Registered User
Finally getting the thing to group after a fashion.
Load was 18 gr 777 3Fg. Over powder card, deep lubed wad, home cast .453 round ball.
Shot at 25 yards foresight rested on the bottom of the black, bit more experimenting to do yet, fixed sight spirit of the original model seems to group well if I do my part
http://i610.photobucket.com/albums/t...m/BPpistol.jpg
Banned
In almost 45 years of shooting BP handguns I have never heard of anybody using an over-powder card in a revolver. The wad, for those who use it, is enough for everybody I know.Originally Posted by Scimmy
Is this something that you have been told to do?
Also, please note that the recommended load for a modern .44cal BP revolver, according to all the handbooks, reference books and propellant-makers' advice, is something between 24 and 30gr of 3Fgr or 80% of that load for the propellant that YOU are using, so your particular load is a little on the light side. Still, if you think it works for you, go for it.
Also, please try something for me. Hold the pistol in the shooting hand, and cock the hammer with the thumb of the other hand, rather than with the thumb of the hand holding the pistol. You'll be truly amazed at the difference it makes to your accuracy - you are not changing the grip every time you fire.
But hey, ignore me, what do I know, eh?
tac
Last edited by tacfoley; 02-05-2009 at 04:26 PM.
Registered User
Cheers old timer
I'll try the other hand cocking technique next time tac and see how it goes.
Recoil and report were 'tame' so may bring it up to the low 20 grn mark and again see how it goes. Give the ball a bit more oommphff!
I use the over powder card as another form of flash barrier, which is a good tight fit to the cylinder bore, this way I don't have to slop any extra grease or unctions over the already lubed balls, let alone the revolver frame and side screens when it goes off!
The 777 is such a clean burn compared to the black it seems a shame to make a mess of everything, especially when a hot water clean up is all that is needed at the end of the day.
The over powder cards only take a few minutes to punch out a hundred or more, just a switch of materials for the same punch.
Cheers
Last edited by Scimmy; 02-05-2009 at 05:29 PM.
Banned
Do tell an old-timer about these 'already lubed balls' - never heerd o'them neither.
tac
Registered User
Cor blimey!!, open those lug 'oles pops and get with it daddy o!
You gotta move with the times grandpa, this is the new old way.
Anyone would think these things have been around since before Victoria moved to the Isle of Wight.
I'm tellin ya, get hip, lube those balls and make heavy with the powder card.
Powder wad and ball, that's so old school!!!
I would never ignore you, don't know you, never met you but always treat the older generation (farts) with respect. Sometimes, just sometimes there is a real pearl of wisdom to be gleaned from amongst the opinionated ramblings from yester year.
ATB John
Last edited by Scimmy; 02-05-2009 at 11:18 PM.
Banned
Ah, right.
I've been loading it all wrong then, is what you are saying.
That's me and a few million others, that is.
Shux, and we all thort we was doing soooooooooooooo well.
Guest day today, and a few of us us shooting our C & B revolvers - powder, ball, grease, cap - boom.
So what you're saying is - Powder , card wad, felt wad, ball, sealer, cap and boom?
I'll tell the N-SSA, with their 1.25 million members, that they have to change right now, or suffer the consequences of being thought old-fashioned.
Hold on, though, I thort the idea was to BE old-fashioned?
Huh, got it wrong again.
tac
Registered User
Well done Scimmy, Thats pretty good shooting if your still getting used to a new gun. Im still playing with the rugers loads and after about 8/9 sessions am now getting the same sort of scores as you on the same target you are using at 25yds. Practice, loads of practice. Tim
Registered User
Cheers Tim, I might up the load as tac suggests a little bit as out of the line mine was certainly the tamest bang (well almost a crack with the 777). That said though most of the balls were hitting the target
The trouble I find is with the relatively small grip size these pistols are blessed with. Trying to find that repeatability in hold each time. Ahh well early days and as you say much more practice required, but huge fun in the process.
On all targets there are strikes at the 1-2 o'clock postion. Can anyone offer any corrective info as regards hold???
Cheers
Registered User
Have tried increasing the load with my ruger upto 30 grns in 1 grn increments and accuracy has suffered. I am using 16grns of swiss with a couple of scoops of semolina and a home cast .457" ball. I know this is below rugers recommended load and probably way lower than others will use and recommend but its the load that puts em in the black for me. As the charge goes up the groups get bigger and as iv entered the Hendon postal leage with it this year ill stick with it till after the comp.
