First timmer

C

Canardman

New member
I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did. After the kiddo got all of his loot from Santa opened, my wife presented me with a new black powder revolver that I had been eying at the local Cabelas. She also got a starter kit with wads, balls, flask and powder measure. The kit came with two different wads and I am unclear on the order they are to be used. It has wads and wonder seals. Are the wads the thick or thinner felt pieces?
I'm going to pick up extra lube/wax today per the instructions on the sticky at the top of this forum to soak the wads in, just want to soak the right in ones.
 
wads

It's not absolutely necessary to soak the wads in anything.
normally load
powder, dry thick wad, the lubed seals then ball.
Don't want any lube against powder unless shooting right away.
The lube can and mostly will detertiorate the powder.
Some people eliminate the pill and use just the wad.
Wads come dry, dry lube, and lubed.
Some load powder, dry wad then a dab of lube then the ball.
Some put the lube over the ball
Some like me
roll paper cartridges. place powder in them, load them, then either a lube pill, or lubed wad, round ball.
or
load the cartridge and a pre lubed conical.
There's a lot of different ways. You will find what works best for you and what you like.
Lubes, you can use plain crisco to start if you want. then experiment with commercial ones.
Years ago CVA made a grease patch (like toothpaste) I felt it was the best.
New formulations are mostly thinner.
You have bore butter about as thick as some suntan lotions
Then you have wonder lube, about like paste wax thickness
Some people like me like to make our own.
Pure beeswax melted and then mixed with any of the following or sometimes a combination.
olive oil, hog lard, crisco, mutton tallow each has his favorite blend.
Me I do the beeswax and hog lard. Hog lard is thicker then crisco and readily available.
By the way which revolver did you get?
 
Congrats on the new shooting iron!!!

The loading order is powder, wad (dry, lubed or both with lubed last), then bullet/ball.

I use a single lubed wad and it works fine for me.

You will find that beyond these basics there is a whole world of opinion and preference.

Enjoy and don't forget a picture!
 
Can

There are those of us who do not use the wad at all. For those folks, the sequence is

Powder (Enough to get a little compression when the ball is seated.) then ball, then bore lube over the ball.

Or if you want to load it light use

Powder, then a disc shaped card, then corn meal to fill the open space (very dangerous to leave an open space between the top of the powder and the bottom of the ball), then ball, then lube over the ball.

I think a lubed wad as described previously is probly better. I am just a lazy cheapskate.

An additional comment is that part of the fun of cap and ball revolver shooting is the high degree that the shooter can be personally involved. By that I mean, making your own lube, making your own wads (or cards if you choose to go that way) casting your own bullets. There are several who make their own powder and caps, but I have not got there yet.

This really is a rewarding way of life.
 
I haven't shot wads, so I can't really comment.

I put in powder, then Cream of Wheat filler, then the ball. I then spread lube over the ball.

If you search YouTube you will find many videos about loading and shooting black powder revolvers.

You need to seat the ball firmly onto the charge (and wads, if you use them) so that there is no air gap. Ideally when everything is compressed the ball should be flush with the face of the cylinder. It's important when seating the balls that the ball MUST be at least flush or under-flush - if the ball protrudes above the face of the cylinder it will jam against the barrel opening when that ball tries to rotate up to the firing position. If this happens you can use a pocket knife to shave the protruding bit of lead off and get working again.

It's important to have the properly sized balls. When you ram the bullet into the cylinder it will shave a small ring of lead off of the ball. This means you have a good, gas-tight seal. Without this you run the risk of a chain fire where the flame from the fired chamber leaks into adjacent cylinders.

It thus goes without saying that when shooting a revolver never put your hands in front of the cylinder (or beside it for that matter) when shooting.

Steve
 
Thanks for the info! I got the Remington 1858. Being a BIG revolver fan, (out of my 9 handguns, I only own 1 auto) I just had to have at least one black powder wheel gun to add to my collection.
So... using corn meal or malt-0-meal or some filler, that is to bring the ball to the end of the cylinder up near the forcing cone, correct?
Also, if I use the wad and the wonder seal, I will be out of danger of igniting the other chambers?
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Yep!

