Just got a blackpowder revolver

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cidirkona

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I'm not sure if this is for the revolver forum or the blackpowder forum. Mods, feel free to move it.

I was wondering if anyone could point me to a site that can show me how to use this thing. This is both my first blackpowder gun and my first revolver, so I'm a bit confued. It cam with a box of percussion caps, a can of powder, some pad things, some .454 balls and some lubricant goop. It also has this little powder measure thing adjustbale from 20 to 60 grains....

It's a 6 shooter, and the bottom position has a lever on it to push the ball in.

I was also told to cover the cylinder with Crisco (tm) so that the ignition from one cylinder doens't light up all the others... I think I may just shoot this thing one cylinder at a time... :uhoh:

-Colin
 
Did the revolver come with directions?

Basically, you measure powder (make sure it's black powder or BP substitute, otherwise you'll find yourself holding a grenade) using the powder measure, the amount of powder depends on the gun and amounts should be found in the directions. Dump powder into chamber. Some people like a felt wad over the powder, I never bothered. Next, position a ball at the mouth of the chamber and ram it home with the lever under the barrel. The ball MUST seat on the powder, there should be NO gap between the ball and powder. Finally, but some Crisco or similar grease over the ball. This prevents chain fires and makes the fouling a little softer when it comes time to clean. Repeat until all desired chambers are loaded. Some people load five so they have an empty chamber for the hammer, some load six. Oh yes, the hammer should be on half-cock while you do this, that's the only way the cylinder will turn. Now go to the other end of the cylinder and put a cap on each nipple. The gun is now hot.

Pull hammer to full cock, aim at target, squeeze trigger, wave away smoke and repeat until all chambers are fired. Turn to everyone around you with a big cheese-eating grin on your face. Repeat as necessary.

Cleaning: VERY important. Clean as soon as possible after shooting, and never let is sit overnight. Take the revolver apart (check directions again) and wash everything with hot, soapy water. Let dry (shouldn't take long if the water was hot enough), lube, and if it's gonna be a while before you shoot again coat everything with a light coat of oil.
 
I was new to BP just a few months ago. This forum is full of very knowledgeable people who are more than happy to help out, but first, to prevent duplication and wasted time on typing, I'd highly recommend reading the Sticky in this forum, "How to best use a cap and ball revolver". It should answer all your questions. If you have any questions after reading this, I'm sure most people here will be more than glad to help out. Also, to play it safe and to try my pistol out, I only loaded one round in the cylinder the first time. I wanted to make sure I did everything right, without running the risk of having to try to unload 6 rounds because I did something wrong.

Since you've never shot BP before, it is an experience. If you are like me, your BP firearms will start to multiply. I now have the one revolver, two rifles, and am looking at another revolver.
 
No, unfortunately, it did not come with directions. I gave a computer to a friend, who in turn gave me this. The only markings on the entire gun are under the frame in front of the trigger gaurd, and those are barely ledgible. I'll try to get a picture later tonight and post it.

How much powder should I use? He's shot it a couple times, said it was a really weak shot and wouldn't go through a 55 gallon drum.

I think I'm only going to load one chamber at a time... would the grease still be necesary?

-Colin
 
Yeah, I just read that. Very informative... and now realize that the revolver is brass framed... Does mean I can't shoot it at all? There seems to be a little bit of daylight between the cylinder and where it meets with the barrel... how much spacing should be in there??

-Colin
 
Brass frame is not a problem - except you don't want to be stoking loads to absolute max necessarily!! Of course - this construction nowhere near as indestructible as Ruger Old Army - but still - made for shooting!

The cyl gap is normal - usually from my experience fairly ''generous''. Larger perhaps than some cartridge revo's ... I guess mine may be around 10 thou'.

My 2c
 
Well, since it didn't come with instructions and I have no idea WHAT it is...

How do I go about identifying it? Are there pictures somewhere I can look at?

Should I just load it with 20grains powder to start with?

-Colin
 
Colin ......... Two main platforms -- the Colt has no top strap - looks funny to some folks cos cyl is exposed on top - perfectly viable however. A Rem pattern has a top strap and looks more ''conventional''! See pic of mine which I'll add shortly when found. A pic of yours would be most handy too!

You could well very safely try a 20 grain charge - tho 25 might be about what works well. Do not be afraid of filling all cylinders - crisco or Bore Vutter lube will work OK and as Gato' has mentioned, chain fires actually occur thru fire getting at nipple end.

Make sure caps are nipped slightly so they are well fitting - I and many folks use hammer to carefully ''seat'' each cap before firing too.