As a foot note i did try some conical bullets while testing loads and found them to shoot about 6" higher and 3" to the right with the same powder charge as the round ball. Another thing i want to try is casting a slightly harder ball to see what difference that makes.
Im sure most of my problems are hold and my eyes. I know my hold varies and often i find my eyes rapidly swopping between sights and target which i know i have to control but hey ho its all good fun. Have Fun. Tim
With our thoughts, we make the world
Anyone got preferences on bullet types ? My Pietta NMA .44 was shooting wide groups (if you can call them groups) using 20gr BP & a .454 homecast ball. I changed to a .450 Minie bullet (also homecast), and didnt find any improvement they just went higher on the target. The .454 RB always shaved off some lead when seated, the .450 Minie didnt. I've upped the charge to 30gr BP with the .454 RB & groups have tightened. Which should I continue using, the .454 RB or the .450 Minie ? Thanks.
p.s. my groups are now probably about as tight as the pic posted, is this as best as I can expect ?
Registered User
I tried conical bullets in the ROA and also found them to shoot higher than round ball, also found em to be a bugger to load. You have to get them started as they dont self centre like a ball does and you also shave a ring of lead off on loading that cloggs the action if you dont clear it away before use. Personly i cant see any advantage but another gun/shooter combination might prefer them. Think i will stick to ball for now.Tim
Smurf me up!
Hi Dave
I have tried 454, 457 & a 460 bullet in my NMA. Like Tim says - the bullets (Lee mould 90382) are a bugger to seat - they could do with a little 'chamfer' as a feeder. Once you get the knack of them they are not bad.
All of the ball/bullet I have tried - they all leave a lead ring behind which is what I want.
I found the bullet to be the most accurate - but fussier loading - so I have dropped them at the moment & am experimenting between the 454 & 457 ball.
Your 30g BP - seems quite a high load - and I assume you are getting a fair flame with that
I can get some bullet to you if you want to try them.
Cheers
Roy
.
Last edited by harricook; 13-05-2009 at 11:15 AM. Reason: Speeeeeling !
Banned
I'm very glad to see that you are having fun whilst experimenting with loads - that, my friend, is what it is all about in the end.
Just a word of advice about the 'harder ball' you mention. By all means try it, but the general plan is to shoot ball from your revolver made of the softest [read - purest] lead that you can find. What starts off as a ball in the chamber ends up slightly elongated by the forcing cone as it enters the rifling of the barrel - hence the need to take the usually shallow rifling as easily as possible. Think of a lemon pip being squoze and you'll have the right idea.
Remember that if you are breaking 1000fps with any .44 BP load you are shooting you are doing remarkably well - the reason why hardening substances such as antimony are used in bullets shot with nitro propellant loads is that they are invariably doing 1200-1450fps, and need to be hard to avoid stripping in the rifling.
Still, it will be interesting to see your results.
tac
Registered User
I've noticed the same thing between ball and conical i.e the conicals group higher. Is this down to the heavier weight of the conical, increasing recoil or being in the barrel a fraction of a second longer as the gun recoils in an upwards direction??
Banned
Just to reiterate my advice as a life-time pistol shooter [age 6 to now - that's 57 years, BTW].Cheers Tim, I might up the load as tac suggests a little bit as out of the line mine was certainly the tamest bang (well almost a crack with the 777). That said though most of the balls were hitting the target
The trouble I find is with the relatively small grip size these pistols are blessed with. Trying to find that repeatability in hold each time. Ahh well early days and as you say much more practice required, but huge fun in the process.
On all targets there are strikes at the 1-2 o'clock postion. Can anyone offer any corrective info as regards hold???
Cheers
Take the pistol by the left hand and push it into the right hand - getting it as high in the grip as you can. Make certain that your trigger finger does not touch the frame, and that it moves back in a straight line.
Cock the hammer of the pistol using the free hand NOT the thumb of the hand holding the pistol - this will help you maintain your grip correctly.
Taking aim, concentrate on the foresight, NOT the target, and gently squeeze the trigger until the shot goes off - DO NOT drop the hand on firing, but maintain the sight picture through the recoil. With the relatively slow ignition time of the average BP load, the follow-through is even more important than with a regular nitro-loaded firearm.
Then do it all again...
This is where the ROA has the advantage over every other BP pistol ever made - it can be dry-fired until the cows come home without occasioning any harm.
tac
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