[tmackay]

I just bought a 1851 Navy .44 and some accessories including patches, but are there different patches for pistol and rifle? cuz I think I might have the wrong ones. I have these "wonder ticking 1000 plus" size 40-49 cal. and I don't think they're correct.

[Tommygunn]

Patches for revolvers come in the specific size and are like little felt discs impregnated with a grease or lube. What you're describing seems designed for single shot rifles or pistols (single shot type) and are not suitable for revolvers.

EDIT: as Dwave says they are properly called "wads."

[dwave]

No, they are not correct. A pistol uses wads. They go over the powder and under the ball. Those patches are for a rifle.

I would say load the powder, seat the ball, then put crisco over each chamber to create a seal. Also, make sure your caps are on tight, if they are a little loose, pinch them a bit to make them tight.

[Macmac]

good start for your next shooter, as you have no use otherwise..

What you have is for a round ball in a rifle that is .40 cal, and or other wise commonly .45 cal.

Some where there should be how thick they are on the package too, which a rifle shooter will know if it works with what ever round ball he likes.

A tight ball and patch are harder to load but more acurate. Most rifle shooters use a few different sized balls with different patches.

[tmackay]

So, how important are wads? Can I shoot without them?

[DixieTexian]

You can shoot without them, just smear bore butter or crisco over the balls after it is loaded to keep the fouling soft.

[AntiqueCollector]

The balls must be oversized a bit so they shave off a ring of lead when seated, to be safe.

[Macmac]

There is a lot of variables as to what you can do.

It might be you bought .451 round ball.
It might be you bought .454 round ball.

The .451 probably won't shave off a ring of lead, and if so then you better use crisco, or another bore lube for more than keeping the goo soft.

Each gun varries a little bit, and it might be you don't shave off a ring of lead with a .454 ball, but most guns will, and so form a perfect seal.

100% wool felt is still common, in sewwing shops, so you can make wads, or you can buy them in a gun store.

The powders varry, as do loads.

Some people believe a lesser than full blown charge is more accurate, and having the ball just below flush with the cylinder face so there is limited travel of the ball before it hits the forcing cone is as accurate as it gets.

To do this you can use wads and or filler, if you don't use full bore loads.

Some folks prefer wads, while others prefer fillers...

There no just one right way.

Since you are newer you should try several ways and then see what suits you best.

[Pancho]

I would add only one thing to what Macmac wrote and that is lubed wads are not as messy as topping off. Topping off can be a real pain in itself. If you use crisco you could use a cake decorator to dispense it but if it's cold weather you'll have to keep it warm. TC's borebutter comes in a handy tube but if they'd offer a nozzle tip it would make it a lot easier. I think I'll give them a call.

[Niner]

Since you are new to this, pay some attention to how the caps fit. If one falls off a loaded chamber while the one next to it is fired, it is possible to have a chain fire. In such case it won't matter what the safety of the front of the load is like. This cap check is no big problem, just be sure they are on tight. If they seem loose you can give the rim a slight squeeze before placing it on the nipple or move from an 11 to a 10 cap.

[Pancho]

Niner, now that you bring it up, I just read somewhere that due to the prevalence of using #10 caps instead of#11 to achieve tighter cap fit it can be hard to seat a #10 on the nipple with your finger. The article suggested using a short dowel rod about 5/16" in diameter to seat the nipple. I've tried it and it works great. When it takes multiple hammer strikes to set off a cap it's probably due to the cap not being seated.
I use a dowel about 4" long and I glued a one diameter wood ball on the other end to protect my hand.

[Niner]

Never tried that before with the wood dowel.

[Macmac]

Another way to deal with loose 11's is get other brands, and yet another is file the nipple a little, which gets done from time to time anyway, since they "upset" in use.

My ROA has custom nipples, but I forget the brand.. It is a good idea to keep a set of new spares in a cap tin as well.

[dwave]

The .451 probably won't shave off a ring of lead, and if so then you better use crisco, or another bore lube for more than keeping the goo soft.

That will depend on the gun, Pietta normally has undersized chambers that can use .451s and shave a ring, but not always. I prefer .454s or .457s myself.

[Macmac]

dwave, I have no idea what he has... The only 2 bp six guns I have are ROA and EMF colt clone. The clone eats .454 and shears a ring, while it won't shear a ring with .451.

The ROA shears a ring with .457.. I have no idea how close EMF is to anything, as I did that as a kit gun in the mid 70's.

A couple weeks back i had a 51' here for a bit, and I found no parts on my EMF were similar to the parts on the 51' No screws could interchange..

I noticed that comparing things...

[dwave]

Right, thats why I said it depends on the gun really. I did have a Pietta that could use .451s and still shave a ring off. I normally recommend a .454 for the .44s myself. I wouldn't want to take the risk that the .451s are too small and then have some undersized ammo.

Yeah comparing guns of the same model but different manufacturers can be interesting sometimes.