beginners guide to bp part two... calibre??

[Smokeless Coal]

44=more bang, more smoke=bigger grin.

Go for one with a top strap like a ROA remmington or Rogers for target shooting, rater than the colt with its open frame and sighting through a groove in the hammer.

[lilguy43uk]

44=more bang, more smoke=bigger grin.

Pietta make a good Remmy copy although they can be a little rough around the edges.

[jax13]

44=more bang, more smoke=bigger grin.

Go for one with a top strap like a ROA remmington or Rogers for target shooting, rater than the colt with its open frame and sighting through a groove in the hammer.

was given this advice at the club last night. i know i need to do a lot more reading, feeling and talking before i part with any cash so i know i am not making a mistake with what i buy!

[Smokeless Coal]

Stainless will be easier to clean and have a longer life, but it wll cost a lot more.

I've seen blue revolvers change hands for £30, mine cost me £60. At that sort of price getting a replacement is not too painful on the pocket.

£30 for a bottle of powder that will last months is not a critical expence so should not dictate caliber.

[tacfoley]

One ever-lasting niggle over here is the utterly unbelievable cost of the average pack of 100 cast ball - around £10-12 per hundred.

I cast my own, and have done since the late 1960's, and reckon that the average cost to me of casting scrap lead from our old plumbing is around 17P per thousand.

IF you get into BP handgun shooting, get a suitable mould just as fast as you can - a propane gas-burner and an old pan will do to melt the stuff, and a ladle to decant it into the mould.

I have no idea how much it costs me to shoot my .44s, but by the time you've bought either caps, black powder or one of the substitutes and the stuff to seal over the end of the chambers - I use Boots E45 handcream - it can't be much more than a few pennies.

And BTW - it has been shown over in the USA by careful experimentation that multiple discharges are NOT initiated from the open end of the chamber, but by poorly fitted percussion caps. And I would very much like to see the gun that was 'destroyed' by such a multiple discharge.

tac - BP shooter since 1964

[Simon G]

And BTW - it has been shown over in the USA by careful experimentation that multiple discharges are NOT initiated from the open end of the chamber, but by poorly fitted percussion caps.

Something which I have believed for years!

The one I saw involved a fella at the club using an Uberti Colt. Action was getting a bit "sticky" so he squirted a load of WD40 in the mech, via the slot for the hand, in the breech face. Loaded up as per usual, applied whatever mixture to the front of the chambers and had three go off at the same time! His gunsmith told him that the nipples were worn and vapour collected round the rear of the cylinder and igned three chambers with one cap!

As for calibre, I have three .44's and three .36's and I've also owned .45's. I've found my .36's have always been more accurate.

[Jim McArthur]

As for calibre, I have three .44's and three .36's and I've also owned .45's. I've found my .36's have always been more accurate.

Do you think that is inherent on the pistols, or just that it's generally easier to more acurately shoot a gun that kicks and blasts less?

Jim

[Simon G]

Difficult to say Jim, but I know I'm not overly bothered by recoil and blast. Back in the cartridge handguns days, my favourite wheelgun was a S&W 627 Horton Spl in .44 mag with a three inch barrel!

One of my .36's, an Uberti 1861 Navy, is cut for a shoulder stock. I also have a stock. With this stock fitted, it will put all six rounds in about inch at 25 yards. A two handed hold, I can't duplicate this, but it certainly shows the accuracy potential. And the .36's always post better scores than with the .44's......

[lilguy43uk]

And BTW - it has been shown over in the USA by careful experimentation that multiple discharges are NOT initiated from the open end of the chamber, but by poorly fitted percussion caps. And I would very much like to see the gun that was 'destroyed' by such a multiple discharge.

tac - BP shooter since 1964

I've not seen it Tac. The only reason that I found out about it was when somebody came to assess the damage caused to the side panels of the firing booth, as I was shooting. There's about a 1.5 x 1 inch hole in the plywood panels on one side and a smaller one on the other so something went right through them.

I now believe that there was some (very) slight injury to someone standing behind the shooter.

[lilguy43uk]

And BTW - it has been shown over in the USA by careful experimentation that multiple discharges are NOT initiated from the open end of the chamber, but by poorly fitted percussion caps.

Logic would dictate that, using the correct projectiles, in a gun with chambers in good condition, there's no way that I can think off that a spark could get into the powder from the front end. Mine shaves a small ring of lead off when seating the bullet, so there's an interference fit there.

