docfubar
Member
I was hoping someone here could help me out. I would like to be able to set up a blank load in my 1858 uberti remington. What would be the best medium to keep the powder packed so all I get is sound and flame?
How to load blank loads in an 1858 remmy
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P95Carry
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All I used - and it was IIRC quite effective - was a tight wad of kitchen paper ... rolled into a tight ball and rammed home. Charge was usual - 25 grains or so.
It does emerge tho often as a flaming item and so - care with where it lands!
It does emerge tho often as a flaming item and so - care with where it lands!
Chuck Dye
Member
I use Oxyoke Wonder Wads in my Armi San Paolo 1858. I’ve never wanted to load blanks, but I am sure they will work fine. There is also the possibility of making your own wads from heavy felt, cardboard, or any number of materials. The wads need to be slightly oversized, so I would try a fired, decapped (so you can punch out the wad with a stiff wire) .45ACP, .45 Colt, .458whatever, as a cutter (brass cases can be chamfered, or sharpened as wadcutters, with a knife blade) and go larger if they leak, smaller if they are a nuisance to seat.
docfubar
Member
Kitchen paper? do you mean freezer paper? If so that is easy. I just want to be able to do this for s***s and grins and to make some noise tomorrow 
Don't want any falling lead or hitting my father in laws irrigation lines
Don't want any falling lead or hitting my father in laws irrigation lines P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
doc ... no - just that ''mop-it-all-up'' stuff on a roll. The ''super-absorbant'' clean up all your mess deal!! In fact even at a pinch - darned toilet paper will work.
Thing is - tear some off and roll it into a real well compacted tight ball ... then use ram rod to bed that real tight onto the charge. Being tight is what matters - - give that powder some time to develop pressure.
I daresay too - a tight wad of Reyolds Wrap would work too - not gonna be much weight and so minimal risk.
Me?? It'll be some .308 blanks in my old Mauser 1916!!!
Thing is - tear some off and roll it into a real well compacted tight ball ... then use ram rod to bed that real tight onto the charge. Being tight is what matters - - give that powder some time to develop pressure.
I daresay too - a tight wad of Reyolds Wrap would work too - not gonna be much weight and so minimal risk.
Me?? It'll be some .308 blanks in my old Mauser 1916!!!
A tightly rolled ball of paper will do. If you get good with them you can cut squares out of a sheet of paper and eventually get very consistent with them.
As a sidenote, they also make very effective spit wads when fired from a peice of half inch PVC pipe.
Ask my brother...
He's probably still feeling the sting.
As a sidenote, they also make very effective spit wads when fired from a peice of half inch PVC pipe.
Ask my brother...
He's probably still feeling the sting.
Burt Blade
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Be careful using readily flammable materials, such as paper, for wadding a blank charge in a cap-n-ball revolver. Flame from the first shot can ignite the wad in the adjacent chamber, with distracting results. 
If you are going to use paper, then seat the wad below the mouth of the chamber, and cover it with grease as you would cover a ball load. This is much less likely to smolder and make your day more exciting than intended.
If you are going to use paper, then seat the wad below the mouth of the chamber, and cover it with grease as you would cover a ball load. This is much less likely to smolder and make your day more exciting than intended.
You can buy a set of hole punches for about 10-15 bucks and punch out 1/2" discs of just about anything. I just buy 45cal wads from Circle Fly Wads and then you can put whaever charge you want and then ram the wad down firmly. You get a good seal. These are only suitable if you are shooting into the air or away from people.
The civil War reenactors use florists foam to pack into the chambers to seal the powder in. That stuff flies to pieces when fired. That is all they will allow as wadding since they are shooting toward other humans. You ought to aim at a piece of butcher paper about 4 ft away to see if anything goes through.
The civil War reenactors use florists foam to pack into the chambers to seal the powder in. That stuff flies to pieces when fired. That is all they will allow as wadding since they are shooting toward other humans. You ought to aim at a piece of butcher paper about 4 ft away to see if anything goes through.
Burt Blade
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The muzzle blast of a BP blank will make an impressive hole in paper at 4 feet Cowboy Mounted Shooters use blanks to break balloons at ten feet or more. Granted, the blanks are made to do this, but the main projectile is burning bits of black powder.
Never point a blank at anyone, even far off. (Guns are always loaded. Never point a gun at anything you are not prepared to destroy.) If you want something for play gunfights, with live actors on the receiving end, get one of the plugged-barrel stage-prop non-guns that fire blanks that vent to the side. Otherwise aim-off and never get closer than 10 yards.
Hollywood and the US military have a significant list of folks maimed and killed by firearms loaded with blanks.
Never point a blank at anyone, even far off. (Guns are always loaded. Never point a gun at anything you are not prepared to destroy.) If you want something for play gunfights, with live actors on the receiving end, get one of the plugged-barrel stage-prop non-guns that fire blanks that vent to the side. Otherwise aim-off and never get closer than 10 yards.
Hollywood and the US military have a significant list of folks maimed and killed by firearms loaded with blanks.
A buddy of mine used to use rolled up aluminum foil in place of the ball. My understanding is that it more or less disintrigates on ignition and doesnt burn. I would definatly crisco the top of the chambers just in case though, since I don't think that the foil will offer as secure a seal as a lead ball.
Cap n Ball
Member
Tinfoil. It's what we use to wrap the charge when we fire our six pounder. It can be wrapped tight and gives plenty of time for the gases to build up for a pleasing report. I would imagine that tinfoil in a ball would work fine.
DillHarris
Member
My wife's grandfather used to have a .50 caliber blackpowder mini-cannon. Lots of fun for the 4th of July. He used rolled up paper towel as stated above. One caution though, there is a .50 caliber hole in his tool shed from a tightly rolled paper towel wad. The range was ~20 feet and the shed is 3/4 inch plywood (I think). Sort of a piece of straw through the tree during a tornado thing I guess.
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