Hot weather BP

[ZVP]

I am hoping to get some revolver shooting in sometime during the next 2 days. Ambient air temps here in the Central Valley in Calif are to be in the 110 to 112 degree range! It's been a while since I shot BP in such high temps and I forget how it affects the stuff! If I remember correctlly pressures will be slightly higher though nothing dangerous.
Due to an oversight on my part, I will have to use Crisco on my .44's instead of wads. I just got to happy shooting the big .44's and used all my wads up! I much prefer wads to greases because it melts off so much with the first discharge! I don't want any chainfires!
BP has been a savior for me during this contrived ammo shortage! I have been able to keep shooting even though rimfire supplys are non exhistant and Centerfire has gotten so pricey!
It;s very nice to lesurely load and fire a cylinderfull while others can't even visit the club/Range! High ammo costs and unavailability have squashed activitys at my shooting club to dramatically low levels. Since the Club is an Assn. we all depend on revinue to eep the lights on and pay employee salaries and this slouch in attendance has HURT!
Thank goodness for BP!
BPDave

 

[red96ta]

About ten of us just shot on black powder day at the Visalia Sportsman's Assn. The temp. was way up there when we were done for the day, but I didn't notice any difference in performance of my rifle...

 

[bothenook]

i haven't noticed much difference, and i was out banging away this weekend when it was almost too hot to pick up the firearm due to the temperature.
i've noticed that our assn/club used to close at 1900 this time of year, but are pulling the plug at 1730 instead, and i'll be the only one on the range when they do. that is mostly due to the cost/availability of ammo, but part of it is due to club leadership sucking the fun out of shooting for a perceived safety issue. when we were shooting steel during the last ammo drought, there were still a bunch of us out every day banging around. not only fun, but most beneficial in upgrading/tuning skill sets. the immediate feedback from a hit does wonders.
bah, i'm just an old, cantankerous coot that is acting like a spoiled child because they took away my toys. but that doesn't mean i'm not right!

 

[Pancho]

Keep your crisco in an iced cooler or the shooting session will get messy but still fun.

 

[ZVP]

I can feel for you!
Our Club has taken severqal issues way out of reason and rather than prosecuting the individual offender. have instead issued blanket enforcement of some ridicolous actions against both Club members but also the public who we charge to shoot. Our fees are VERY reasonable and due to this we get a lot of non member walk in shooters who can't understand the weird rules! I don't blame them.
For instance a member shot across lanes and the punishment was to have everyone shoot no faster than at 5 second intervals??? Makes no sense!
Back to the topic;
I have read that heat affects cartridge ammunition and I was wondering if it also had an effect on Cap and Ball revolvers? I guess not since the powder is loose until loading? I am relatively new (2 years) to BPshooting and still always learning! All help is appreciated!
Todays temps aren't the only things that drive shooters away from our range, this ammo situation has hurt the Club immensely! Member fees barely cover operating costs and the Public fees provide a lucrative income to pay operating costs so the loss of having shooters come in really cuts into club coffers which are now being used for Utility costs plus employee salarys (We have 4). Our club offers a real deal for shooters as they get all day use rights on all ranges and $4,50 per round trap. Other ranges charge $15 per hr on just ONE range! We are a deal, but still hurting!
I sincerely hope this situation rights itself soon because it is really affecting a lot of shooters!
BPDave

 

[rodwha]

The problems with powder and cap availability has kept my friend from jumping on the BP wagon.

He came up from Houston and spent the day at the range shooting my .50 cal rifle and .45 pistol. He left with a smile as big as mine, and his broadened when I told him how inexpensive it can be. But he lost his grin when I mentioned how I couldn't find caps or powder, which later were rectified by purchasing from Cabelas, who is now out of those caps until fall.

It's shown me I need to keep a stash going, which I am attempting to work on, but will keep a more keen eye on from now on.

 

[Hellgate]

I shot my Remington C&Bs in a Cowboy Action match last weekend in 90 degree weather and the tallow used in my lube wads had become liquid (I could see it ooze out the edges when I was stuffing the wads in the chambers). I noticed some lower powered shots from the oily lube getting into the powder. I forgot my spare flask and had to shoot lighter than usual loads (20grs vs 30 grs in the 44s) to keep from running out of powder and had to double up on wads to seat the balls on the powder. A fellow shooter asked me what happened to my normal "manly" loads. I don't think I would have noticed any varying reduction in power with full loads but the light loads were inconsistant due to lube contamination. Straight beeswax in the wads would have been OK but then this fall the cooler weather would have rendered them useless.