Uberti 1847 Walker Colt 44 help

S

sakorick

Inactive
I was watching the Outlaw Josie Wales on TV the other night and the Colt Walker he carried just looked so cool! So I purchased one. I have been shooting black powder rifles for many years but this is my first pistol and I'm looking for advice. Not for hunting...just for some fun plinking.
1. What are some handy tools to consider?
2. Pyrodex, 777 or black powder?
3. I'll be shooting round lead so what diameter and brands are best?
4. What primer does this thing take...10 or 11?
5. Do I need lubed patches? If so, what kind? I have a big tube of butter lube.
6. Cleaning supplies?
7. Who fills the cylinder space with Cream of Wheat? How close to the end of the cyl for accuracy?
8. I live in the middle of nowhere so will have to get my stuff on line....recommendations?
9. Any other tips appreciated. Regards, Rick.
 
#1 nipple wrench
#2 Pyrodex or black powder FFFG
#3 454 Speer or Hornady
#4 My gun likes Remington #10
# 5 no after loading the ball on powder fill cylinder with Crisco
#6 hot water
#7 I never tried it
#8
#9 About 35 grains works for me I never shot groups but it's my # 1 gun for Grouse .
 
#7. I've used cream of wheat/farina as filler. It's only purpose is to fill the gap between the powder and the ball. It also keeps the powder closer to the nipple for better discharge.
 
I agree.... Track and Dixie are good places for supplies. Between those two, I can't think of anything you'd need to hunt down elsewhere.

I haven't used cream of wheat, but I have shot a lot of corn meal under some balls. I spread it on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven to make sure it's really super dry, and just keep it in a container like you would your powder to keep moisture out. Once you find the load you like, then just add enough filler of your choice on top of the powder to put the ball out closer to the end of the cylinder. I like the ball to be flush with the end of the cylinder after it's packed tight, but it's a personal preference.

You can get it really clean with some hot soapy water. I find that some Qtips help with the cylinders and pipe cleaners help clean the nipples, but you'll find your way to do it.

Happy shooting! I do love my Walkers!
 
You’ll need a set of gunsmith screwdrivers. A nipple pick might be nice. A loading stand sure makes things easier!

I don’t care at all for Pyrodex, especially in a revolver. The fouling has a sticky quality to it. I’d opt for the real deal and bypass the subs. 3F will produce less fouling but some have found 2F to be ideal. Can’t hurt to try both unless having the most accurate load isn’t a big deal.

You’ll want to work on the loading lever catch if you’ll be shooting heavier loads.

You may want to try both .454” and .457” balls. Home cast is best and I prefer the cheap Lee mold as there’s no appreciable sprue, but then it can be turned sideways so it’s shaved off upon loading.

Not patches but felt wads. It’s much cleaner to lube those than to spread any sort of lube on the ball as it gets blasted all over the gun and melts when it’s hot. It’s a nasty mess from what I’ve read. Punching your own from Durofelt is what I do. And I lube mine with home made Gatofeo’s #1 lube, which works well for just about anything and is a traditional late 1800’s outside lubircated bullet recipe.

Water (with a little dish soap) is all most use. Afterwards I towel dry and apply Ballistol oil which mixes with water readily allowing the water to evaporate leaving just the oil. It’s a German product made for the military in the early 1900’s IIRC and is good for wood and leather and many other things.

I buy my powder from Grafs as I buy less than 5 lbs at a time.
 
Thanks for all the help. I'm leaving for Virginia Thursday to visit a former helicopter pilot friend of mine so I should have the stuff I need by the time I get back.

Any one use SWIS-3FG ?
 
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I've used 777 in mine. Use cream of wheat as the filler/wad. No Crisco. But what a handful -- heavy on the wrist while aiming. Because of its weight, the recoil is, well, ... what recoil?.... Definitely just a range gun. Respect the guys that had to actually use 'em!
 
I don’t own a Walker yet, but intend to one day as I appreciate the history of it. I do not use Swiss powder but will try it one day. Instead I use Olde Eynsford by Goex. It was produced to compete with Swiss. It gives very similar performance at a fraction of the cost and is American made.
 
Traditions press

I called Traditions and their 44 cal cylinder reloading press does not work on Uberti cylinders. Has anyone here made one? It seem to me that a simple press would be easy to make.

