Anything a noob should know?

[DLOWTHEMAD]

Ok so I've been reading around, and I've found alot of info that Will help me. I just kind of thought I would put this out there and see if I had missed anything important.

I'm getting a 1851 Navy colt replica from Cabela's for christmas from my mom, I didn't pick the weapon, she just thought it was a good mix of my passions for firearms and mid-1800's history. It's a kit weapon including everything but caps and powder. I have shot black pwder weapons before, but very little. I have only loaded one once(and it was a rifle). While I am confident I would do ok, I figure it's best to get advice from experienced persons.

My main questions are these:

What kind of powder should I get?(any good sources for said powder?)

Do I need anything besides what's in this kit?(especially cleaning supplies, I already have the standard modern firearms equipment)


Here's the link to the kit to help:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20817&id=0072046

thanks

 

[bejay]

you could use blackpowder if its available near you or pyrodex p works well also you will want to keep your loads light with a brass frame would probably not go over 20 grains.
may want to pick up a bore brush for the caliber if you do not already have one, maybe a brass punch for removing wedge, other things that might be helpful would be a capper to hold your caps and it does make installing them on nipples easier but some do fine without one, a loading stand to hold the revolver while loading.

 

[NCWanderer]

You forgot to tell him about the side effects of shooting BP........you know, the addiction

 

[NCWanderer]

Dlowthemad

Almost forgot. Welcome to THR. You will find a wealth of knowledge here and these guys are just itching to share it.

 

[Starter52]

Welcome to THR.

I would recommend an under-the-ball wad (Wonder Wad, etc.), especially if you're going with a light powder charge. The wad will prevent chainfires and will help with compression of a light charge.

 

[mykeal]

The starter kit appears to include balls (size?), wads, lube, nipple wrench, powder flask, powder measure and one other item I can't identify.

Good advice about keeping the loads low with the brass frame. Treat it nicely and it will give you many hours of pleasure; beat it up and it will have a short, unpleasant life.

The combination of brass frame (thus low power loads) and the short loading lever of that model bring up a potential problem: you may not be able to seat the ball on the powder. That means using the wad between the ball and powder is mandatory, and you may even need to add some inert filler such as Cream of Wheat to take up volume in the chamber. If so, the filler should go between the powder and the wad.

Ball size: there are 3 different .44 caliber ball sizes in general use: .451, .454 and .457. The way to tell the proper size is to be sure that the ball leaves a ring of lead when swaged into the chamber, and it should not take a great deal of force to do so (that short loading lever will require more force than usual, and may make loading the largest balls very difficult). You might wish to buy some other size balls in case the ones included in the kit are too large or too small (Cabela's wouldn't do that in a starter kit, would they? Uh, yeah. Don't ask).

And welcome. Keep in touch.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Welcome to the fold DLOWTHEMAD.

Make sure you read and re read the items under the BP essentials thread at the top of the page.

If you can't get real BP where you live, APP would be a good sub, and Pyrodex would do in a pinch.

Powder and caps are the only thing you'll need that aren't already in the kit.

Go out and have fun. Warn your friends and family though; they might not understand why you can't stop smiling.



FM

 

[DoubleDeuce 1]

Clean up

I use dish washing soap and water to clean mine up. Then wipe it down with some WD-40 on a patch. No problems with rust. Simple and it works.

 

[Shultzhaus]

The Balls included in Cabela's starter kits are .451

 

[Calibre44]

Hi and welcome to the 'black art' ... I would suggest shooting glasses in addition to the advice you have had. I've seen pieces of spent caps flying everywhere on occasion.

Enjoy

 

[toolslinger]

That's actually a pretty nifty kit .It comes with a capper and an adjustable powder measure as well as the flask and lube. You will need some filler (cream o wheat, cornmeal) cause you want to keep your loads light with that brass frame. I got the Pietta 1860 Army with that same kit and the balls are a little small. Try them first but you may want to look into .454 balls.
You also need to detail strip and clean off all the shipping oil before firing. Lube up all the parts with Bore Butter or some other non petroleum based lube.
Don't forget the nipples. The kit includes a pretty good wrench, use it and lube up the threads .

 

[bigbadgun]

Welcome to the addiction.
When loading that .44 you want to use balls that are big enough to shave a ring from the RB. Shhoting glasses are a must. And wad over poeder is the way to go. The cap and ball revolvers are very fun to shoot and you will get a lot of attention at the range every body asks about your stuff. Enjoy take your time to build your loads consistantly and you will have a blast
If you can get GOEX black Powder that is the best but Pyrodex does a good job.
And as it was mentioned before keep your loads light 15-20 grains for a brass frame revolver.

 

[BHP FAN]

oooh the round barrel...kinda Griswald and Gunnison-like,though I think those were only .36.Anyways,a nice ''Reb Sherrif's model. My first ever sixgun was the Navy .36 version,about thirty four years ago. What a nice Mom!

 

[DLOWTHEMAD]

Thanks everyone for the advice!!

I do have shooting glasses(I'm a huge gun nut) so I have that covered.

