Cowboy Action rounds out of a .44 Mag?

[Beowolf1911]

I was looking to make cowboy action rounds to shoot out of my .44 mag Ruger super Blackhawk with a 5.5 inch barrel. Has anyone tried this? A buddy of mine has a ruger old army and I figured I could use this as a base, I was thinking a 180 grain lead ball with 25 grains of black powder. If anyone has any experience in this field please let me know. This way when everyone is shooting their cap an ball pistols I can make clouds of smoke too, that is until can get one of my own.

 

[Sharps Shooter]

Beowolf, you do know when loading cartridge cases with black powder you can't have left over space in the cases after seating the bullets, don't you? In fact I, and most other black powder cartridge shooters I know of like the black powder charges slightly compressed.
How would anyone here know whether or not 25 grains of the black powder you want to use would fill your .44 Magnum cases enough to where you'll have no left over air space in your cases once your bullets are seated? I could go down in my basement to my loading bench and give 25 grains of black powder a try in a .44 Magnum case, but then I have no idea what granulation of the black powder you want to use is, nor do I know how far into your cases you want to push your 180 grain "balls?"
Okay, now let's here from all the "black powder is measured by volume, smokeless powder is measured by weight" gurus. Yeah, I know that. It still takes a specific weight of a specific granulation of black powder to fill a cartridge case to a specific volume. And with black powder, or black powder replicas, you don't want left over space in that case once your bullet is seated.

 

[Jim Watson]

In the BP cartridge era, there were gallery loads with a round ball down in the case over a light powder charge. They were not particularly accurate and fouled the gun worse than full charge loads.
If you want to shoot black powder, shoot it right. A standard weight bullet with BP lube and plenty of it, seated over a settled and compressed charge of black. It will be smoky and powerful.

 

[ThomasT]

Light .44 loads

You might want to try using .44 Russian brass and 180 grain lead bullets. The shorter case would limit the amount of powder which does need to be against the base of the bullet, and the lighter bullet will reduce recoil and probably be much more accurate than round balls. But trying is half the fun.

I have loaded round balls with smokeless in my .32 and .357 revolvers and did not get very good accuracy. However when i shot a round ball load out of my marlin 1894 .357 it gave me 1 to 2" groups at 40 yards. That was 3 grains of Bullseye in a .357 case with the bullet seated half way in. The powder did not burn completely. I have since seated the bullets into the case to reduce the empty space. I have not shot them yet.

If you use the shorter brass you will most likely have to get the proper dies.

 

[JesseL]

If you're just going for light loads, wouldn't it be possible to just make the charge of black powder as light as you like (within reason) and seat the bullet as deep as necessary to lightly compress the powder? You might get some funny looking loads, but I don't see why they wouldn't work.

 

[Beowolf1911]

I have not messed too much with black powder but I know then when I load a very hot round with my .44 at 19 grains of H110 The bullet will not seat as deep as the same round on my normal 14 grain loads. I don't know the density of BP compared to smokeless but I don't think too much space will be my problem I think too little space will be. My biggest concern is avoiding a squib. I looked up some lead round nose rounds ad found a 180 grain that looks appealing. Thanks for the input guys, I found it very helpful If I ever actually try it I will post the results for you all to see.

 

[stellarpod]

Beowolf1911:

Cowboy Action shooting is great fun and there is a wide variety of genre. Some really get into the authenticity of the game, making sure that every aspect of their rig is historically correct. Others lean more toward the "B-movie" variety. Then there are the majority of us that fall somewhere in between.

I'm curious as to why you are opting for black powder in your Ruger Blackhawk? Although the Blackhawk is a fine revolver and is absolutely legal to use in CAS, it is certainly not a black powder gun, nor period correct. I use two SS Ruger Vaqueros with 7-1/2" barrels. These are of course also not period-correct, but do mimic the old Colts a bit closer. The smokeless load I've used for years is as follows:

• 200 gr. lead bullet
• 4.8 gr. of Clay's
• Winchester Large Pistol primer

This is a bit under middle of the road for a cowboy load per Hodgdon's "Cowboy Action Data" documentation. It's a real pussycat to shoot and you don't have all the mess that black powder leaves to clean up. Of course, you don't have the romance of that deep roar and the resulting stage-set cloud of smoke either.

I'm not knocking the use of black powder, but just thought you might reconsider it with your Blackhawk.

stellarpod

 

[Beowolf1911]

I wasn't really looking for atuhentisity, just something to make alot of smoke with until I get a cap and ball gun. One of the guys I shoot with has a cap and ball and another is getting one, I was just looking to fill the role until a new toy fit's into my budget.

 

[KevininPa]

Beowolf wants the roar and the smoke Stellarpod, I'm the guy he shoots with and I have a Ruger Old Army. That's why he's looking for a black powder load. He has one of those Lee hand loaders so at least it can take him as long to load as me. As a matter of fact, maybe that should be a rule if he's gonna do black with me, just to even the playing field!

 

[stellarpod]

I completely understand. That's what sets CAS apart from most other shooting disciplines - there's room for everyone, and for most people, it's more about fun than competition. Have a great time guys.

stellarpod