I'm thinking I'm going to order an NAA super companion

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I have heard some float the idea of getting the chambers bored out some more to increase capacity, and then getting the nipples changed too... something about pistol small primers...
 
Yeah, all that's in that link I posted to that other thread. I'm not really THAT into the performance of it. I'm kinda hopin' I can get it up over 800 fps with the 30 grain pills. That'll be pretty close to .22 mag from these little guns and will definitely exceed my .22LR. That one fellow, "manyirons" who I haven't seen here in a while and works for a black powder specialist gunsmith was stating stuff like 1300 fps, but wouldn't give details. Where'd he go, anyway? They also bored the chambers deeper on ROAs and got 'em up to 500 or so ft lbs for hunters. They push over 400 anyway.

Anyway, my intent is to use percussion caps (I have a tap-o-cap for bad times when caps ain't available) and be able to make, if I'm forced to, black powder, and still be armed with SOMEthing. That's really the only "use" I have for it, but I just like BP and mainly think it'll be fun and if I can get some more juice out of it, bonus. Also, I'll be lookin' at accuracy. I notice there's no rear notch for the sight on the frame like on my .22, might be a little iffy, but the blade is wider and more visible. I'm hoping I can get to the range today (depends on the condition of the road) to do some initial play. I still haven't picked up some 777, yet. Initial shots will be for accuracy and to check POI so I don't wind up shooting my chronograph. :D
 
As far as I remember, manyirons was a bogus gunsmith that stole the customers' guns and put them up on gunbroker. Don't believe anything that he posted.

If you're planning on shooting it with 1 gr of Bullseye, it might be advisable to use filler on top of it to ensure proper ignition. I haven't done it myself, but it seems logical to keep the powder against the back of the chamber. I have read that people were getting hang fires or partial ignition in Super Companions loaded with 1 gr of Bullseye because the powder was not against the ignition source.

I accept no responsibility for this statement, just a thought that came to me.

What powder are you going to be using? Pyrodex P?

Please keep us updated, this is a fascinating subject and while there were many discussions hard data is difficult to come across.
 
You really have to try Triple Seven in the Companion.I'm a true believer in REAL powder [2f Goex is my ''go to'' powder for everything from my .45-70 to my .58 under-hammer] but in the little pistol,it really shines.When I read that it was 10% to 15% hotter,I thought it just a marketing ploy...but it's true!
 
Well, it shot bullseye the best, a little over 800 fps with 1 grain. Shot my .22 NAA with federal lightening just to compare and it shot the same, little over 800. So, with bullseye, it's basically equal to the .22 It also shot some pyrodex, whadda joke! around 500 fps. So, bullseye it is until I get my hands on some 777. I'm in a holding pattern until then.

The good news is it's pretty accurate. The bad news is I had to hold the front blade to the bottom and sight there, and about 4" right to hit bull, but groups were about 4" off hand at 15 feet. I guess if the bad guy got it and I put enough distance on him, he'd be shooting at my feet thinkin' he was on. ROFL. But, with the proper funky sight picture, it seems to work about as well as my LR version.

So, we'll see what the 777 does when I get some. That's probably better than shooting B'eye, though in no way do I think I'm over-pressuring the gun with it. Wasn't real impressive, about like shooting the .22 and the chrony verified this. But, it's neat as heck and I'll have fun with it. I need to figure something on the sights, though. For now, I'll just hold over with some Kentucky windage.

As far as I remember, manyirons was a bogus gunsmith that stole the customers' guns and put them up on gunbroker. Don't believe anything that he posted.
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NO SCREAMIN'? I never heard that! Cripes, I was considering sending my ROA for that bore job, but never did! DAMN! If that's true, I hope he's resting in a 4x8 cell somewhere. IIRC, he was supposed to be in Ohio somewhere. Probably bogus, too, though he'd have to give a shipping address. I'd been tempted to hunt him down all the way up there if he'd have Ped me off, enough.
 
