45 Colt Black Powder Cartridge Shooting

[ClemBert]

It was a beautiful day down here in Orlando today. Sunny, 72 degrees, and little or no breeze. I decided to take out my Ruger Old Army with conversion cylinder and shoot some 45 Colt black powder cartridges I loaded up a few months ago. This was the first time loading 45 Colt cartridges and the first time using BP to load cartridges. This was also the first time shooting with the conversion cylinder.

The cartridges were loaded with 35 and 40 grains of Goex FFFg, Walter Wad, and 250 grain RNFP lead bullet. All I can say is that it was a blast literally and figuratively.





I have a question though. I seem to recall reading about neutralizing the black powder residue on the spent brass. What all are y'all doing with your spent brass to neutralize and clean up your brass?

 

[Pulp]

Easiest way is to take a milk jug with water and a bit of soap with you to the range. Drop your empties in the jug as you unload. The ride home will slosh things around. Then drain, rinse the soap off, refill the jug and add some plain old white vinegar. Let that soak about 10 minutes, then rinse them very thoroughly, dry and tumble.

 

[dwave]

Hey, I take my brass and wash them in hot soapy water. I generally use the plastic coffee cans with the resealable lids, dump my brass in in, fill it up in hot water, add dawn soap. Then I shake them up a while and drain the water and run a rinse.

After drying they go in my tumbler.

 

[ClemBert]

Hmmmm, I knew I knew enough about the subject to be dangerous. I dropped the spent brass in a solution of 1/3 vinegar 2/3 water as I unloaded the cylinder. The brass sat in the solution for several hours. Oppppps! Now I know why the brass has a slight reddish color....hope the tumbler cleans them up.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[sundance44s]

They will clean up just fine ..I`ve made the mistake with the vinegar/water before myself .
In fact I let mine sit in it over nite ..
Now I just soak them in hot soapy water for an hour when I get home and run the small end of a baby bottle brush inside each case, rinse dry and tumble .
I use nut media in my tumbler ...seems like corn cob media was quicker to clean the black powder ...but the nut media last longer .
Your brass will last much longer if you only load black powder also .

45 and 35 gr loads under a .250 gr bullet is loaded for bear isn`t it ...,
I have reduced my loading down to 30 grs of 3F and a .060 card ...not much compression seating the bullet ...and they are still stout loads .

 

[Macgille]

Truthfully, I don't clean up the brass until I have reloaded it several times (10). I don't see much need for it. when I do clean them up I use HOT soapy water, dry them for a couple of days then tumble them.

 

[dwave]

Truthfully, I don't clean up the brass until I have reloaded it several times (10).

Are you shooting real black powder out of them?

 

[ClemBert]

Truthfully, I don't clean up the brass until I have reloaded it several times (10).

Hmmm, after just shooting them once they get pretty nasty. I'd hate to try to reload with nasty soot covered brass.

 

[dwave]

That is what I was thinking too, unless it is smokeless used. There is no way I would run cases with BP residue all over them through my dies.

 

[sundance44s]

Hard enough to keep my dies clean ..without running dirty brass .