bp loading

[boogity8k]

can someone give me the proper loading of a bp pistol 36 cal navy revolver
amount of powder,do you need to wad ,ect,ect?

thanks in advance.

 

[dwave]

It all depends on who you talk to really. I use 20 gr. black powder with a .375 round ball (or conicals, when I use them) with crisco over the ball. Some people replace the crisco with either a wad or a lube pill. When using a wad, it goes under the ball, not on top. I figure you already know that, but I figured I would mention it anyways.

 

[Doc Rizzi]

Loading your BP pistol

I would agree with dwave in that if you ask ten different people you could get ten different answers. For my .36 I also use 20 grains of fff with a lubed wad on top of the powder. .375 or .380 balls depending on what your gun likes better. Just be sure that a small ring of lead is being shaved off when you seat the ball.

 

[boogity8k]

thanks for info

Thanks for the info on loading, can you also add what the range and accuracy I might expect?


thanks again.....

 

[dwave]

My pietta 1851 .36 doesn't give the best accuracy with round balls, but with conicals I can keep a 3 inch group at 20 yards. Not as good as my 1858 Pietta .44, but still decent. With round balls it shoots a 4 inch group at 20 yards. Most guns shoot really well with round balls, but mine doesn't really seem to like them, but I have seen Navies shoot way better than mine.

 

[mykeal]

I use 18 gr 777 with a lubed overpowder wad and a .375 ball in all my 36 cal revolvers. I have tested each with 15 to 25 gr 777 and both .375 and .380 round balls, and the 18 gr/.375 ball is the best compromise. However, I do get better accuracy with 20 grains in my Pietta Remington and 16 gr/.380 ball in my Colt Police, so it's really a matter of trying combinations to see what works best for your piece of hardware. I use the "compromise" load almost all the time to keep from getting confused between guns, and I find that I'm not really a good enough shooter to generally notice the difference, usually.

I should mention that I've never used conicals, but I may do that next summer just to see what happens.