Range report, or "Skin them smokewagons, and see what happens!"

C

Ceol Mhor

New member
On Friday my Cabelas order arrived (having been ordered only two days earlier!) - two 1860 Army replicas, a starter kit for them (balls, flask, lube, etc), a left-hand holster, a right-hand holster, and a gun belt. The gun belt was promptly returned and replaced with a much better quality belt from Sears, but the rest of the package looked fantastic.

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Gun Specs
These ain't no concealed-carry guns. Each one is 14" long and weighs in at 2 lb 11 oz. They have 8" barrels, and fire .44 caliber lead balls. A bit of math reveals that said balls weigh about 135 grains (I have yet to mass one to get an exact weight). And they're pushed out by ~24 grains of black powder (anyone know about what velocity they would be getting?). At $140 each, how could I refuse? :)

The Good
They look great. The frame and loading lever are case hardened, giving a look I've always liked. Add in the brass trigger guard, hardwood grips and deeply blued barrel, and the aesthetics of these hoglegs are hard to beat. The gout of flame and cloud of smoke that follow each booming shot add a whole dimension of coolness that modern guns just don't have.

And they're not just eye candy, either. Shooting at 15 yards from a bench rest, I put 3 consecutive shots into a single ragged hole (the previous two were spent finding the point of impact, and the final ball was a flyer, making one hole into a 1.75" group). Later on shooting offhand (same distance; one-handed), I was able to keep a whole cylinder worth in about a 5-inch circle.

Also, recoil was really soft. On the way out to the range, I had visions of brass sight blades embedded in my forehead...but they are a breeze to shoot. Note: it is entirely possible that they recoil heavily and I was having so much fun that I didn't notice it. :)

When I got home and took them out to clean, I was pleasently surprised. They are really simple to disassemble (remove pin, pull barrel off), and cleaning is easy. Lengthy, but easy. A simple rinsing with hot water removes most of the gunk. After being rinsed, the barrels required only two patches (one with solvent) to return to a bright-and-shiny state.

The Bad
*cough* *choke* *sputter* I learned why banditos wore bandannas over their faces - so they could breathe while they were shooting! Twelve rounds makes a big ol' cloud, and that smoke is noxious stuff! I was using real gunpowder though, so modern stuff like Pyrodex might be a bit better.

The sights are not exactly made with precision in mind. They have a front blade, and a small notch on the hammer for a rear sight. Also, both guns shoot about 6 or 8 inches above point of aim at 15 yards. I didn't have a chance to try shooting at longer distances, but I plan to next time out.

Finally, they are really slow to load. Powder, ball, ram down (repeat five more times), lube (repeat five more times), put little teeny cap on tiny nipple (repeat five more times). Bangbangbangbangbangbang! Time to reload again. Meanwhile, my friend in the adjacent lane has put a couple dozen rounds downrange with his cartridge pistol. uppity durn newfangled guns...grumble...

The Ugly
Grease, grime, soot and ash! After 25 rounds, my hands were covered in black gunk, and my Molon Labe hat is a couple shades darker grey from the soot. There was an order of magnitude more of the same gunk all over the guns. I have to be careful not to grin too much while shooting, or my teeth are gonna get stained black. :)

Now, to wrap up this huge report...
I love these guns! They're awesome! Everyone should go buy a pair! (Mom says I'm insufferable over them, and she's right :D ) Yee-ha! :D
 
Cool. Accuracy sounde expectional. Too bad they are shooting above POA. It would be easy to raise POI by filing the front sight.

I don't know how you would lower POI, other than by filing the notch in the hammer, which sounds risky in terms of igniting the cap properly.

I'm wondering if the modern black powder equivalents burn much cleaner. Anyone know?
 
The Smoke and Gunk are all part of the Experience - - -

- - - of shooting old-fashioned guns! There is something satisfying about sharing the experience of doing it the way our great grandfathers MIGHT have done. You bought the cap-and-ball guns for some reason other than economy, right?

Couple of hints--always put cup grease or some patented lube stuff over the chambered balls--Fill the chamber right up to the mouth and wipe it flush. Crisco works but melts easily. This prevents multiple discharges, and keeps the fouling soft. Shooting dry, even without the chain fires, you'll do well to shoot three cylindersful without cleaning. In the field, a bottle each of water and Break Free, a Bore Snake or cleaning rod, and bunch of patches will keep you out all afternoon.