Oh, yeah, I was going to try the buckshot. I had forgotten to buy some Crisco, so I was using bore butter I had in my BP range box. It seemed to work with the 30 grain conicals, but seeped by the round ball and contaminated things. SO, I loaded one round and got 750 fps out of 1 grain B'eye, slower than I was getting with the 30 grain conicals. No doubt, the pressure was lower with the lighter projectile, but then, that's a pretty poor sample size. I didn't wanna load more'n one without greasing the tops, though.
 
Thanks for posting this, very interesting!

What do you think about upping the Bullseye load a bit? Say, 1.4 gr?

I thought you were getting 700 fps out of the .22, so over 800 should be a bit better.

Please keep us posted on any further experiments.
 
Can you do some milk jug penetration test, like the box o' thruth does? I am curious as to that as well as the penetration of the .31 Remington.
Thank you in advance.
 
I'll save some jugs, good idea. I'll need to save up some jugs first, though, might take a couple of weeks. Might get some from my daughter to help out, though..

Yeah, I just got some old .22 cases and cut them for 1.3, 1.7, and 2.0 grains and will use the chrony to document. I'm shooting for the near 1150 (or something like that) that NAA gets for their 30 grain CCI Maxi Mag +V results as an indicator that I'm hot enough. :D I'll stop when I start approaching that. I thought about this some, myself, and the 1.0 is REALLY mild. The cylinder is beefy and I'm not even hurting the caps. Those caps disintegrate in my ROA. :D I'll get back with ya, going to the range again while there's good light. It's just 3 miles from the house, not a big trip. When I get my jugs saved up, I'll try the .31 with pyrodex and 60 grain conical and the NAA on 'em with whatever load I come up with.
 
I thought you were getting 700 fps out of the .22, so over 800 should be a bit better.
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Yeah, I was, but I'm not sure what ammo I was using when I did that. The shots I fired today were with Federal Lighting. Reason I shot that is the gun is very picky about what it likes. This stuff shoots to POA and is quite accurate. Now I know it's got a little more zap to it, too. Still, it's no .357. :D
 
Okay, I ran down and fired the 1.3 grains, showed high 800 fps. 1.7 grains shows 950 fps. THEN, WOAH, 2.0 grains is pushing over 1100 fps. I get 1114 average. That's about 50 fps, IIRC, shy of NAA's testing of the same gun in .22 mag shooting the 30 grain CCI +V. The pressure appears to be on a steep curve up, so that looks like THE limit of where I'm going with the thing. It still didn't recoil, but the noise and muzzle flash was pretty impressive. Accuracy got a little better or I got a little better, about 3" at 15 feet off hand. Caps STILL are in one piece and lookin' pretty good after firing. I was using CCI.

If I carry the gun, I reckon this will be my carry. I'll probably just load 1 grain B'eye and shoot 4 buck for practice. I STILL want some 777, though. I'll get some soon, but I have to drive 30 miles to get it. I may wind up practicing with 777 if it can get up close to B'eye. Besides, I'd like to try in in the .31 and the ROA, too. :D
 
BHP, you can say that again, I ran 40gr loads of 3f 777 through my ROA with round balls and felt like I was shooting my son's Blackhawk with 300gr cast bullets and Ruger only loads. I tried 777 in my NAA mag Companion and it was a totally different gun than with 4f Goex, much more power, felt like a real gun.
 
Exactly!I loaded up some 40gr. cartridge loads to shoot in my 7 1/2'' Italian Colt.I thought I might've somehow slipped in a .44 mag round when I touched that off! I'm going to shoot the rest of those in my lever gun...
 
BHP FAN ....I did the same thing with my 40 gr 45`s ....I marked the box rifle only after only 5 shots from my Italian Peace maker ,.
 
A little extra info on super companion ballistics. I was lookin' back in my notes and the 1100 and change I got with that 30 grain pill, while it equals the velocity NAA shows (or nearly so) for the .22 mag CCi 30 grain +V, I got about the same out of my 4" Rossi kit gun shooting the 32 grain CCI Stinger. That's a 4" barrel. So, anyway, while it's good, it's still no .44. :D It only equals a .22 out of a 4" barrel. Still basically a head shot gun. The penetration SHOULD be improved over the .22LR NAA, though.
 
