spacecoast
New member
I had a great time this morning with my Remington New Model Army (manufactured 1864). I only put seven rounds down range (one as a trial and then a full cylinder) but I'm really pleased with the results. The target is shown below, with a 4-1/2" vertical string of shots at 15 yards. The gun shoots about 3" high with the light load used, but is more accurate than I thought it would be at 150 years of age.
Last night I determined that a 1.3CC Lee dipper full of Pyrodex P yields the equivalent of about 23 grains of FFFg black powder. Following wogpotter's loading procedure (described here) the loading went really smooth. I seated the .454" balls fully with the gun's loading lever and a small ring of lead was cut off the edge of them so I knew they were a good fit. Seating the ball was easier than I thought it would be.
The only small glitch during shooting was that one of the unfired caps fell off when I was shooting the full cylinder of rounds. I waited to replace it until that chamber cycled around to be next one in line and it fired fine. I also noticed that the spent caps tend to exit the gun by themselves on the shot following.
I am definitely "hooked" on BP shooting. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use this old museum piece or invest in a replica, but either way I'll be doing it again soon.
Last night I determined that a 1.3CC Lee dipper full of Pyrodex P yields the equivalent of about 23 grains of FFFg black powder. Following wogpotter's loading procedure (described here) the loading went really smooth. I seated the .454" balls fully with the gun's loading lever and a small ring of lead was cut off the edge of them so I knew they were a good fit. Seating the ball was easier than I thought it would be.
The only small glitch during shooting was that one of the unfired caps fell off when I was shooting the full cylinder of rounds. I waited to replace it until that chamber cycled around to be next one in line and it fired fine. I also noticed that the spent caps tend to exit the gun by themselves on the shot following.
I am definitely "hooked" on BP shooting. I'm not sure if I'll continue to use this old museum piece or invest in a replica, but either way I'll be doing it again soon.
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