Starting load for .44 cap & ball revolver?
It is an Italian made copy of a .44 Colt. It looks like a shorter-barreled dragoon - not a Walker! I know it takes .454 balls and #10 caps. What kind of powder and charge? A friend gave it to my son and he is anxious to shoot it.
Sporting good store should be able to help you. Black powder comes in several different sizes. Pistols usually use the finest which is almost a powder, whereas cannon powder is bigger pieces and not so powdery.
Full charge should be 44 grains, they have little powder measures, but check with the folks you buy the powder from.
Be sure your son wears safety glasses as it is not uncommon for hot embers from the powder or cap to find its way to your face.
I bought an old Navy Arms .44 thirty years ago. Haven't shot it in many moons, but my 13 year old grandson just found it and wants to try it out. He's been cleaning it up, and I promised to take him to town and buy powder and balls. Should be fun.
I was told years ago that they would shoot better if you put a little layer of dry cream of wheat between the powder and the ball. Tried it, but couldn't really tell much of a difference.
Good luck, and report back on how it goes. Probably won't take my grandson out until at least Saturday.
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I have seen people put a grease of some kind over the balls after charging the cylinders to prevent setting off an adjacent chamber. What type of grease is used for this?
Around here, I am a little leery of trusting the guys in sporting goods stores, as many of them are not well-versed in more esoteric stuff like blackpowder. (Not that the web is any more reliable, I guess, as anyone can claim to be anything....)
Has anyone ever tried the Speer shot capsules in a cap & ball revolver?
You can use regular "Bore Butter" on the cylinders to prevent chain firing. I've never experienced a chain fire, but it's a scary thought.
Check out Dixie Gun Works for some loading manuals and info. They're probably one of the best sources of blackpowder supplies and information.
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Never used a store bought bore butter , sounds like something to try.
I have always used good old fashioned Crisco it washes out of your clothes easily. Back when these were modern revolvers I believe lard or tallow was used...that had to be smelly and hard to clean.
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I use good old fashioned Vaseline. In my revolver, that is.......
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I use pyrodex fffg or old school 3f blackpowder in my 44 and 36 cal replica pistols.
in my 44's. they recomend to load them between 21 and 28 grains over a wad but I regularly load mine with 30+ grains of 3f with the ball seated directly on the powder. If your pistol is a dragoon you can safely load up to 45 grains of powder to my knowledge.
As far as putting lube over the balls I use crisco because it's cheap but I'm sure they make better products like the bore butter if your willing to spend the money.
and after you get done shooting your pistol always be sure to clean clean clean that day as you can easily spend hours trying to take a dirty cap n ball pistol apart.
hope this helps
I second Mikey1979-
I used to shoot a Ruger Old Army. fffg is what I used as well as Crisco over the ball.
Okay - I got some Pyrodex P powder and #11 caps. Do you measure the powder on a scale by weight? I have some Lee dippers, too. I know not to use my regular powder measures in case of static charge.
Muzzle loading powder charges are measured by volume, not weight.Originally Posted by Rick
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You should have a brass tube looking thing with a plunger that sticks out the bottom. The markings on mine are on the shank of the plunger. Use that. As Ltdann said, black powder is measured by volume, not weight. When you use Pyrodex or any of the common substitutes, DO NOT weigh the charge, rather use the volumetric tool. They are designed to be the same volume as black powder, but may weigh differently.
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Okay - I guess I need to buy a measure then. I have no brass tube looking thing.
How much should I use? How low can I go and still get the ball out the end of the barrel?
The old adage that I was taught doesn't apply to repro guns. The old timers said to load the caliber. I.E. a .44 cap and ball pistol would take 44 grains of powder. And it makes sense if you look at the nomenclature of a 38 special (which is actually .357 diameter). Anyhow..... Most reproduction guns can't take that kind of stress and I would not recommend a load that high. Start with 20 grains of powder in a .44 and see how that shoots. I would use Pyrodex "P" or FFFg.
Do you have a manual? Can you ID the brand or make of pistol and do a web search for an on-line manual?
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X2 on the manual for the gun. I remember shooting 20 - 25 grains FFFg (regular black powder) by volume in my .430 (.44) Spanish-made percussion pistol, at targets. Holes touching at 25 yards once I learned to hold it without the "Barney Fife". Man those were the days: Single, living in the last house on a cul-de-sac at the end of a lake. Uprooted tree from a storm to shoot into. Life was good..........
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You know, the old .44's (even the repros) weighed a ton? After you ran out of bullets, you used it as a club. The barney fife action is the strain it takes to hold the beast level, after a few seconds, you got the barney fife shakes. Duh!
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Ah-SO! OK, I get it. Even Dad's .36 navy was too heavy when I started shooting. But I just LOVED the staccato it makes when I thumb the hammer and probably wore it out that way without ever leaving the house.
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Here's some very interesting information regarding the old originals, but I don't know how it would compare to the repros today.
Original, historic loads for cap & ball revolvers - Benelli USA Forums
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It is a Pietta replica, and it is a shorter-barreled Colt dragoon type.
Here's a loading manual from Cimmaron Arms that covers .36 and .44 replicas.
http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/Man...wdrInst8pg.pdf
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Good detective work, Ltdann!
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De nada.
My long time hunting partner has a replica that had belonged to his father. It went missing for years after the dad passed away. My partner eventually found it, apparently left undisturbed on top of a cabinet, in an outbuilding in Upstate NY. It was in very poor shape, rusted, cylinder frozen, etc.
My buddy, having no experience with muzzleloaders, was about to toss it into a dumpster when I expressed interest in it. He gave it to me, I returned to a firing condition (with help from Cimmaron) and gave it back to him about a year later.
Should have seen his eyes the first time he fired that Walker-Dragoon, worth the work. I need to get him a hawkins .50, 'cause he looks at mine with coveting eyes.
Life's short . . . Hunt hard
Why tip-toe quietly through life, only to arrive safely at death ?
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