Cap and ball, proper loading.
- Thread starter MilsurpShooter
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PistolPete45
Member
I like the wonder wads and a little bore butter on top of the ball Recall one guy that used peanut butter .. Oh well to each his own .. Peanut Butter????? hahahahaha
zimmerstutzen
Member
Colt's instructions supplied with the products while based in Hartford, expressly said not to use a wad over the powder. As far as I am concerned, that is the Word of God as to proper loading.
dickydalton
Member
Wow. What happened to the geometry lesson?
And Dixie Gun Works sells more cap n ball revolvers than Colt, and they say Use Wads!
zimmerstutzen
Member
How many 100 of packages of wads would Dixie sell without trying to sell useless accessories?
Dixie is in sales same as "Honest Dealin' Daves Used As Is Cars"
Dixie is in sales same as "Honest Dealin' Daves Used As Is Cars"
Willie Sutton
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Fellas...
The bottom line is that it just ain't that critical....
Powder and ball with nothin' else works fine, no grease nor nothin'. That's likely how more than one of our grand-pops shot their shootin-irons in a pinch, if not more or less all the time. Grease isn't always plentiful on the range, and often times the cook at the chuck wagon wasn't gonna share any. Better to use it on the griddle than for you dumb cowpokes always wantin' ter grease yer bores. And he better not catch ya boilin' yer filthy shootin-iron in the wash water kettle neither, no matter if it cleans them up or not.
Truly... if you want to shoot a cylinder or two, you can do it dry without a problem. And in the old days when these were tools and not toys, a cylinder was a *lot* of shooting. I would BET that most self defense revolvers were loaded dry and kept that way. It's the only way to *absolutely* prevent grease from melting from an under-ball wad and wetting down the powder. Think West Texas and July and you'll get the picture. Grease over the ball in the desert for a gun holstered and carried? You *must* be kidding..... And as for paper cartridge loading... well... no grease there 'neither.
Bottom line: Lube is a modern convenience for those of us who shoot a lot on any one day. Lube softens fouling. There's 1000 sorts that will work, and a hundred ways to do it. The fact that there isn't any ONE way that is agreed on by the vast majority of folks shooting these tells us one thing: It ain't that critical how ya do it....
Willie
(Wipin' his lips after breakfast and thinkin' about a second cup-o-coffee. I'd hate to think of what would happen if I grabbed some bacon-fat from the blonde's griddle-cup to grease my balls.....
)
.
The bottom line is that it just ain't that critical....
Powder and ball with nothin' else works fine, no grease nor nothin'. That's likely how more than one of our grand-pops shot their shootin-irons in a pinch, if not more or less all the time. Grease isn't always plentiful on the range, and often times the cook at the chuck wagon wasn't gonna share any. Better to use it on the griddle than for you dumb cowpokes always wantin' ter grease yer bores. And he better not catch ya boilin' yer filthy shootin-iron in the wash water kettle neither, no matter if it cleans them up or not.
Truly... if you want to shoot a cylinder or two, you can do it dry without a problem. And in the old days when these were tools and not toys, a cylinder was a *lot* of shooting. I would BET that most self defense revolvers were loaded dry and kept that way. It's the only way to *absolutely* prevent grease from melting from an under-ball wad and wetting down the powder. Think West Texas and July and you'll get the picture. Grease over the ball in the desert for a gun holstered and carried? You *must* be kidding..... And as for paper cartridge loading... well... no grease there 'neither.
Bottom line: Lube is a modern convenience for those of us who shoot a lot on any one day. Lube softens fouling. There's 1000 sorts that will work, and a hundred ways to do it. The fact that there isn't any ONE way that is agreed on by the vast majority of folks shooting these tells us one thing: It ain't that critical how ya do it....
Willie
(Wipin' his lips after breakfast and thinkin' about a second cup-o-coffee. I'd hate to think of what would happen if I grabbed some bacon-fat from the blonde's griddle-cup to grease my balls.....
).
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whughett
Member
Well said Mr Sutton, er, well typed.
Crawdad1
Member
I agree 100%.
Panzerschwein
member
Yes, but I'm not out on the range. I like to use my greased wads as I can palpably see that they improve bore cleanliness dramatically, and make cleanup a snap.Fellas...
The bottom line is that it just ain't that critical....
Powder and ball with nothin' else works fine, no grease nor nothin'. That's likely how more than one of our grand-pops shot their shootin-irons in a pinch, if not more or less all the time. Grease isn't always plentiful on the range, and often times the cook at the chuck wagon wasn't gonna share any. Better to use it on the griddle than for you dumb cowpokes always wantin' ter grease yer bores. And he better not catch ya boilin' yer filthy shootin-iron in the wash water kettle neither, no matter if it cleans them up or not.
Truly... if you want to shoot a cylinder or two, you can do it dry without a problem. And in the old days when these were tools and not toys, a cylinder was a *lot* of shooting. I would BET that most self defense revolvers were loaded dry and kept that way. It's the only way to *absolutely* prevent grease from melting from an under-ball wad and wetting down the powder. Think West Texas and July and you'll get the picture. Grease over the ball in the desert for a gun holstered and carried? You *must* be kidding..... And as for paper cartridge loading... well... no grease there 'neither.
