- Joined
- Jul 27, 2017
- Messages
- 111
My routine paper punching load, with the Walker is a 40 grain load under a home cut lubed wad and a .454 round ball. (actual 39.8 with the Lee 2.5 cc dipper) When I got the Walker back from Goons I experimented with loads from 30 to 60 grains. The 40 grain load gave me acceptable accuracy and the flash, boom and recoil I'm looking for in a black powder cap gun. The photo is a mere 50 feet , so the group would be considerably larger at 25 yards. The POI is the center of the group.
The Walker is heavy so the further into a shooting session the bigger the group gets. That weight does help with sighting, the front sight just hangs on the target.
BTW. Not sure what Mike does to the lever latch but dropping lever is a thing of the past. Even with the 60 grain charge the lever doesn't drop.
My routine paper punching load, with the Walker is a 40 grain load under a home cut lubed wad and a .454 round ball. (actual 39.8 with the Lee 2.5 cc dipper) When I got the Walker back from Goons I experimented with loads from 30 to 60 grains. The 40 grain load gave me acceptable accuracy and the flash, boom and recoil I'm looking for in a black powder cap gun. The photo is a mere 50 feet , so the group would be considerably larger at 25 yards. The POI is the center of the group.
The Walker is heavy so the further into a shooting session the bigger the group gets. That weight does help with sighting, the front sight just hangs on the target.
BTW. Not sure what Mike does to the lever latch but dropping lever is a thing of the past. Even with the 60 grain charge the lever doesn't drop.
I am using 50 grains of FFFg at the moment. I bought it only two months ago and I made paper cartridges. When I finish them I will try the 40 grains load plus semolina. The ball is .454.
By the way, there is an excellent thread here about the Walker but it does not address a drawback I have with my Uberti loaded with 50gr. I cannot shot more than two cylinders without cleaning it. So I bring there a little bottle of water only for the cylinder. It gets so dusty that it cannot rotate as it should. I am curious about your experience with it.
Have you unassembled it already? Mine was and still is very hard to. As I did not want to use its own press against the cylinder I used a piece of wood as a wedge. Enjoy it!
Do not confuse maximum load with most accurate load. Know your pistol. Experiment with different amounts of powder. Remember, you're not in a life or death situation and don't need maximum loads. Because I'm cheap, I'd start with 20 grains FF and vary it every five grains. Work yourself up to 60 and see what it groups best under. Then go half (say if it's 30 and 35, see if 32 or 33 grains works better). That's half the fun of black powder.
That feller on your target Whughett felt every one of those shots.
Good shooting with that beast of yours!!!
Mr. Moderator never would I presume to question your wisdom, but why oh why would one buy A Walker to shoot, or one of the Dragoons, for that matter, only to shoot a miscue load of 20 grains. My tack drivers, for my ability any way are the 36's or even the Rogers and Spencer, Big Cap guns equal boom, thunder, fire, and smoke head turners at the firing line.
All in good fun sir, point taken.
The way I'm understanding your statement is that after two cylinders of shooting it's binding up or dragging a bit. Many people use some sort of oil or grease on the base pin/arbor. I use Ballistol on my Remington NMA, which are notorious for binding quickly.
but why oh why would one buy A Walker to shoot, or one of the Dragoons, for that matter, only to shoot a miscue load of 20 grains.
They were designed to hold up to about 60 grns with a ball and something like 50 grns with the Pickett style conical. Typically a max charge isn't nearly as accurate and so you'll find those reduced loads used.
One fellow who hunts hogs with his uses 66 grns of 2F Triple 7. His reasoning was that 2F reduced the pressures of his max load (T7 is more compressible than BP).
You'll likely have the loading lever drop consistently with heavier (~50 grns +) loads. Many people have found filing the lever spring to work for them. Traditionally a length of leather cord was tied around it and the barrel.
What do you intend to shoot from it? And is this just a range toy or a hunting arm?
Regarding the original question, many people shoot Walker's with more than 30 grains. If the arbor is too short and/or the cylinder gap is too large the gun will beat itself up with heavy loads.
There is one case of a Walker cylinder exploding and another case of the wedge spitting out and allowing the entire barrel assembly to fly off. I think the exploding cylinder involved using a heavy bullet in an old Armi San Marco brand Walker and the flying barrel I suspect was due to a poor fitting and/or deformed wedge.
Ahh, Thought I'd replied.... Just a Range gun and Collectible.They were designed to hold up to about 60 grns with a ball and something like 50 grns with the Pickett style conical. Typically a max charge isn't nearly as accurate and so you'll find those reduced loads used.
One fellow who hunts hogs with his uses 66 grns of 2F Triple 7. His reasoning was that 2F reduced the pressures of his max load (T7 is more compressible than BP).
You'll likely have the loading lever drop consistently with heavier (~50 grns +) loads. Many people have found filing the lever spring to work for them. Traditionally a length of leather cord was tied around it and the barrel.
What do you intend to shoot from it? And is this just a range toy or a hunting arm?