What you say is true. However, you're getting pretty good velocities out of a tiny C&B pocket gun. And the govt doesn't have to know about it. I did some calculations and energy from Super Companion should be on par with energy out of the .31 Remmi. Now awaiting penetration tests...
 
And the govt doesn't have to know about it.
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Yeah, that's one of the cool things about BP stuff. :D

As to energy, you could think about this, too. A .32 ACP pushes 120 ft lbs or so. The .22 Companion is around 90. Either would suffer from a hollow point IMHO, kill penetration. However, the .32, as does the .31, carries twice the projectile weight which helps penetration via more momentum.

Yeah, the penetration tests will be interesting.
 
When my brother and I shoot pellet rifles in my back yard, mine is a .22, and his is a .177, both Chinese SKS type trainers. His .177 consistantly out penetrates my .22.You may be surprised. Less surface mass can mean better penetration.
 
True enough. I was checking out Brass Fetcher, a gelatin testing site, and they had a .22 mag 30 grain +V fired from a 2" gun, a Taurus. It got 1300 fps, a bit of expansion, and penetrated 10". I'm not real sure how that relates to 1114 fps, but being a round nose and with no expansion, that should help penetration.
 
I used to have one of those. (I'm back, oh no!)

I never got around to buying a pound of Bullseye, but I did try it with Power Pistol, and #11 Remington caps just wouldn't set it off. Ended up using a tiny, something like .1 gr scoop I made, to "prime" each chamber with BP, then top it off with PP, then seat the bullet. No idea what velocity, but there was no recoil and it wasn't very loud.

I did try the caps and airgun pellets thing, but I could never get it to work. Incredibly loud compared to small pistol primers in a modern gun, and the pellets would never make it all the way out of the barrel.

And you missed the mess with Manyirons and whatshisname? You must have been on hiatus then, because it was huge. I was this close to sending my Companion in for that small primer job, too! Last I saw, someone spotted the shyster at a soup kitchen, so he may have gotten his due, but they still can't seem to keep him in jail.

Anyway, one thing to check, pressurewise, is how tough it is to unscrew the nipples (shouldn't be getting a lot of fouling with smokeless), and if the threads start to look funny at all, after a bunch of shots. That would probably be the first area to go. Still, I've heard of several people using the Magnum Companions with a full scoop of Bullseye with no problems (except barrel leading, and the incredible flash and report).
 
And you missed the mess with Manyirons and whatshisname? You must have been on hiatus then, because it was huge. I was this close to sending my Companion in for that small primer job, too! Last I saw, someone spotted the shyster at a soup kitchen, so he may have gotten his due, but they still can't seem to keep him in jail.
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Dayum, I guess I just wasn't paying attention to the BP forum at that time. I get into ruts talkin' shotguns, hunting, this or that and ignore other forums. I hope the SOB rots. That's just plain not right. I'm DANGED glad I didn't get all hot to send in my ROA. I was going to do it because it shoots high and is adjusted to the bottom of the rear sight's travel. But, I have my sight picture for it. It needs a slightly taller front sight, though. Guess I won't be trustin' somebody off the net for such things. :rolleyes:

Ah, I'm getting good velocity with 2 grains B'Eye over 1100 fps. I'll keep an eye on the threads, though. I made the scoops out of cut down .22 hulls with wire for handles. Its sorta a pain to use, but it works. Just kinda tiny. :D Went to town with the wife today to eat at a good restaurant between here and there and stopped and bought a pound of 777. So, my next range trip will be with the .31, perhaps the ROA, and the super companion for some chronographing. I'm going to try that stuff in my Hawken, too. They list velocities/charge weights on the bottle and claim about 1000 fps for the ROA. That really isn't spectacular. I can get that with round ball and pyrodex. But, I needed another lb of Pyrodex P anyway and the stuff has gotten up to 22 bucks. The 777 as long as I can remember has been in the 25 dollar range, paid 28 for it today. So, the price difference has closed. No reason not to buy it now for only a few bucks more if it's better like everyone says.
 
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