Black Powder Newbie - Questions

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carbine85

carbine85

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So after all these years I finally decided to venture into the world of black powder.
I bought the Uberti 1860 Revolver. Now I have questions
1) If the round balls fit tight and leaves a nice ring behind and I use the lubricated wad between the powder and the ball is it really necessary to use something like Bore Butter?
2) Who are the best vendors to buy supplies from? I have a Cabela's nearby but their prices really suck.
3) I think this revolver out of the box uses #10 caps and I see where a lot of guys use the #11. Why are some guys using larger caps?
I'm sure I'll have more questions coming.
 
When I use lubed wads I don't bother sealing the cylinders with grease and I have never had a problem.
There are a lot of places to get supplies online. If you watch for free shipping specials you can save a lot. I think MBC has round balls.
The nipples that come with the BP revolvers often are not the best and many people replace them. Like most BP guns, they require some tinkering to get the most accuracy.
 
No bore butter needed.
I buy black powder on line.
Cast my own balls
make my own wads from felt bought on line. (50/50 lube, bees wax Crisco)
My own cap use is dictated by availability. I us what I can find. Most often CCI # 11.
 
With lubed wads, no over ball sealant required.

Cabelas is expensive. Powder Inc. for powder. Track of the Wolf often a good source. Make your own lube as per above. Buy a punch from Harbor Freight and punch your own wads.
 
If they have gun shows in your area you can buy a lot of stuff there. Black powder and caps purchased online usually they tack on a Hazmat shipping charge that wipes out any savings. Ditto, lubed wad and a cardboard or other separator over the powder if its not going to be shot ASAP. Lube over the ball just does a good job of lubing your gun, and hands and everything else, very little goes down the barrel.
 
Ditto on making what I can. I punch my wads from felt bought from Durofelt. My punches are custom made by a retired machinist on another forum as the Harbor Freight punches I bought couldn't even cut felt! This fellow makes them the size you want (oversized) and charged me just $10 + shipping. Nothing fancy but works great and punches through 1/4" hard leather which he does to ensure it's sharp.

He makes other things as well and made me a cool short starter from a piece of antler that I also had him drill a 1/2" wide hole in to work as a palm saver as well. Works quite well.

I cast my own balls, conicals, and boolits. And I make Gatofeo's #1 lube, which is a recipe for outside lubricated bullets from the late 1800's that Gatofeo found an article about in an old magazine (40's?). It works on felt wads, cap n ball and rifle boolits, and I hear it also works for patches for patched ball shooting, though I've not tried that yet.

I order 3 lbs from Grafs as once upon a time the local BassPro didn't have 3F Triple 7 powder for months. I found 3 lbs from Grafs offset the HazMat fee. But now I usually purchase 2 lbs of Olde Eynsford BP as it's cheaper but still has plenty of horse power for my pistols.

I also buy my caps (Rem #10) online as I got tired of not finding them in stock as well.

Track of The Wolf and Dixie Gun Works are two good places to shop.
 
carbine85 said:
So after all these years I finally decided to venture into the world of black powder.
I bought the Uberti 1860 Revolver. Now I have questions
1) If the round balls fit tight and leaves a nice ring behind and I use the lubricated wad between the powder and the ball is it really necessary to use something like Bore Butter?
2) Who are the best vendors to buy supplies from? I have a Cabela's nearby but their prices really suck.
3) I think this revolver out of the box uses #10 caps and I see where a lot of guys use the #11. Why are some guys using larger caps?
I'm sure I'll have more questions coming.
Click to expand...

No, it's not completely necessary to use over ball lube or wads. What wads do is wipe the bore between each shot and keeps the gun shooting accurately. You can get a set of hollow punches at harbor freight, (get their drill press mounted ones, they're the way to go and around the same price), and punch your own wads out of wool felt which can be purchased at Duro Felt- http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html. Cabelas usually has black powder substitute like Pyrodex for around $20 which is reasonable, I would also recommend getting a good quality nipple wrench because the cheap ones strip easily. The Ted Cash Racheting wrench or the Ted Cash "T" style wrench are good http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ted-Cash-Bl...761029?hash=item5691c47dc5:g:LOIAAOSwGotWpQ96.
Go with #10's, that's the size that will fit your pistol best probably. You can use #11's as well, just give them a quick pinch before putting it on the nipple.
I would recommend going with .454" diameter round balls.
And don't get the Cabelas starter pack, that is a ripoff.
 
carbine85 said:
Which powder are you guys using and why do you prefer Using it?
Click to expand...

