45 BP cartriges?

It would be a touch sharper and louder due to the heavier bullet. And I think that a modern style casing with a 250gn bullet holds a hair more than 35gns so that would also help.

But the softer "THUMP" natural to black powder and pyrodex would still be there when compared to the sharp "CRACK!" with smokeless.

I also found that with my .357Mag casings the one time I loaded one with BP instead of Pyrodex to try that the BP one "might" have been a little longer of a thump than the Pyrodex. But they were so close to each other it may well have just been my imagination.

Definitely a boom more than a crack. Perhaps a bit louder than a C&B. But it still has that BP push recoil instead a slam or slap. (Nice precise terms, huh?)

Remember, you'll have to clean the brass as well as the revolver. I pop out the spent primers and drop the cases in a container of water before leaving the range. When I clean the gun I use a 45 caliber bristle brush to scrub out the cases then let them air dry thoroughly.

Jeff

Exterior appearance of a .45 colt loaded with BP or smokeless is exactly the same. You can't tell them apart. Well, that is until you fire it, then you get that wonderfully obscured vision and the robust aroma of burnt BP.

Are you guys talking about loading a modern revolver cartridge with black powder? If thats possible I would like to try this.

It's very possible. I load 45-70 for a rolling block rife and 45 Colt for a Ruger Vaquero. I use the same cast bullets as I do for smokeless. Regular primers, the proper amount of black powder, a lubed felt wad pushed in to place with the eraser end of a pencil, then the bullet seated so it lightly compresses the powder. This ammo can be very accurate. Don't expect magnum power levels but BP cartridges have been proving their effectiveness for a long time. Besides, they are a lot of fun. Pyrodex will work but I only use real black powder since I have ready access to it at bulk prices.

As I mentioned above, you have to clean the cases as well as the revolver. If you aren't familiar with maintaining BP guns, be sure to check out the process.

Jeff

Waho, its more than possible. Any of the common revolver cartridges are perfect candidates for loading with black powder to see what the fun is all about.

The ONLY downside is that the gun has to be fully cleaned after the day of shooting. And the other downside is that you will want to give the bore and cylinder chambers a clean and re-oil them with an oil that is more compatible with black powder and substitutes. And that oil is Ballistol. Or since you'll be cleaning and oiling the gun that evening or the next day at the latest you can use another option.... Canola cooking oil. It works superbly as a black powder gun oil FOR SHORT TERM USE.

The night before solvent out your cylinder and bore. Then apply and wipe off the excess with Ballistol or Canola and go shoot normally the next day.

If you're shooting jacketed bullets I think you'll be just fine. But it would not hurt to wipe down the noses of the bullets with a finger smear of that same Ballistol or Canola so it tends to wipe down the bore as it runs down the barrel.

If you're shooting cast bullets they tend to not use a wax for the lube which is black powder friendly. But if you can check with the bullet maker to see if they are using some lube which is OK for black powder and subs. If in doubt I'd say wipe down the noses with some Ballistol or Canola again.

When fired the nose oil will bounce and disperse well enough that some of it will work to lubricate the chamber and bore and keep the fouling soft.

.38Special and .357Mag are both great for black powder. .44 mag from a .44mag gun sure won't be anywhere near close to peak pressure and of course .45Colt was a black powder cartridge for many years before smokless came onto the scene.

The Super Revolver rounds like .454 Casull, .460S&W Mag and .500S&W Mag would all be well under their peak pressures with cases full of black as well.

With a hand ejector revolver the fouling WILL get into the center bearing and the cylinder WILL become stiff to turn. A drop or two of Ballistol or Canola into the joint and giving the cylinder a good spin will free it up. But the goop will totally pollute the ejector shaft parts. So removing the cylinder and breaking down the ejector shaft for cleaning is an iron clad "must do". But that's about a two minute job so no biggie.

The only other important factor if you're new to black powder is NO AIR GAPS! ! You FILL the whole case to where there's about half the room needed for the bullet. That way when seating the bullet you'll correctly compress the powder charge. If you do not do this the powder can burn or explode the whole charge at the same time and the pressure peak will make a smokeless round look like baby food. You seriously run the risk of a too small charge of black being able to break your gun.

