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Getting started in black powder revolvers
CS8161
Member Posts: 13,596 ✭✭✭
I have this itch to buy a black powder revolver from Cabelas, an 1851 Navy model in 36 caliber. They have a starter kit that you can buy with the revolver but all the reviews say the starter kit is not worth the money.
What would I need to buy to get started? Is there a black powder substitute that I can use that is non corrosive?
Thanks for any advice!
What would I need to buy to get started? Is there a black powder substitute that I can use that is non corrosive?
Thanks for any advice!
Comments
powder (real BP is hard to find, pyrodex FFFG is pretty common, and clean)
nipple wrench
powder measure
caps
a tub of crisco
Thank The Lord, they sell Wonder Wads which are lube-impregnated, dry wads you place over the powder in the chamber before the ball.
Before that, you needed something like Crisco to seal the mouth of the chamber to protect against chain fire. What a mess!!
Black powder, Pyrodex, 777 etc are all measured by volume, not weight.
Wonder wads are nice but getting very expensive. Crisco is dirt cheap and the extra grease keeps the cylinder from binding up from fouling. Just keep some paper towels or a rag handy to wipe off the pistol from time to time.
Also try this website for good advice/ info:
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/board,19.0.html
Once, I wondered if using Crisco was necessary in every cylinder load to prevent leading, and thought I would try using it just every other cylinder load. I didn't know about chain-fires. The first shot lit not only the load under the hammer, but also the next chamber to the left and two more on the right. I hit everything that was in front of the gun. This would have been perfect for a shoot-out across a card table against Wild Bill Hickock. [:D] The gun was not damaged, but was smeared with lead. I also tried two-ball loads in a .44. It almost produced a full-auto revolver, as the hammer was blowing back far enough to almost index the gun for the next shot, and the trigger was being held back. Somehow, I survived to adulthood.
For us, these guns are a hobby. If our gun screws up, we have a bad day at the range.
If the Reb cavalryman's gun screwed up, he would die in the battle.
I can't imagine a Civil War trooper smearing his cylinders with grease like Crisco. On a 95 degree August day in Virginia, that stuff would melt and make a terrible mess.
I don't use Crisco. I use home-lubed felt wads if I am shooting a lot.
If I am just shooting one or two cylinders I just load the ball on the powder with no lube.
I have never had a chain fire. I don't see how the fire can get past a well seated round ball, I suspect that the chain fires come from the nipple end.
I prefer Goex FFFG over the substitutes- just my preference. I have to clean them anyway, and the performance is better with real BP.
Make sure you use #11 caps, #10 are too small. IF one is lose, squeeze them a bit and they will stay on. Good luck, and keep your powder dry.
Get a powder flask with a 15 grain spout. You hold the flask with your finger over the spout, tip it downward and open the flask lever, close the lever, tilt back upright, and dump the spoutful into the chamber. Repeat six times.
Wonder wads are nice but getting very expensive. Crisco is dirt cheap and the extra grease keeps the cylinder from binding up from fouling. Just keep some paper towels or a rag handy to wipe off the pistol from time to time.
Also try this website for good advice/ info:
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/board,19.0.html