Finally got the chance to use my new BP pistol

[thegreyman]

Alright,

Well as above really, after 2 months of ownership I finally got to go on a shoot without the MOD deciding to bump our club off the range (very busy at mo).

So after some tutoring off a very helpful senior club member I am now playing on the 'dark side' and really enjoying it.

However, I am non too impressed with my pistol if I am totally honest...

I had around 6 cylinders through her and always shot very low and scattered at a 25yrd range :S went form an initial charge of 18grn to 16grn of Pyrodex (just to test) and no change really. Balls I was using were Hornaday .375.

Now I am not a 'competion' shot but mid-way through I had a bash of a fellow member's .44 (same as mine a 1858 copy, however his was an Uberti as apposed to my Pietta) and got 4 of the 6 balls in a 2" group... :S something's not right with my pistol.

Any ideas/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Diehard

[lilguy43uk]

Could be a lot of things, load volume, wads, even a heavy trigger. You should get your friend to try yours and see if his results are the same as yours.

[tacfoley]

You say that you are using a .375" ball. How easy are they to load? You should be shaving off a nice circle of lead as you press the ball into the chamber - if not, then the ball is too small.

According to all the documentation I have to paw, ball sizes for the .36 range from .376 way up to .380.

Also the standard [if there is such a thing] load for the .36 is ~22gr FFFg. Your load is VERY genteel by comparison.

Opinons differ 180 degrees about the use of wads - I've been shooting BP handguns since the late 1960's and never used them at all. There is no mention of them in any contemporary literature either, as the reading of any of the labels in a Colt box will testify.

tac

[lilguy43uk]

You say that you are using a .375" ball. How easy are they to load? You should be shaving off a nice circle of lead as you press the ball into the chamber - if not, then the ball is too small.

According to all the documentation I have to paw, ball sizes for the .36 range from .376 way up to .380.

Also the standard [if there is such a thing] load for the .36 is ~22gr FFFg. Your load is VERY genteel by comparison.

Opinons differ 180 degrees about the use of wads - I've been shooting BP handguns since the late 1960's and never used them at all. There is no mention of them in any contemporary literature either, as the reading of any of the labels in a Colt box will testify.

tac

That wads are not really necessary but, it's the way that I was taught and it has stuck. The rationale was that, using light loads, some rammers were not long enough to seat the ball onto the powder, therefore leaving an undesirable air gap. The wads take that out of the equation.
Also, by using semi greased felt wads I like to kid myself that any fouling will be kept softer and easier to clean.

By the way, you are using a .36 aren't you? My Pietta .36 shoots fine with .375 balls and 12gn fffg which is the max that Pietta recommend, 9gn being the min.

Just checked my loading database and realised that with 19gn my .36 had the same problems that you are finding.

[thegreyman]

Cheers for all the replies and comments people!

Unfortunatelt I don't get much chance to use the pistol at mo due to the aforementioned, hence why I like to be pre-planned on my next move.

The pistol is definately a .36 and I am using .375 balls with Pyrodex, no wads and no lube, nice lead ring produced when seating this ball as well.

Will say that the RCO did comment that mine was very loud for a small charge? Dunno if the means anything but may support last suggestion of lowering the load?

[lilguy43uk]

I believe that Pyrodex can be used at the same volume as BP BUT I've never used it so don't take it as gospel. I normally use 25gn fffg in my .45 and I've been asked "what load are you using to reach earthquake mode".

Mr. Foley has more experience than I do with BP pistols so I would listen to him regarding loads. Although I've been using BP in shotgun loads since the mid 80s, I've only been using pistols for the last few years.