Bottom line: Lube is a modern convenience for those of us who shoot a lot on any one day. Lube softens fouling. There's 1000 sorts that will work, and a hundred ways to do it. The fact that there isn't any ONE way that is agreed on by the vast majority of folks shooting these tells us one thing: It ain't that critical how ya do it....
Willie
(Wipin' his lips after breakfast and thinkin' about a second cup-o-coffee. I'd hate to think of what would happen if I grabbed some bacon-fat from the blonde's griddle-cup to grease my balls.....
.
But, as Willie said, yes... it is not strictly necessary to do this but also no reason not to considering how easy they are to make/buy and how they improve performance.
JMHO.
Willie Sutton
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- Joined
- Apr 28, 2013
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- 2,025
Yes, but I'm not out on the range. I like to use my greased wads as I can palpably see that they improve bore cleanliness dramatically, and make cleanup a snap.
Precisely.
They are a *modern convenience* and as such, "what works for you works for you". There's no safety reason at all to do this (in fact grease may be an element in causing a powder-train to form between one chamber and another, leading to chain-firing), and everything we do with lube is just to keep them shootin' longer between cleanings, and to make that cleanup easier. So use what works and enjoy.
I go back and forth between lubed wads and bore-butter smeared over the ball, personally, usually depending on how hard the winds-a-blowin' and how cold my fingers are. Greasing over the ball using a tube-o-lube is easier in the summer desert wind and the frigid winter plains than fussin' with wads, but is messier. I go with the lowest workload solution for the day at hand and give it no more thought than that. All of the balls seem to go downrange just the same and cleanup is about the same too. When I load at home on the bench, I always use wads. In the field for the second round I usually smear grease. Six-o-one and half a dozen of the 'nother, seems to me. Sometimes I say "screw it", pour the cylinders not quite flush with powder, blow the excess off a little with my lungs to get some space for the balls and clean the end of the cylinder, ram 'em home dry, and shoot 'em. And that's about as precisely as it was ever done in the olden times in the heat-o-things with arrows in the air, horses boltin', and men hollering.
Willie
.
Precisely.
They are a *modern convenience* and as such, "what works for you works for you". There's no safety reason at all to do this (in fact grease may be an element in causing a powder-train to form between one chamber and another, leading to chain-firing), and everything we do with lube is just to keep them shootin' longer between cleanings, and to make that cleanup easier. So use what works and enjoy.
I go back and forth between lubed wads and bore-butter smeared over the ball, personally, usually depending on how hard the winds-a-blowin' and how cold my fingers are. Greasing over the ball using a tube-o-lube is easier in the summer desert wind and the frigid winter plains than fussin' with wads, but is messier. I go with the lowest workload solution for the day at hand and give it no more thought than that. All of the balls seem to go downrange just the same and cleanup is about the same too. When I load at home on the bench, I always use wads. In the field for the second round I usually smear grease. Six-o-one and half a dozen of the 'nother, seems to me. Sometimes I say "screw it", pour the cylinders not quite flush with powder, blow the excess off a little with my lungs to get some space for the balls and clean the end of the cylinder, ram 'em home dry, and shoot 'em. And that's about as precisely as it was ever done in the olden times in the heat-o-things with arrows in the air, horses boltin', and men hollering.
Willie
.
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MilsurpShooter
Member
Again guys much appreciated. I sure as heck didn't mean to open up a can of worms with this so for that I do apologize. Only reason I asked about the cleanliness was because the range is upstate and in the woods quite a bit (Can't go local, they ban blackpowder at the few indoors because the ventilation system can't handle it)
Going to have to lug everything in and then back out. No sink or running water or the like to clean off the hands or the guns themselves for that matter. Less grease I can get on my clothing for the ride home the better.
Anyway here's some more pictures
Going to have to lug everything in and then back out. No sink or running water or the like to clean off the hands or the guns themselves for that matter. Less grease I can get on my clothing for the ride home the better.
Anyway here's some more pictures
Panzerschwein
member
Yes willie, but hopefully if you were in those days you had some paper cartridges, which were very common for military and civilian use, to load your revolver with.
Now that's a whole 'nuther subject unto itself!
Now that's a whole 'nuther subject unto itself!
BCRider
Member
Just wrap the gun up in a rag before you go. Then wrap up the greasy, powder stained lump in that same rag for the trip home.
It's not going to rust into a useless lump in a few hours. In fact at times I've had to leave cleaning to the next day. These cleaned up just fine with no signs of rust from sitting fouled overnight.
It's not going to rust into a useless lump in a few hours. In fact at times I've had to leave cleaning to the next day. These cleaned up just fine with no signs of rust from sitting fouled overnight.
MilsurpShooter
Member
Oh I'm not worried about the rust BC. More of the powder fouling gumming up the cylinder. I'm bringing a basic cleaning kit with me just to get the barrel clear and the cylinder arbor cleaned up. Just don't want to have to cut the shooting short because I've got a pistol that needs a cleaning and nothing to do it with lol
Crawdad1
Member
MilsurpShooter, great lookin Walker.
