Newbie to black powder

[websterz]

+1 for the steel framed Remington 1858. All around better gun IMHO.

[Witchdoctor]

Thanks for all the input guys, I was looking at a company called Taylors & Co, any info on those folks...quality, actual experience ?

[Witchdoctor]

Hey JYD....I noticed on another thread you were talking about filling the "air gap" between the charge and the ball, how is this done and how do you know how much to put in ? Also I'm taking it that the wad between charge and the ball does not solve this problem ?

[Witchdoctor]

Another thing I found out from OL research, I was also asking about a rifle that would use same cal as the revolve but responses were not really, I did see a revolving chamber rifle in .44 cal, any opinions on those ?

[Junk Yard Dog]

Hey JYD....I noticed on another thread you were talking about filling the "air gap" between the charge and the ball, how is this done and how do you know how much to put in ? Also I'm taking it that the wad between charge and the ball does not solve this problem ?

You tamp the ball down firmly on top of the powder charge, use a patch around any bullet not going into a revolver chamber.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Another thing I found out from OL research, I was also asking about a rifle that would use same cal as the revolve but responses were not really, I did see a revolving chamber rifle in .44 cal, any opinions on those ?

That is another version of the Remington revolver, they added a stock and a long barrel to it in order to make it into a carbine. At heart is still a Remington 1858 revolver.

[LukeTheDrifter]

I have a Pietta 1858 (steel frame) and I would highly recommend them. Tons of fun to shoot! Plus, they're an excuse to start casting lead, if you don't already, which is very cool (I enjoy it thoroughly). One note: my 1858 prefers the .451 balls. The .454 balls will shoot, but they are too tight to shoot regularly. You don't want to wear out or bend your loading lever.

I also have a Walker, which is literally a BLAST when you're shooting full charges. It's just too big and heavy to tote to the range as often as the 1858. Good luck!


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[Witchdoctor]

Really appreciate all of the input but still gotta do more research and then decide what to get first lol.....Oh yeah but still another question, do the BP pistols and rifles use the same actual powder as a charge, or do they differ as do smokeless rifles and pistols when reloading so I have read.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I have a Pietta 1858 (steel frame) and I would highly recommend them. Tons of fun to shoot! Plus, they're an excuse to start casting lead, if you don't already, which is very cool (I enjoy it thoroughly). One note: my 1858 prefers the .451 balls. The .454 balls will shoot, but they are too tight to shoot regularly. You don't want to wear out or bend your loading lever.

I also have a Walker, which is literally a BLAST when you're shooting full charges. It's just too big and heavy to tote to the range as often as the 1858. Good luck!


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Use soft pure lead, the .454 ball will tightly seal the chamber and the chamber sizes the ball as it goes in no matter what size it was to start with. You will not bend the loading lever on a Pietta or Uberti steel frame Remington revolver. You can use harder lead, these revolvers are not originals, we know the exact quality of the steel and it is high quality, you will not wear the bore shooting hard lead, the problem is shaving that ball into the chamber. The harder the lead, the tougher it is to push it in there, the lever will be fine, it's your hand and arm that will be hurting. I have shot thousands of .454 balls in eight different Pietta and Uberti Remington's with no problems.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Really appreciate all of the input but still gotta do more research and then decide what to get first lol.....Oh yeah but still another question, do the BP pistols and rifles use the same actual powder as a charge, or do they differ as do smokeless rifles and pistols when reloading so I have read.

You follow the manufacturers instructions and recommended powder changes for each individual piece you shoot. Do not guess, the charges do differ greatly. A Remington .44 revolver is 30-45 grains of FFFG, you can shoot less if you pack a filler on top of the powder to keep chamber volume up, that can be wonder wads or cream 'o' wheat cereal, a rifle can be 40-50-60-110-or more grains of FFG depending on what it is.

[Witchdoctor]

Thank you sir, I'm finding that the BP weapons are just as interesting as the wartime surplus are to me, reason I got my C&R, have about 8 WW2 items now, joking this forum has been really helpful for everything I'm getting into, thanks to everyone.

[steelbuttplate]

I cant remember except I think the barrel said .45 cal. The bullets may have said .445 or .454 on the box, they were maxi balls that I used w/ grease, no patch. 40 yrs. ago What was I smoking? ( see episodes of that 70's show)

You don't have to use a patch with the maxi's, risk is the bullet moves off the charge after you tamp it down, this happens and your done, the other problem is the maxi fails to expand enough to seal the bore letting gas escape past it, your not done but accuracy will be in the toilet. I don't need to watch that 70's show, I saw it live, I knew every one of those characters. In my part of the world if anyone was smoking grass they were actually smoking real grass scraped off the bottom of the lawn mower.

That's why you tamp your bore when you sit down. W/ 90 grains pyrodex it will deform the back of the conical bullet slightly octagonal. The deer don't know it's not accurate, they just fall over and kick.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I have known a few home casters who thought they could get away with 90/10 lead while casting maxi type bullets or worse , mini balls. Soft pure lead greatly helps when you want the bullet to expand to fill a bore on firing. Makes little difference when shooting patched round balls, the patch contacts the bore, not the bullet.