New Black Powder Rifle and Revolver

[WaRuss]

Finally have gotten into black powder with a Traditions Kentucky Long Rifle kit which I finished earlier this summer:


And I recently got Traditions 1851 Navy Revolver kit.


I can hardly wait to shoot both of these at a range.

[Sonny]

Right on.

What cal? .36 and .50 maybe?

[Darryl]

.36 and .44 or .45 if I remember right. Nice pair to start with!!


Mine, I built back in 1971


Dolk

[Junk Yard Dog]

Back in the 70's countless shooters got into black powder with similar offerings from CVA. The revolver is everyone's starter revolver, just remember to keep the loads around 22 grains with that brass frame, heavy loads used repeatedly will shoot it loose. We used to buy them in kit form back then, they haven't changed the rifle much, I have one in .45. The revolver is .454, or .44 for short, it's not an actual reproduction of any particular revolver but is something the Italian gun makers thought up in the 1960's. It's the revolver Colt should have made, and did in modified form in 1860 with a steel frame. You can also get this .44 "Navy " with a steel frame today. Good choices for learning on, have fun with them.

[steelbuttplate]

Nice. Don't even try the new sabot bullets in the rifle., wrong rate of twist. Accurate as a slingshot. It will shoot best w/ .45 maxi balls concave backed bullets, just greased no patch. .445 round balls I think w/ patch.

[WaRuss]

The rifle is 50 caliber and the revolver is 44 caliber.
For a "re-enactor" load (no ball) what do you shoot?
My brother mentioned that re-enactors in his part of Colorado use tampons.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Remember that what you stuff down the bore will come back out and probably be on fire when it does. For a place with forests a tampon would be a piss poor idea, so would the paper most reenactors use. Fire it only with a bullet and a greased cloth patch.

[steelbuttplate]

if It's a .50, then U need a .490 ball & patch or a .50 cal. maxiball. Use the Buffalo bullet type. 70 gr. pyrodex for the ball, 90 gr.for the maxi. Seat the bullet against the powder tight.

[entropy]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/53936 ... -box-of-20 This bullet.

I use 83. gr. of Pyrodex 'P' Yes, 'P', not 'R' with the above bullet for a hunting load; and 60 gr. and .490 Hornady round ball with .15 patch for target (though I've hunted with this load, too) in my Traditions Hawken. I took a doe at 125 yards with a Buffalo Bore 385gr. HBHP conical and 83 gr. of 'P'.

Why do I use 'P' instead of 'R'? Because I shoot BP pistols, too, and I'm too cheap to buy both. When I have actual Goex,I use 90gr. instead of 83.

[steelbuttplate]

Yep, I've used those bullets, Remingtons that are very similar, and Traditions .325 gr. Same performance from all.

[Darryl]

OK, yours is a later "Traditions" kit. Mine is a earlier CVA kit. I think Traditions must have bought them out.

Mine is a .45 cal and uses a .440 ball. Looks the same, but different!

CVA_600.jpg

I also can match your 1851 Navy. These were a couple of my first BP firearms back in 1968

1851_Colt_Navy_right.jpg