But when the larger amount of powder is correctly packed it burns politely from the one end to the other while the bullet is being pushed down the bore. And all is well.

If you don't want to use a FULL case of powder than use a filler such as oat bran or cream of wheat so that once again the case is filled first with black then with a separate layer of the filler then the bullet. Again you want to compress the charge and filler by about half a bullet seating depth or even a hair more.

Got it? NO LOOSE POWDER IN THE CARTRIDGES ! ! ! ! ! You need some or more compression. It ain't smokeless.

So load up enough to make the cleaning worthwhile and go make some SMOKE! You'll also get to feel the friendly THUMP! from the black powder instead of the "CRACK!" of smokeless loads.

I use them in a Conversion Cylinder, they are great, more accurate and a heck of a lot less smoke but still loaded with a black powder product, Hey 750 FPS, Can do the job UP close.

Howdy

Funny you should ask. I just came up from the ammo bench after loading 150 rounds of 44 Russian with Black Powder.



I have a big CAS match next weekend, loaded 200 rounds of 44-40 last night. Still have to load up some 12 gauge shells.

Yes, ALL the old, standard late 19th Century cartridges were originally loaded with Black Powder. 45 Colt, 45 Schofield, 44-40, 44 Russian, 38-40, 45-70 to name just a few. Here is a box of 45 Colt ammo from 1874. Notice that these are the military 30 grain loads, not the commercial 40 grain loads.






No, they are not rimfire, they are Benet primed, which is an early style of centerfire cartridge that used internal priming. A modern round is all the way on the right.






A few things. I have loaded thousands of rounds with Black Powder. I have never scrubbed out the inside of any of them. Completely unnecessary. Black Powder lights very easily, no need to scrub the inside of the case. You may have noticed that my 44 Russian brass is stained dark. That is because I don't usually get around to loading it right away. Yes, you do have to dump your brass into water right away or it will corrode. But you do not have to clean it up right away. Sometimes my BP brass sits in my rinse jar for weeks. It gets pretty black. After plenty of rinsing, I dry it and tumble it. If you look carefully, you will see my brass may be stained, but it is well polished. I always say that shiny brass doesn't shoot any better, it's just easier to find in the grass.

About cleaning your guns after shooting BP. Again, I am swimming against the tide, but you DO NOT have to clean your guns immediately. In the old days, the combination of corrosive primers and Black Powder fouling caused corrosion. But we don't use corrosive primers anymore. With modern primers, Black Powder fouling is no where near as corrosive as most folks think. I try to clean my guns within a week of shooting them with BP. Sometimes I go a little bit longer if I can't get to them.

Based on a local guy that mimics Driftwood in not cleaning right away all the time I've been known to leave mine for a day or two. But I won't do that if it's very humid. If that's the case I clean them that evening or the very next morning if I'm just too tired to stand upright without risking drowning in the wash bucket.

Being a BPCR silhouette and midrange shooter, I don't generate large volumes of fired brass. I normally decap at the range between relays and drop cases in a jar of soapy water. Rinse, wet tumble, rinse and dry at home. Sometimes they come out bright, sometimes not, but always clean and ready to reload.

I normally clean my single shot rifle at the range. It doesn't take long and I am not sooting up my gun case.

Thanks for all the info, I'll be loading some for my 44mag. I do have a question regarding crimping, is it needed?

With plated and jacketed I aim for a nicely straight wall with no crimp or a very slight crimp as shown by the reflection of the light off the sides of the casing. The neck tension on these should be enough to hold the bullets firmly against moving with recoil.

With cast I like a moderate crimp that is going to hold the bullet in place against any recoil. You can see the amount that I also like to use in DJ's picture of the old and new ammo up above.

Thank You, one more question, regular or magnum primers?

I've only used regular primers and have had consistent results. I'll be curious to see if anyone suggests magnum primers.

Jeff

BullRunBear said:

I've only used regular primers and have had consistent results. I'll be curious to see if anyone suggests magnum primers.

Jeff

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The only primers I use for every large pistol are Winchester WLP for Standard or Magnum loads.

BP cartridges go bang with either one. I doubt you will be able to notice a difference without a chronograph, and not much with one. I buy whichever is on sale.

Howdy

Black Powder ignites more easily than Smokeless. I have always used regular primers, never needed Magnums.