Well, I guess I am getting back in the BP game...

armoredman said:

Exceedingly dumb question - if I were stupid enough to try to shoot these undersized balls patched, what size/type patch would you think would work? I can't get a mold in yet.

Click to expand...

I've only shot PRB's in muzzleloaders. Using the same logic if your mold is in fact throwing a .439 you would need at least a .010 or preferably a .015 patch. The latter would put you at .454. The .010 would make it .449 which may work.

But, i've never done this in a revolver. I'd wait for @arcticap who mentioned it earlier or someone who has tried it to chime in.

Edit to add... No dumb questions. Better to think it through than go willy-nilly and blow your hand off!

You can get a new Lee double cavity.454 round ball mold for 20-25 bux or so. Make the investment now as you will likely end up becoming addicted anyways so might as well just get it over with.

The video that shows the patched round balls being fired were .375 balls [for a .36 revolver] out of a .44 gun which won't help you with advice regarding patch size for your balls.
The guy in the video used a very thick .018 pillow ticking patch. --->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...lls-with-a-44-remington.847348/#post-11046157

Your situation would involve trial and error just to see if it would work at all with your balls.
I think that you would need to try .005 patches and then if too loose just double it by trying two .005 patches.
And if that's too tight then go to a fabric store and find a material with a thickness in between .005 and .010. such as a .007.
OR another option would be to cut a .005 patch in half and only place it on one side of the ball on the top of the chamber which would increase the ball diameter by .015.

Patched balls can be forced in if too tight but a plastic hammer or mallet is needed.
They should be driven down to the powder but that's probably not critical.
Using filler like cream of wheat, grits, semolina or corn meal would also take up the extra chamber space and save you some effort.
Try loading and firing just one ball to see how it works before loading more.

Please understand that your situation of patching a ball that's only slightly undersized would be experimental.
I have not seen it done before but it should work in theory with the proper size patch.
But .005 patches are not very thick and can tear.
No one else has tried your situation to test it out but you can be the first if you can find the right patch thickness and are willing to use some force if necessary to load the ball into the chamber.

If all of this sounds too complicated, just buy some .018 pillow ticking and .375 balls at a local store and load just like the guy in the video.
At least we know that combination works.
That is if you can't find the right size balls.
But .375's aren't always easy to find either.

To be honest I think that this may all be a waste of time and effort.
You said that your balls are too small for 1/2 the chambers.
That indicates that your balls are an inconsistent size.
I don't know if thin patch material can make it work or not.
If someone had the patch material handy then it's easy to try, but it may not be worth making a special effort to buy it.

I posted this in the "what have you done in the reloading room" thread last week. This is my first Lee round ball mold and I am quite happy with how it worked, as cheap as they are I was a little leery of them. I guess we'll see how it holds up over time!

SlowFuse said:

Cast a few (140-ish) round balls for my 1858 Rem. late last night.

Used a Lee .454 mold and was quite surprised how well it worked. Didn't smoke it, just graphite on the sprue plate bottom/top of block and beeswax on the other usual spots.

View attachment 915623

Click to expand...

armoredman said:

Looks nice! Your lead pot is MUCH cleaner than mine, too...

Click to expand...

Give him a few years and I am sure his will have the same "someone call the EPA" look as yours!

Haha, this is a new pot in the pic.

I give it less than a year, wife will have a "condemned" sign on it.

Amen, brother!

That's a good looking shooting spot you have.

I've seen fixes for the cap problem you mention, cap rakes/posts etc. I've looked at them but have developed a sort of 'flip' of my wrist to the right simultaneously when cocking the hammer for the next round. Its become habit and has solved the cap jams I was having on a Colt for the most part.

If you plan to put a good bit of rounds through I've found that putting some of the crisco blend or other lube on the cylinder pin keeps it going, along with wiping the face of the cylinder about halfway through.

Congratulations!
Every gun prefers different caps but maybe the CCI number 11's were a lose fit.
Did you pinch them to fit tighter?
Remington #10's fit most recently made revolvers really well but you never know about yours.
Some Colts can have problems with cap jams but better fitting caps can help.
Keep having fun making smoke.

armoredman said:

I will pick up some BP substitue soon - what do you guys recommend?

Click to expand...

I don't hear much good about any of the subs except BH209, sometimes. Pyrodex seems to get the worst press and the 777 variants are somewhere in the middle, my observation.

The 1.5 dipper should be about 23 grains of 3F GoEx. It's def on the light side but for me around 20-25 grains no matter what frame type is a good accurate range. Even with brass frame you should be good with that one all day. I rarely go above 30 in anything (concerning 44 cal) unless someone else is shooting to show them the different "levels" of power. I have one 44 Remington that likes 18 grains with a filler, now thats a soft recoiling setup!

armoredman said:

Recoil was damn near non existent, not sure if it's the light load, (was told it might be too much for a "brasser"?), or the powder. I will pick up some BP substitue soon - what do you guys recommend?

Click to expand...

I can't say enough good things about American Pioneer Powder, especially the 3F.
It's also sold under the different brand labels as Jim Shockey's Gold and Black MZ.

However it's been getting very hard to find which has led to price increases, as lately the price has nearly doubled.
The company may have stopped production because some places list it as discontinued.
Black MZ only comes in 2F and it and all of the other 2F' labels have a very chunky granulation.
Either way it still works fine in revolvers but the 2F is harder to pour through a flask spout than the 3F which is what I recommend.

The company says not to use it with lube [in the chambers].
I've tried it with Bore Butter and would rather just swab the bore once in a while after many shots.
It's smokey and potent, but not as potent as 777 which creates additional recoil.
Velocity increases as the powder is compressed more in the chamber.

It's easy to clean up with hot soapy water and a rinse, and applying mineral oil laxative or Ballistol to the internals will help dissolve most any leftover residue after the rinse water dries.
It doesn't contain sulfur.
By liberally applying mineral oil and placing the gun in a plastic bag after shooting will prevent moisture from being absorbed by the residue and delay corrosion.
Mineral oil laxative can be purchased at many dollar stores or drug stores.
I found APP powder in stock at a couple of vendors.
As with any powder, keep the lid tight and don't leave it exposed to humid air if possible.

1. https://www.jedediah-starr.com/thumbnail.asp?offset=0&deep=2&cid=78

2. https://www.wholesalehunter.com/Search/Brand/7983

Brownell's has lower prices but it's out of stock at the moment. --->>> https://www.brownells.com/search/index.htm?k=american+pioneer&ksubmit=y

I prevent all cap jams and any shrapnel by first using great quality nipples, installing a cap post, AND to keep anything from falling into the works (caps, cap fragments, and fouling) i install a sheild . ill post pics to better explain.. The sheild is on the hammers body. It keeps anything from falling in and is shaped to "scoop" things out

I also use a dual wire spring setup for my bolt and trigger spring...so its replaced the stock stamped steel seer spring. They break all the time so i built my custom set up and now i can cock my gun all day and it wont break or wear out..also keeps the action lighter and less wear and the hammer pull feels way lighter yet is still hits caps hard. No need to change the hammer spring to them weaker lighter aftermarket springs that are finicky...stock ones are perfect.

Get a flask, horn is gonna be down right clutzy to use with a revolver.

Jackrabbit1957 said:

Get a flask, horn is gonna be down right clutzy to use with a revolver.

Click to expand...

Agree. On the flask you can cut spouts down to whatever charge you like.

Most of the traditions/cva spouts that came on the flasks I have throw around 26-27 grains of 3F as-is. I bought extra 30 grain spouts and cut them down to varying charges.