Using an undersized bullet might make a difference but I can see where you're coming from Tac.

However, I'm a belt and braces man (I use spring washers AND locktite on threads ) so the addition of a semi greased felt wad can't do any harm and spaces the bullet out a little.

I've not been using black powder for as long as you have Tac but I must be doing summat reet as I've been at it (on and off) since the mid seventies and I still have all my fingers.

Cheers

[tacfoley]

Using an undersized bullet might make a difference but I can see where you're coming from Tac.
Cheers

Not ME, Sir, but the Range Safety and Public Event Control Board of the N-SSA - the half-million strong North-South Skirmish Association.

I, too, use a chamber sealer, as I noted - my choice is the water soluble emulsion dermalogical hand-cream preparation called E-45 in the UK. It keeps the fouling soft, and washes away with it on cleaning.

tac

[lilguy43uk]

And BTW - it has been shown over in the USA by careful experimentation that multiple discharges are NOT initiated from the open end of the chamber, but by poorly fitted percussion caps. And I would very much like to see the gun that was 'destroyed' by such a multiple discharge.

tac - BP shooter since 1964

I've asked the question Tac and the police have the gun at the moment, nobody seems to have any idea why. It is expected to be returned eventually however.

I'm told that the top strap has lifted and one of the chamber blown out. I must admit that this sounds suspiciously like an overcharged chamber rather than a chain fire but, you never know.

If it comes back I'll get some pictures posted.

Jim

[jax13]

this is NOT filling me with confidence!

going back to the origins of the thread if i may

i was looking at a remington old army (and a rem army 18 something something) what are the opinions of these?? i quite liked the way it felt and handled, and the price was bang on for my budget too.

what say the learned?? good, bad, indifferent??? things to look for? both were in .44 and seem pretty much what i'm after (i think!)

[harricook]

Hi jax13

a Ruger Old Army or a Remington 1858 NMA (I have both) both shoot well - they both also feel very different.

Then your decision is on blued or stainless & then target sights or 'spirit of the original' (which of course the Ruger does not fit anyway if you intend to shoot in comps)

I love to shoot both of mine (both are stainless) and I use 457 ball in both. Have used conicals - accuracy is definately better - but I dont have a conical mold at present - so shoot home cast ball as a matter of cost preference.

They both have a HUUUUUGE grin factor - and anyone that comes to the club enjoys shooting them !


Get one you wont regret coming over to the 'Dark Side' [insert devil smiley here !]

Oh - and regarding Chainfires or Multiple Discharges - have a look at how hard this guy tried to cause them .http://www.svartkrutt.net/articles/vis.php?id=13

ATB

Roy

.

[tacfoley]

I've asked the question Tac and the police have the gun at the moment, nobody seems to have any idea why. It is expected to be returned eventually however.

I'm told that the top strap has lifted and one of the chamber blown out. I must admit that this sounds suspiciously like an overcharged chamber rather than a chain fire but, you never know.

If it comes back I'll get some pictures posted.

Jim

I have been talking to a few friends over the way about this so-called destroyed gun, and nobody I have asked, with a combined shooting experience of around a thousand years, has EVER heard of any BP revolver, even an original, blowing up as you describe - USING BLACK POWDER. You simply cannot get enough BP AND ball into the chamber to do this sort of damage. Please talk to the B'ham Proof House, if you care to. I've been shooting BP of all kinds since the middle 1960's and I've never encountered such a thing happening, BTW.

IF it is the case that the gun HAS let go shooting BP - remember that it has been proofed here in UK - the respective proof house must be permitted to comment on this occasion. The poor gun that seems to have been arrested and detained against its will, without being charged, is simply the injured party here.

Because the revolver has a 'moving element' that instantaneously permits the pressure to drop [the ball that moves out of the chamber and down the barrel] the chances of a top strap being blown up as well as a chamber being dismantled sounds more and more like the use of nitro powder OR a seriously-flawed part that somehow escaped the attention of the inspecting proof house.

A multiple discharge is an attention-getter, that's for sure, but remember that the other chambers that go off are not only pointing down-range, but are open to the air. The only one I ever saw [an original Colt Model 1851] fired the [correct] top chamber and the other two on each side and the gun was fine. And no, it was not mine.

tac