Black powder pistol shooting

[parabellum]

Hi All,

I have a few questions about black powder pistol shooting:

1) What type/make of pistol do people usually start off with? Is there anything special I should get or avoid?

2) I've been looking at the Euroarms Remington Model 1858 New Model Army Stainless in .44 in the Henry Krank catalogue. Should I go for .36 or .44 calibre? Would you recommend the Lothar Walther barrel option for instance?

http://www.henrykrank.com/muzzle_loa...long_guns.html

3) Do most people use black powder or black powder equivalents such as Hodgdon Triple 7 or Pyrodex?

4) What are the benefits of using black powder equivalents is it not having to get the explosive license and RCA document, cost of the powder and less cleanup? Anything else?

5) What's the cleaning procedure for cleaning a black powder pistol and what do you need for the cleaning?

6) Are there any web sites where I can get further information on black powder pistol shooting?

Cheers Craig

[Smokeless Coal]

1, avoid the open framed colts or brass frames. Not favourite for target shooting.

2, Excellent choice, as with any gun the price reflects how much better it should be. Stainless costs more but will stay good for longer. Most prefer a .44 but I have seen better accuracy with a .36, and bearing in mind we are target shooting this should be the logical choice. I guess some prefer the bigger bang/greater grin factor.

3, Many turn their noses up at the alternatives because they insist on the spirit of the original. I'm a target shooter and choose the easy life so 777 for me.

4, You hit the nail on the head as to why use alternatives except price tends to be higher especiailly 777 at around £35 a pot but it lasts ages so not really something to bother about.

5, We all have our own cleanig regimes, one at my club using pyro just brushes and sprays with WD40, I have a scrub out with boiling water then spray but put extra effort into the nipple threads.

6, AirgunBBS has some helpfull chaps in their muzzle loader section

[enfield2band]

Before you buy a pistol go to a club and try a few out and talk to the members. You will get a lot of good advice, and be wiser when you make your choice of pistol.

Avoid flintlocks until you are experienced. They can be finnicky and need a lot of patience.
Single shot pistols are quicker to load, and you can get in a rythm without having your concentration distracted, and they are easier to clean than a revolver.
I would opt for the .44 calibre. It is used by a lot of people and they are accurate.
Loading a revolver can be time consuming and fiddly, so if you do not have a lot of patience I would go for the single shot.
As previously said, cleaning is a matter of choice. I clean mine with hot soapy water, dry it off, and then give it a coat of WD40.

The type of powder you use is a matter of choice, but if you use a substitute to blackpowder the charge must be weighed, or a volume measure made to suit the powder you are using.
Weight for weight, substitute powders give off MORE PRESSURE.

Blackpowder is great fun, not as difficult as it sounds, and is VERY addictive.

Good luck, I hope you have fun with your choice of pistol.

[DedIdick]

As above.
I have 2 Uberti 1858 replicas in .44. I tend to use pyrodex and clean with Hot water, dry off (in bottom oven of AGA) and then oil with 3 in 1. The dishwasher is also very efficient in cleaning BP guns, subject to wife's approval of course.

You also have all the fun of casting your own balls as things progress.

[mat BRC]

i presonaly use tripple 7 powder, a lot cleaner for the gun and your chest as everyone in our club knows when im shooting for the night lol

love the uberti remington .44 i got, very good guns

also use wads not bore butter etc if you want to be shooting for longer as the greese etc collects and starts to make life difficalt, i shoot anywhere between 50 and 150 on a good night and my guns not stoped useing these methods

[Flashinthepan]

Hi Craig
I use blackpowder in two flintlock pistols, a musket and a .451 Parkerhale volunteer rifle or as the boss (aka the wife) puts it ‘my cap gun’.
my pistols are smooth bore – cheaper than rifled easier to load obviously less accurate but hugely enjoyable, yes I can spend time prating about with flints but sometimes I can get a run of twenty plus shots without a single flint problem. I need bp in the pan but have tried Pyrodex and 777 in the pistols and musket plus the clubs revolver.

From this I would list the following:
Pyrodex – expensive, corrosive more so than bp in flintlock cause a considerable delay between ignition in the pan and the main charge which is not good for the aim. Needs lots of washing out as it is still cruddy.

777 – more expensive than Pyrodex but you down load as there is more pressure per grain, so it lasts longer. Burns bloody hot so breach really heats up with just one shot, which to be honest concerned me. The 777 doesn’t produce so much crud and it washes out with cold water, which also saves on buying bore scrubs etc.

BP – cheaper unless you buy Swiss or high performance powders, all bp powders make a crud which has to be cleaned out however some powders make more than others. A brush out in shooting is sometimes required. Cleaning needs time, bore scrub compound washing up liquid and a lot of patches and changes of warm water, then gun oil when patch comes out clean.

I tried revolvers and as enfielf2band said I didn’t like the faff of loading plus all the mess of the lube that with a lifelong interest in flintlocks made my mind up for me to go for flintlock pistols.

I would make one final comment, if all our pistols etc are true replicas of the original items in bore size, dimension and rifling. Then the rifling’s twist was made for bp which will have less oomph than Pyrodex or 777 which means that the ball or bullet should be rotated correctly. I say this because one of our good pistol shoots at the club I frequent tried some of my bp in his Rugger and has changed over from Pyrodex to bp because it improved his shooting.

Whichever way you go enjoy the shooting.

[parabellum]

Hi All,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post, this is great information and has been very useful. Really looking forward to getting my own black powder pistol, I think what I'll do is try some of our club members pistols first before I buy anything, this seems like the sensible way to go.

One more question (might be a daft one) on cleaning a black powder pistol, do you immerse the entire pistol in hot soapy water or do you just rinse parts of it?

Cheers Craig

[enfield2band]

At first I used to put the entire pistol in hot soapy water but you have to take off the wooden butt and the dry the inner workings of the pistol.

I now just clean the barrel and cylinder with hot soapy water and strip it from time to time to clean the inner parts.

Everyone has their own method, all of them work. You will find what is best for you when the time comes.

Good luck, I hope you enjoy your blackpowder pistol shooting. It is addictive.
You have been warned.

[lilguy43uk]

Genuine BP, never mind those "Johnny come lately" imitations. If you don't have to wash your hands before you have a pee then you're missing out on the fun.

Big clouds of choking, black smoke and flame and hands that look as if you've been grubbing in the coal oyle. Can't be beaten.

[tim56]

As above. Have tried 777 and pyrodex but cant see any advantage so just use b/p now.
Another advantage with b/p is if its damp when shooting everything takes on a slight whiff of egg sandwichs Which is ok if you like me love egg butties.
Tim