Black Powder Cartridges

M

MikeKPP

Inactive
I would like to shoot black powder Cartridges out of my Uberti 45 LC. I here stories that the black powder cartridge can blow your cyclinder up. Is this a safe bullet to shoot and also would it damage the gun.

Thank you
 
The pressure spike experienced in Black Powder ignition is far less than that of smokeless. No one wants to say (including me) that it would be impossible to blow up your gun using Black Powder cartridges, but realistically the odds of causing damage due to over-pressure or a bad load are fraction of what smokeless loads are.

Are you rolling your own or using commercial ammo like Black Dawge?

45 Colt was originally a Black Powder cartridge. It is possible (but difficult) to actually cram 40gr of powder into a modern cartridge, but even the government cut that back to 30gr simply to make the guns easier to control back in the day.

I don't know what powder charge commercially available Black Powder 45 Colt cartridges are using, but I would guess it's probably the 30gr load or less. If you load your own, the sky is the limit regarding what bullet weight or load you use. From 20gr +filler and a round ball for Gallery Loads, to 40gr and a 235 RNFP for knocking down stampeding Buffalo.

One word of warning though: If you start shooting Black Powder cartridges out of your gun, you more than likely will become completely addicted and require years of re-hab to break the cycle. Personally, I believe that re-hab is for quitters.;)
 
That is not true. The gun does get way dirtier though. But it will only explode if your using cheap 100% lead bullets.
 
Usertag said:
But it will only explode if your using cheap 100% lead bullets.
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What? :confused:

Ain't nothing like stepping up to the line with a 7 1/2" single action in each hand, belching hellfire, smoke and lead! :D Plenty o' lube will make your shooting session much more enjoyable - I've got a tub of Snowcap lard I've been wondering what to do with, so I've been using about 30g BP, a Walters wad, a good dollop of lard, then a 250 grain cast RFN bullet to cap it off. So far, it seems to work well. :)
 
I'd use 100% lead bullets in all my blackpowder cartridge guns (pistol calibers) if I could afford it, but I can only afford cheap lead alloy I can get from wheelweights. ;)
 
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"That is not true. The gun does get way dirtier though. But it will only explode if your using cheap 100% lead bullets."

You do realize that pure lead bullets were EXTREMELY common in the early cartridge days, especially for those who reloaded their own ammunition?

Hardening elements like antimony didn't come into common usage until right around the time smokeless powder started to gain acceptance.
 
yes you can blow a gun up with black powder cartridges. what needs to happen is obstructionin the barrel or in the chamber. or you simply need to be careless and leave an airgap between bullet and powder.

air gap will also damage your standard muzzle loading handgun or rifle too.
 
45 Colt was originally a Black Powder cartridge. It is possible (but difficult) to actually cram 40gr of powder into a modern cartridge,
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Well, tonight I was loading 38 grains of FFg into some W-W cartridge cases using a compression plug. The powder was being compressed about 3/16" even after a 24" drop tube. Then I got to remembering what I read about the possible danger of crushed granules increasing the burn rate. I got the powder out of one of those cases and sure enough there was a whole bunch of fines, so I went back to loading my usual 34-35 grains. I had loaded eight of those heavy charges, so I'll let you guys know how the gun fared after I shoot it.
 
A bit of tin helps the casting (and helped in the day.) Lead:tin at 40:1 is close to old revolver bullets. Creedmoor target rifle bullets were as much as 16:1 even though tin does not harden much. W.W. Greener recommended type metal for express rifle bullets, or hardening with mercury.

Powder compression of as much as 3/8" is common in black powder rifle cartridges, with consistent velocity and good accuracy. No guns blown up from "fines" that I have seen.
 
Model-P said:
Well, tonight I was loading 38 grains of FFg into some W-W cartridge cases using a compression plug.
Click to expand...

I've loaded quite a few 45 Colt cartridges with 40gr and a 235 RNFP. I do however use 3f powder instead of 2f as well as a Montana Precision compression die. I prefer the die over the plug because it's easier for me to adjust the compression depth.

Personally I don't see much purpose for loading 40gr other than to get an idea of what the original ammunition was like to fire. If I were to use it for a bear gun up in the mountains I'd consider it, but other than that I actually prefer loading "Gallery Loads". 20gr 3f, veggie wad, fill to the top with corn meal, compress to depth and seat a 150gr RNFP Big Lube. Wickedly accurate, little to no recoil and easier on the wallet powder wise.
 
Well, the plan was to go out and make some smoke today, but a sick son kept me home.

I guess I don't know the difference between a "compression plug" and a "compression die". Doesn't a die body become a "compression die" when you insert the "compression plug"? I have a Buffalo Arms Compression Plug in an RCBS expander body.
 
Model-P said:
I guess I don't know the difference between a "compression plug" and a "compression die". Doesn't a die body become a "compression die" when you insert the "compression plug"?
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I too have a couple of those, they fit into the expander die. They do work, but for my purposes, (and it could have been operator error) I found the Montana Precision die to allow me to fine tune better. The biggest downside to using a compression die is that they are spendy. You can view on at MidwayUSA at this link.
 
Compression die...

Compression plug...

Doesn't anyone just use an iron rod of appropriate diameter and a ball pein hammer anymore? :p
 
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