Dframe
Member
Bring along some "wet wipes" or "baby wipes". They'll do great for wiping your hands and cleaning off the exterior of your gun. Wipe on a thin layer of bore butter or other BP lube and you're done until you can get home to do a more thorough cleaning. Great looking revolver.
BCRider
Member
Then you don't have anything to worry about. The fouling won't gum up if left for a few hours or even a day. It'll be the same condition a day or two later as it is within seconds after shooting the gun.
The ONE possible reason why it would gum up if left might be if you use petroleum based gun oils other than those recognized as being compatible with black powder and BP substitutes. But you're not going to do that are you?
I keep it very simple. I just load the powder and ram the ball over that. I've done that, capped the nipples, and let it sit for a year. All six went bang
As for fouling and clean up, i'm sure the lube helps, but I don't really mind it. A little windex and some hot water, and my guns are clean. Oil 'em up a bit after a good drying and they're ready to shoot.
And yes, that is great looking Walker. I have a strong feeling that a big ol' hogleg like that is going to be my next pistol purchase.
As for fouling and clean up, i'm sure the lube helps, but I don't really mind it. A little windex and some hot water, and my guns are clean. Oil 'em up a bit after a good drying and they're ready to shoot.
And yes, that is great looking Walker. I have a strong feeling that a big ol' hogleg like that is going to be my next pistol purchase.
MilsurpShooter
Member
Nope hadn't planned on it. But from reading various accounts and information I was under the assumption that if I was going to put multiple rounds down range over the course of a full day of shooting, that eventually the cylinder would jam up due to fouling. If that isn't the case then it will make everything a bit easier. Chances are I'd still bring the cleaning kit I've got packed up just in case however.
Crawdad1
Member
Are you sure they're worried about the ventilation or that giant Walker of yours punching big holes in the building's walls?
After years of smearing grease into the chambers, and getting too much on me, I finally went to loading cartridges at home, at leisure, using a lubricated wad under the ball or bullet. I have had no chainfires but admit that I haven't shot as much C&B as many of the folks here.
Jim
Jim
BCRider
Member
Oh! It WILL stiffen up from shooting it. I only promised that it would be no worse in a day or two than it was at the time of the last round fired ! ! ! !
I prattle on and on about the joys of Canola oil in these threads but this is one place where it's easy to try it yourself and easy to see the immediate difference. I've mentioned that I seal and lubricate the balls with a drop or two on the joint in the chambers. But I also put a drop or two at the joint on the front face that leads to the arbor or base pin depending on it being a Colt or Remington. With that in place I work the fore/aft play a little and give the cylinder a couple of spins. If the arbor or base pin was becoming jammed with fouling the Canola oil immediately mixes with and eases the fouling. A cylinder that starts feeling quite stiff will respond to this and now I can spin it easily.
And hey, if it doesn't do as I promise you can always use it for cooking. It's supposed to be quite "heart smart" as a cooking oil.
In researching this stuff I learned that the last of the steam powered freighters and possibly some warships used this same oil, then generically known as rape seed oil, on the valving in the steam controls. Seems that it didn't tend to wash away like petroleum oils at those temperatures.
dickydalton
Member
I put 48 rounds through my Goonerized 1851 Colt today without it jamming up from fouling. I was using wads from the Possible Shop lubed with Gatefoe #1 and 380 balls & 21 grains of Olde Eynsford. Instead of cleaning it tonight, I think I'll load it up and see how long it'll go tomorrow. The Goon says that it needs to be broke in "Properly".
Officers'Wife
Member
Oil, smoil...Oh! It WILL stiffen up from shooting it. I only promised that it would be no worse in a day or two than it was at the time of the last round fired ! ! ! !
I prattle on and on about the joys of Canola oil in these threads but this is one place where it's easy to try it yourself and easy to see the immediate difference. I've mentioned that I seal and lubricate the balls with a drop or two on the joint in the chambers. But I also put a drop or two at the joint on the front face that leads to the arbor or base pin depending on it being a Colt or Remington. With that in place I work the fore/aft play a little and give the cylinder a couple of spins. If the arbor or base pin was becoming jammed with fouling the Canola oil immediately mixes with and eases the fouling. A cylinder that starts feeling quite stiff will respond to this and now I can spin it easily.
And hey, if it doesn't do as I promise you can always use it for cooking. It's supposed to be quite "heart smart" as a cooking oil.
In researching this stuff I learned that the last of the steam powered freighters and possibly some warships used this same oil, then generically known as rape seed oil, on the valving in the steam controls. Seems that it didn't tend to wash away like petroleum oils at those temperatures.
Well a block of steel with a 1/2 hole drill in it that fits over a short piece of 1/2 steel rod. Take a small square of newspaper,put a bb size ball of beeswax in it, crumple it up put it in the half inch hole, insert another 1/2 steel rod and hit with a couple times with a 4 pount single jack. (Hammer) The result is a really nice lubricated wad.
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