When I use inert filler, how much should I use?

Oh and which caps no.11 or no.11 magnum(I want to get everything so I can wake up the neighbors on christmas day)

Other than that thank you guys for the welcome, I'm usually a watch, listen and learn kind of guy, so you probably won't hear much out of me.

I haven't really had to shoot to get BP bug... I'm already as exited as when I got my first .410 shotgun when I was 10

 

[arcticap]

I would try the Remington #10's but they will all work fine as long as they fit on the nipple. And maybe the CCI #11's will fit perfectly, you never know.

I bought a Pietta 1851 .36 Navy from Cabela's for Christmas '07. When I got it, I fully disassembled it, cleaned it out, polished up some internal parts, and reassembled it. I also sanded the grips to more closely match the frame. For the money, (I believe) it is a very good C&B gun and my gun is an accurate shooter at 25 yds.

One thing I did to improve the cap firing reliability, was to polish all the nipples with emery and crocus cloth. Initially, #10 Rem caps were loose, and #10 CCI were tight (too high). While polishing, I miked them to ensure diameter consistency. Now, a CCI #10 cap fits very well on them, and the ignition reliability is virtually 100%.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=462653&highlight=pietta+1851+cap&page=3

 

[Acorn Mush]

When I use inert filler, how much should I use?

You can use plain cornmeal as a filler, in which case you really don't need a wad. Simply fill the chamber all the way to the mouth, after putting in the powder of course! Then ram the ball down slightly below the chamber mouth to allow the cylinder to freely turn. The cornmeal is quite compressible while other fillers, such as Cream of Wheat, are not. Put a dab of Crisco or other lube over the chamber mouth and you are all set.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[BHP FAN]

Also,that way when you fire,it smells like breakfast.

 

[Acorn Mush]

Also,that way when you fire,it smells like breakfast.

Also, if you miss what you're shooting at, you can still eat!

 

[Shultzhaus]

Remember the old cereal that said "shot from guns" ? Maybe you guys have something re-invented here.

 

[Acorn Mush]

Maybe you guys have something re-invented here.

Hmmmm........... . Maybe next trip to the range I'll have a try at using rice as filler. Think it'll come out like puffed rice?

 

[Cap'n Billy]

Talking about Griswald Gunnison? Try Leech Rigdon. This one is from Navy Arms/Uberti from 1974 (I didn't even know the US was importing those back then!) Let alone a repro of a COPY of a Colt!)
Cabelas is currently marketing this one under a short...WRONG! This one is in .44
Anybody know if I can swap out a 51 Navy steel frame for the brass?

 

[messerist]

Here is a .36 Leech and Rigdon from Uberti. Great shooter! I love the round barrel look also.
I hope you enjoy shooting your new Navy and good luck! Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Mert]

How Did They Do It In The Olden Days?

I am new to THR. I know I should start a new thread, but can't find the "new thread" button mentioned in FAQ, and I can't get an email through to the webmaster, so maybe nobody will mind much if I post my questions on this thread.
I am the new owner of a "howdah" pistol, .58 cal., percussion, two barrels.
I know that safe procedures call for putting a percussion cap on the nipple just before shooting, at least target shooting, but I would like to know how they did it in the olden days. A hunter could not wait until he saw a deer, and a soldier on a patrol could not wait until he saw the enemy, to put the cap on. Assuming that they put the cap on well before they fired, did they put their gun on full cock, half cock, or did they let the hammer down to rest on the cap? I also wonder about loading a gun and leaving it loaded "just in case" -- how long could you leave it loaded and expect it to fire reliably? Assuming you are using a patched round ball, would the grease on the patch soak into the powder and spoil it? Or did they leave the grease off? Thanks for any replies. Mert

 

[Chuck Dye]

Ah, another opportunity to recommend the Lyman Black Powder Handbook!

Also, the last Dixie Gun Works catalog I bought had great deal of worthwhile and fun reading in addition to the marketing stuff. Well worth the price.

 

[arcticap]

Welcome to THR Mert and congratulations for being a new Howdah owner.

can't find the "new thread" button

The new thread button is blue and at the top left of the THR black powder subforum's main or home page.

Assuming that they put the cap on well before they fired, did they put their gun on full cock, half cock, or did they let the hammer down to rest on the cap?

I don't know what they did or how safe they were. But first and foremost, never allow a capped gun to be pointed in an unsafe direction. And although 1/2 cock is a mechanical device which can fail, 1/2 cock is safer than resting a hammer on a capped nipple. But still, the gun should never be pointed in an unsafe direction even capped and on 1/2 cock.
There are cap cover devices that can be tethered so that they can be removed or fall away upon cocking.

Assuming you are using a patched round ball, would the grease on the patch soak into the powder and spoil it? Or did they leave the grease off?

There's over powder wads and buffers that can be used to separate a lubed patch from the powder. Plus there's different lube mixtures which vary in the amount of wax and oils they contain that can contaminate the powder. For instance if they used spit on the patch in the old days it would dry out quickly.