smokeless loads in NAA Companion

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batjka

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Hi everyone,
I'm contemplating a purchase of .22 Mag
Companion revolver and
would like to know what smokeless loads you
Guys are using in this gun.

I was thinking in terms of some very fast powder.
The easiest way would be just emptying the contents
Of the .22 mag round into the chamber, but this round is
Meant for rifles and won't give the maximum power in a short
Barrel. So another option would be getting the .22 or
.27 blanks for nailgun and use the powder from them.
That powder is extremely fast and would probably give a
Good velocity in the Companion.
Any advice or opinion is welcome.
 
I used to have one of the Freedom Arms percussion mini-revolvers, but the '.22LR' size, not the '.22 Mag.' one. It came from the factory with a powder scoop with which, they stated, you could either use FFFg black powder (@2gns) or Bullseye smokeless powder (@1gn).

I just checked the NAA website & noticed that they only recommend BP or Pyrodex in their revolvers. http://www.naaminis.com/naac&b.html
You might want to contact them & see what they suggest about a suitable smokeless powder.
 
Last edited:
So another option would be getting the .22 or
.27 blanks for nailgun and use the powder from them.
That powder is extremely fast and would probably give a
Good velocity in the Companion.
Click to expand...
:what::what::what:

For your own safety, please do NOT try to use tool blank powder. The burning characteristics and pressure/time curves are probably unavailable outside the industry that makes them. You would be letting yourself and your family in for a lot of heartache should you injure yourself or a bystander.

Bonza has given you sound advice. Please avail yourself of it.

Remember, safety rules are written in sombody's blood. Don't let another one be written in yours.
 
I would be careful with any smokeless powder in it. I have one of those little revolvers and used to shoot it with BP as well as opening a case of 22lr and emptying the powder into the NAA companion. 22Mag is much more powerful and I would not dare to do that. Just my opinion. The steel of the cylinder is extremely soft and I don't trust it.
 
You yhave to be nuts to try a power cartridge from a powder actuated tool in a BP gun no matter how well built it is. I'm assuming you have access to Hilti cartridges (or similar) as you mentioned .27 caliber. Think about what you drive those nails into, a 1.5" cut nail into 5/8" CORTEN STEEL! Thats with the yellow ones too. They use pressure in the neighborhood of 10,000 psi. I only know of one muzzleloader that was designed to handle that and it isn't the Companion. Also to be even remotley safe you would have to weigh the charges. The powder chages that they use are so small that 1/10 of a grain would be the difference between something that is safe and something that would blow the gun to smithereens.
 
The way I understand it, the Companion is made with
Exactly the same material as the regular NAA .22 So
Shooting smokeless in a Companions should be as safe
If not safer (because the walls of the cylinder are thicker) as
The NAA cartridge mini.
 
Just buy the cartridge gun if you want cartridge gun performance. Like everybody is saying, it is a bad idea to load smokeless in a gun not designed for it.
 
IIRC, an owner posted about how his cylinder pin got bent after firing it.
While it could have been an isolated occurrence, the possibility is something to be aware of. :)
 
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Like others have said, it is not advised to use any smokeless powders in that revolver since NAA does not state it on their sight or information.

I have see what could happen to a C&B revolver when smokeless was used & it was not pretty.

The only thoughts that come to mind as to why any one would want to do what you are suggesting is because the persone possibly can not have a firearm & being that they are very concealable smokeless powder would keep the smoke trail down if the weapon was used because they surely are not a hunting or target weapon where more power would give a slight edge.

I hope I'm wrong in that last statement but like was mentioned with those little pistols to have the lack of smoke & have the most performance you would need to get a cartridge version.
 
Please do not look for any "criminal intent" in people's questions. Like this you can accuse posters
In "home-made BP" thread of trying to make covert explosives. In any case, I have read before on
THR that people are using smokeless in Companion revolvers and that these loads
Are more powerful than the cartridge versions. I only would like to know what the loads are.
As far as the tool blabks go, I have to do my research but I'm sure that someone
Somewhere fired one of these in a regular .22 These babies chamber in a LR weapons so a manifacturer
Would be liable should someone get hurt. Therefore it cannot generate more pressure than a .22 LR
Cartridge, at least in theory.
 
batjka said:
Somewhere fired one of these in a regular .22 These babies chamber in a LR weapons so a manifacturer
Would be liable should someone get hurt. Therefore it cannot generate more pressure than a .22 LR
Cartridge, at least in theory.
Click to expand...

In blank form like they are, & in a good working .22LR pistol you are possibly right because since there is no projectile to take the pressure & be forced through the barrel the pressures would be less & possibly safe but with what you are suggesting is beyond what either the manufacturer of the weapon or the Tool Cartridges intend or has tested safe practice.

Why not use Hodgdon 777/fff in it instead?
The pressures would more than likely be within limits & you'd have a bit more velocity than with real Black Powder.
 
Here's some quotes from a member named Zero_DgZ :

1) Well, I've got some double base shotgun powder lying around here but no pistol powder. Maybe I'll make up a careful load of that stuff (ought to burn slower, right?) of 1 or 1.5 grains or so and let 'er rip to see how it does.

2) Right now I'm using the NAA bullets that I got with the gun and 3.5 grains of shotgun powder from some target loads (the only smokeless I had) and it goes "bang!" real nice and doesn't seem to hurt it, but I'd rather have a second opinion...

3) I load by volume. Since the manual stateth that the little yellow scoop that comes with the thing holds "four grains" of black powder, I fill it to about the 3.5 mark and load. I have no idea what the weight is as I don't have a powder scale. The only scale I do have only has a resolution of .1 grams, so that probably isn't going to help us much...

Anyway, the shotgun powder is pretty slow burning stuff compared to pistol powders, methinks, and I'd be a lot more cautious about loading that much of a faster burning powder.
 
Wow... Well then I think you should do like he does, get some Titewad and load it to the 3.5cc mark in the dipper and use the NAA bullets that came with it. :barf:
 
I'm sorry if the magnum model isn't the same as the one being discussed below.
But if the NAA Forum still exists, then that would be a good place to ask about smokeless loads for it.
Also, THR members can be PM'd for additional information.


Post #33

It's now sold, though. From what I hear from the new owner, a scoop of Bullseye works fine, is loud as all get out (and the report is a surprisingly deep "BOOOOOOM"), and doesn't require a BP booster for ignition. The thingie is still bending, though, so he should probably call NAA and ask for a new one.
Click to expand...

Post #34

Anyway, the bent cylinder pin problem is something that happens when Bullseye is used, according to what I've read from posters on NAA's forum. It doesn't seem to happen with less nasty stuff, like Unique for example.
Click to expand...


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=355193&highlight=naa+mini&page=2
Click to expand...
 
I'm not sure who originally posted this pic, but it might give you an idea what can happen, when using a "forbidden" powder. BP guns are just for what they were designed for, and nothing else.
 

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