When you clean up, use water as hot as you can stand it. Re-immerse the parts after you get everything clean, remove and shake 'em off, and the heated metal will dry properly. Wipe or spray the now-bare metal with some rust preventative, like Rem Oil. Be sure to clean the nipples before reloading, however, or it will kill the percussion caps. Please, DO NOT leave a black-powder gun uncleaned overnight.

Also--While it IS a hassle, use properly-fitting screwdrivers and completely disassemble the lockwork frequently. It is simple to do. Black Powder residue attracts moisture from the air and will ruin the interior of your nice pistols if you neglect this chore.

When you figure the amount of work necessary, the wonder is that so many antique firearms survived in such good condition!

May you enjoy your percussion guns for many, many years.

Best,
Johnny
 
Wlcome to the world of blackpowder! You'll learn to love that smell - let's you know that you're doing it 'right.'

Good advice above on cleaning - follow it and don't slack off when the newness wears off.

Now you need a front stuffing rifle to go with it! :cool:
 
Here's a Thread you may find useful in the Black Powder section.

It's a question I asked about using filler to fill up the chambers in this type of revolver. Mine is the 1851 Navy model from Cabela's.

Several folks contributed good answers to the question.
 
One way to lower the point of impact would be to stiffen up the load a bit. Ball gets out sooner while the muzzle is lower.

And shootin high might be why a lot of the ol timers supposedly aimed for the belt buckle.

Sam
 
I have an 1858 Remington replica (I went cheap, all brass, since I wasn't sure I'd like blackpowder). I love it. I intend to buy more (steel 1858's, and several Colt models). However, not all ranges allow you to shoot blackpowder so I don't shoot it much.

I never used blackpowder in it only Pyrodex so I can't comment on how it compares but it sounds the same. I have tons of soot on the gun and my hand when done, plus grease from plugging up the chambers. The cloud of smoke and ball of fire is fun, makes for some interesting looks at the one indoor range that allows it:D . Mine is very accurate too (plus the Remington has real sights). However, I do find it is a lot of work and after a couple cylinder fulls I am ready to move to a cartridge gun.

I am looking forward to getting an all steel Remington replica and a cartridge cylinder for it (the Remington has a top strap so it is stronger than the Colt and can take weak cartridge loads with the conversion cylinder). Once I get that and start reloading I will load up some blackpowder (or Pyrodex) cartridges for the best of both worlds:D.

As far as cleaning I will only add one thing. All I've read says to stay away from petroleum based cleaners and solvents so I wouldn't use Hoppes, Rem Oil or CLP Breakfree. The blackpowder solvents seem to all be water or alcohol based and all work very well. To "oil" it use the grease you use to plug the chambers or use Crisco. DO NOT USE PETROLEUM BASED PRODUCTS. The petroleum based solvents and cleaners aren't formulated for blackpowder so they won't work as well as plain water and the blackpowder "solvents" and petroleum oils attract the blackpowder fouling and make it harder to clean. Also, the grease or Crisco used on blackpowder guns make it easier to clean.
 
Fill 'er up!

Is 24 gr the standard load? I used to fill mine up until the ball just cleared the mouth of the chamber compressing the powder. It was a long time ago...

They pretty much all shoot high. Guess that's the Col. Sam made em.

Remember Wyatt Earp's advice aim for just above the belt buckle and you'll get a center hit.:D
 
I haven't shot blackpowder in years (15+), but I had a repro of the 1858 Army Remington .44. As I recall,, I could shoot 1 or 2 cylinders using the REAL BP, before the thing got so grundgy I had to clean the cylinder face and back of the barrel; with "P" Pyorodex, I could shoot 6 or 7 cylinders before cleaning.
 
Played with cap & ball 30 years ago. Fading memory puts velocity around 900 fps per a magazine article. I like the part where you gotta duck down under the cloud to see your target. Not exactly good, clean fun!
 
They were designed to shoot high because most cavalry troopers would end up aiming at the center of mass of mounted target (ie the hoss) in the heat of battle. I shoot a load of 35 gr of 3f and a wonder wad in my 1860 Army replica. The wonder wad iacts like a combo of grease and filler just not as messy. I also have a .54 cal single shot that is a real hoot to shoot, man people really look when I toch that hand cannon off.:D :D

Six
 
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