersmen.html

jtmarine0831

Thanks for the start ken44-40! I wasn't sure on the wads/wafers or patches. Never messed with BP pistols before, just newer rifles. I haven't got one yet, plan to aquire it this week, so I figured I would get a head start.

dtknowles

I would not buy a round ball mold until I had the gun in my hands. When I had the gun I would buy or scrounge a few of the diameter I thought would be best and try them in the gun. The critical fit is too the cylinder. When you ram it home it must be tight, some people like a fit that shaves a small ring of lead, then you know it is tight. If it is not this tight it will back out under recoil and mess things up big time. Once you are sure of the right diameter you can buy a mould.

Tim

1stregtengr

I shoot one of these in competition, as you have been told wait till you purchase the rev before buying bullets. most likely the 454 ball will be what you need but you might have to use 457 if your chambers are large, you want to shave a bit off the ball when loading. My load is 20 Gr FFFg then corn meal filler to 1/8" of top of chamber, ball rammed to slightly below cylinder face with a dab of lube on top of the ball. With this combination can shoot 18-24 shots without a problem. For best accuracy run a damp swab down the bore after every 6 shots. you might also want to consider having a forcing cone job done. My rev shoots a quarter size group from a ransom rest at 25 yds. I would not use a lube biscuit under the ball as they some times contaminate the powder, wonder wads work OK but a small dab on top of the bullet is all that is required.

gregoryhart1

Having owned one of these as a young man (and hoping to own another soon), I always preferred the Hornady swaged roundballs versus cast roundballs. They're inexpensive and I personally couldn't be bothered with casting my own. I found the swaged type loaded easier & shot better, in both my revolver & front stuffer. I used a .454 in my revolver & .433 in my muzzle loader, which I still have.
In any event, if you decide to cast your own be sure to be in a well ventilated area, as lead accumulates in the body and repeated exposure to small amounts could prove to be most unhealthy over time.
GH1[:)]