Added. I finished reading the owners manual and it says to use percussion caps of the right size. So OK Aholes, what's the right size? What a piece of junk owner's manual.
 
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For my pair of Uberti Walkers I used 44 grs of FFg Goex under a lube wad with the .454 dia balls and #10 Remington caps. It was soft shooting and plenty impressive. If you shoot heavy loads you will crush your wedge and open up the cylinder gap. I did that on both mine using 50grs FFFg Goex & the above other components. If your rammer keeps falling when fired, ask this board how to modify the latch spring. I will then post my method.
 
My understanding with the damage done by heavier charges is because Uberti didn’t produce them correctly. I’m not sure if this is the typical short arbor issue or what but I do know that when fixed constant full charges of energetic powders can be used without issue. I know the fellow called 45 Dragoon does this and not one customer has been unhappy with his work. It’s what I’ll do if/when I purchase one for myself as there’s not much reason to own a pistol you can’t shoot with the traditional loads. It held that much powder by design and for an important reason. And I get heads turning with 38 grns of 3F Olde E from my ROA (my more accurate load). I can only imagine how fast they’d turn with 60! And the size of the smoke cloud!
 
Depending on brands, there can be slight differences between percussion caps. Some may use #10s, while others #11's, and then there are cap makers who make in between sizes. Best to look at a bunch of videos, and different advise from the internet, as well as written articles. You'll soon see, that one size of caps, never fits everybody's taste, even on the same gun.
 
The cap n' balls take time to learn how to shoot and clean. It is frankly not a plug and play, easy process. You have to know what you are doing and you have to try certain things in order to get them to run well and be accurate. It takes time and money and they aren't remotely as user-friendly as modern guns and are a bit of a commitment if you ever hope to be proficient with them.
 
I'd take the Walker to the shop and fit it for the wrench.

As for replacing the nipples, no. If the originals were getting stripped, then I'd consider replacing them.
 
I never bothered to replace the nipples as long as they all take the same size cap and go off with regularity. The heavy hammer fall minimizes blowback. I did fill in the safety notch on the hammer face with JB Weld to prevent caps from wedging into the hammer face causing jams but that was about it. I believe that 45Dragoon has stated that the Ubertis have a short arbor and by correcting that you will no longer have crushed wedges with heavy loads nor need to use the wedge tension to set the cylinder gap.
 
1. What are some handy tools to consider?
Click to expand...

Get a Walker nipple wrench.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/160/1/NW-WALKER

2. Pyrodex, 777 or black powder?
Click to expand...

Shoot what you can get, but black powder fouling is less corrosive and real BP ignites more reliably than substitutes.

3. I'll be shooting round lead so what diameter and brands are best?
Click to expand...

Whatever shaves a ring of lead on ramming into the chamber. My Walker requires .457.

4. What primer does this thing take...10 or 11?
Click to expand...

I use #10s.

5. Do I need lubed patches? If so, what kind? I have a big tube of butter lube.
Click to expand...

You do not patch balls in black powder revolvers. They must be put into the chamber "naked" and shave lead as they are pressed home. Some people use lubed wads.

6. Cleaning supplies?
Click to expand...

Soapy water. Follow up with oil of choice. I use Ballistol.

http://4thla.weebly.com/how-to-clean-a-black-powder-firearm.html

7. Who fills the cylinder space with Cream of Wheat? How close to the end of the cyl for accuracy?
Click to expand...

Filler will probably give you better accuracy with reduced loads than without.

http://4thla.weebly.com/why-use-filler.html

8. I live in the middle of nowhere so will have to get my stuff on line....recommendations?
Click to expand...

S&S Firearms, Cabela's, MidwayUSA, Track of the Wolf, there are many. I buy powder from Powder Inc.

Steve
 
I would be reluctant to shoot full power conical loads using 777. I heard of one Walker sending the barrel assembly down range and the shooter then wondering how he could convert what was left into a pepperbox. It came apart at the wedge cutout in the arbor.

Also, #10 caps vary considerably from one maker to the next. The RWS 1055 is so small I've never had one fit anything I've owned. The CCI #10 is a little larger than the RWS but still way smaller and less forgiving than the Remington #10. The Rem #10 is closer in size to the RWS #1075 and CCI #11. About 1/3 of my guns will take the CCI#11, another third will take the RWS 1075 but ALL of them will take the Remington #10 or else I will replace the nipples with ones that do.
 
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