Brass frame means keep the loads on the light side.

Remington is a little more forgiving in this area.

Great revolver to start cap and balling.

I was happy to read Mailmaker's post regarding his technique to load without wads. At least I know I am not the only one.

My prediction I that you will love this revolver.

Tnx,
 
No real need to use filler in the chambers to keep the ball closer to the barrel.
I've not found any difference in how my Remington shoots with or without filler.
The danger of crossfire is as likely to be caused by loose primers as leakage across the front of the chambers.
 
So... using corn meal or malt-0-meal or some filler, that is to bring the ball to the end of the cylinder up near the forcing cone, correct?
Click to expand...

Yup. The theory goes that if the ball starts moving while deep in the chamber, by the time it reaches the rifling it will be moving quite quickly and may not engage the rifling as cleanly or smoothly as it might otherwise. By having the ball start moving as close to the forcing cone as possible, it will be moving as slow as possible when it engages the rifling.

Also, if I use the wad and the wonder seal, I will be out of danger of igniting the other chambers?
Click to expand...

You will find lot of debate about the role of lube in preventing chain fires. I am of the opinion that the number one preventative for chain fires is a correctly fitting bullet that shaves a ring of lead when seated.

There is a video of a guy on YouTube who intentionally causes chain fires by using under-sized balls:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne4VgCdAy7Y

Obviously any barrier between the powder and the ignition flame is going to be helpful. But I think the biggest barrier is a wedged-in chunk of lead.

Steve
 
And

I am of the opinion that the number one preventative for chain fires is a correctly fitting bullet that shaves a ring of lead when seated.
Click to expand...

And a properly fitting cap which HAS NOT been pinched
 
The wads go over the powder /under the ball. The wonder seals go over the ball, however, if you don't plan to keep your cylinder loaded for prolonged periods of time, skip the wonder seals.
 
And a properly fitting cap which HAS NOT been pinched
Click to expand...

Yup. If you look at some of the slow-motion videos on YouTube of percussion firearms going off you will see there is a surprising amount of blast on the back end of cylinder, too.

Also, Canardman, if you like this kind of shooting and you like competitive shooting be sure to check out the North-South Skirmish Association. It's a blast!

You can see a list of shooting ranges that host skirmishes here:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=206959679428478888094.0004e3375e465fe8b5c70&msa=0

Here is a nice video about the N-SSA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp1qho8DLuw

Steve
 
Well, after much searching, it seems I won't be shooting this gun anytime soon. Caps for it are rare and the websites that I have found that stock them are asking $49- $76 plus $27 shipping on a 100ct of #10's.:eek: So, unless they are sending me a nice little hottie to deliver this screwing, I am not biting.:cool: I will build a nice display case for it and it will sit and look pretty. I'll keep an eye out at my local Cabela's and at Dixie and hopefully one will stock them soon. :(
 
Sorry about that. I just saw where they said available and didn't go any further. If you have a Gander Mtn or Bass Pro shop near you they may have them in the store.
 
Canardman said:
Well, after much searching, it seems I won't be shooting this gun anytime soon. Caps for it are rare and the websites that I have found that stock them are asking $49- $76 plus $27 shipping on a 100ct of #10's.
Click to expand...
WHAT?? :eek: Caps should be somewhere between about $5.50 and $7.50/100. Ten bucks would be more than I would pay.
CCI #10's tend to be a tad small for the Italian nipples and #11's too big. Remington #10's are the way to go if you can find them. ;)

I saw Cabela's online sale a few days ago and, since the 1858 is one of the only mainstream C&B revolvers I've never owned, I ordered a pair... and a third for a backup! At $179.99 for the Pietta steel frame model, with a $20 rebate and free starter kit (normally $60), how could you go wrong? (They've since gone up to $229.99)
 
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