My guns are for hunting, and because of that I require a more energetic powder. Swiss, Olde Eynsford by Goex, and Triple 7 give my Remington NMA the oomph of a standard .45 ACP (350-425 ft/lbs), and my Ruger a bit over .45 Colt (450-525 ft/lbs). Otherwise they'd struggle to get up to about 275-350 ft/lbs). My NMA is more accurate with 30 grns and my Ruger with 35 grns.



Note that despite reducing his loads by 15% he still outpaced standard Goex powder.

I began using 3F Triple 7 as it was all I could find locally. Now I buy my powder online and use mostly Olde Eynsford, though I still use T7 a little.

I use this same powder in my .50 cal muzzleloader as well.
 
I put a dab or bore butter on the Arbor of my Pietta 44 Colts. Seems to help with fouling. I also will put a tiny dab on the nipple threads after cleaning the cylinder. Find with caps - you need to buy bulk online and pay the hazmat fee. I bought 1k Remington #10's from Cabela's but should just buy 5k to 10k and be done with that for a couple years.

A local shop Cherokee Firearms in Springfield MO carries Black Powder. They carry all sizes of Graf's and Son's BP which is Scheutzen. I've slowly working through a couple 1lb cans of FFFg. I previously had shot Pyrodex Pellets. I like the reals stuff better.

I learned a bunch watching Duelist1954's videos on cleaning, loading, and shooting BP revolvers and would recommend you spend some time watching them:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrzQir9WP9UpH8qtWx_ppw
 
PUT THE REVOLVER BACK IN THE BOX, AND HAND IT TO A FRIEND TO RETURN IT, THEN WALK SLOWLY AWAY! This may be your only warning....

You see, once you take that out and fire it, you will be infected with the black powder virus. You will find the need to acquire more than that single revolver. You will probably need two revolvers, plus perhaps a short, vest pocket version. THEN you will need to get a long gun, probably a rifle, which will probably lead you to more than one, and if you get a really bad case of the virus, you might even try...., dare I say it....a FLINTOCK! :eek:

THEN that will probably lead to your attending events, requiring special clothing, and special tents, and a special vehicle to haul all that stuff. Your interests in other rifles will wane, and you will find you only want to shoot the Holy Black, and if you hunt, only to hunt with the Holy Black.

FLEE WHILE YOU STILL CAN! SAVE YOURSELF....IT'S TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF US......

LD
 
Loyalist Dave said:
PUT THE REVOLVER BACK IN THE BOX, AND HAND IT TO A FRIEND TO RETURN IT, THEN WALK SLOWLY AWAY! This may be your only warning....

You see, once you take that out and fire it, you will be infected with the black powder virus. You will find the need to acquire more than that single revolver. You will probably need two revolvers, plus perhaps a short, vest pocket version. THEN you will need to get a long gun, probably a rifle, which will probably lead you to more than one, and if you get a really bad case of the virus, you might even try...., dare I say it....a FLINTOCK! :eek:

THEN that will probably lead to your attending events, requiring special clothing, and special tents, and a special vehicle to haul all that stuff. Your interests in other rifles will wane, and you will find you only want to shoot the Holy Black, and if you hunt, only to hunt with the Holy Black.

FLEE WHILE YOU STILL CAN! SAVE YOURSELF....IT'S TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF US......

LD
Click to expand...
Actually I already have my Great Grandfather's 1848 U.S. Springfield rifle. It's in pretty good shape and solid.
 
Loyalist Dave said:
EGAD, WE'RE TOO LATE..., :uhoh:
Click to expand...
Yes, we've failed him. That being said...

Cap sizes aren't really standardized. For example, CCI 11s are larger than CCI 10s, but not the same size as RWS 11s. You'll just have to find what size/manufacturer combo fits on the nipples. Probably worth noting that nipple sizes aren't standardized, either. Those of us here who have invested heavily in caps that wouldn't run a particular gun have solved the problem by buying a gun those caps WOULD fit. Don't think about it, just roll with it.
 
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