Be not afraid!! Just be careful with attention to detail - and be ready to enjoy (except perhaps the clean-up LOL)

Pic coming soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK edit to add pic .... (and afterthought - if you mention brass frame aspect then it almost has to be a Rem like mine, come to think on it. Not so much brass on Colts.)


cap_ball_s.jpg
 
Is it a Colt or Remington? Colt revolvers lack the top strap over the cylinder and are dissasembled by removing a small wedge under the barrel. Chances are it's either a Pietta or a Uberti replica.

Enjoy shooting it!
 
hahah ok, will do.

One more thing... and I know it's going to bug me until I do it...

Just how much powder can I put in this thing?? :D

-Colin
 
Colin - to be honest I am not sure of what max would be!! Never tried either. From what many folks report - mega powder charges are counter productive re accuracy - often anyways.

All I recall was, my load ... in fact - tho I mentioned 25 grains - just threw a charge from that beat-up ol' flask of mine to check - normal for me was 30 grains, sorry should have checked before. See the piece of brass on end of my spout? That converted std throw of 25ish to the 30... a short piece of cartridge brass soldered on.

25 will do but that 30 gave me better results - it did tho still leave a pretty obvious space over the loaded ball for the grease. Guessing totally - I daresay you could ''persuade'' up to 50 grains or more in and still get ball seated flush but - not recommending that at all.

Remember too - when you ram each ball in - look for a nice lil' cut ring of lead - it proved the balls are being shaved to fit cylinder snug - and - use good pressure on the ram rod - NO space to be left - dangers occur when a projectile is not seated on a compressed charge - free space is BAD news!

Good luck. :)
 
What's so bad about freespace? Wouldn't that just lower the pressure of the charge?

I get what you mean about the lead ring though... when shooting potatos, you need to make sure you have a potato ring so that there are no air leaks around the spud.

-Colin
 
Ahh - potato's - I know that well! :evil: :D
What's so bad about freespace? Wouldn't that just lower the pressure of the charge?
Click to expand...
Thing is Colin - BP is a way different beast from nitro smokeless.

It ''needs'' to impose itself as pressure builds - immediately - on whatever it is gonna push. Leave free space and the pressure will rise higher before the projectile takes off.

Experiment for you ........ Take outdoors a small amount of nitro and a small amount of BP. Place small pile of nitro on ground (use eye protection) - and light. Notice how it burns real slow - no ''poof'' - just a steady fierce fire.

Now do same with BP - but be prepared - this one is ''wooff'' - sudden deflagration. Don't singe you hairs on hand (why? - don't ask)!

So - two very different responses in free air. Now confine them. Nitro likes confinement but is not too bothered if some air space (let's forget high pressure rifle issues for now). As it burns and generates pressure - that pressure actually usefully accelerates the burn - more and more. Very fast which is what we want.

BP already burns real quick in free air - under confinement that speed of combustion is not so useful if contained too long ... and that is what happens when free space between charge and ball. Pressure goes on rising for longer, and higher, before ball moves.

In a revo this is less of a problem than rifle - cos cylinders relatively short - but in a rifle - with a charge and ball only halfways down - ouch - not good and maybe blown barrel.

Other factor too is consistency - leaving aside safety. Make each ball seat real firm on the charge - all balls should look same before greasing up.

Sorry to be long-winded - it's an age thing! :rolleyes: :p
 
I've had some really good results with the 22 grain spout usually intended for the .36 getting fine accuracy from my Uberti Colt and Remington type .44s. A lot of people recommend using fairly light loads with the brass framed revolvers to preven frame stretch. It is also good to get the smallest ball that will grip the chambers upon seating to avoid excess force from the loading lever.

For general field stripping, lower the loading lever, pull the base pin forward and roll the cylinder out. You can remove the base pin and loading lever by way of the single screw through the front of the frame.


The remingtons come apart pretty easy if you take it slow and try to see where everything goes
1858brkdownsml.jpg
.

the main spring is under quite a bit of pressure even at rest. you might need to seat it in the base of the hammer, put something between the front of the spring and the frame and use your thumb on the bottom of the spring to flex it down until it is even with the slot in the lower grip frame. I usually clean mine by taking out the cylinder/ unscrewing the nipples then removing the grips, and the trigger guard, flushing it out with just about any soap, using a pipe cleaner to get to get into the recesses and then letting it heat up in real hot water. Upon removing parts from the water, run an oiled patch down the barrel and into the chambers an generaly oil the revolver inside and out.
 
Wow, it does not look like cleaning this thing will be fun/relaxing like my other firearms are...

If my lever can only push the bar down so far, how do I know I don't have any freespace in there?

The powder I have is FFFg Goex Black Rifle Powder...

-Colin
 
To fill that gap...

I think Gatofeo mentions it. You use a filler material. Get some old cornmeal, farina, cream of wheat (hopefully they're all rancid so you're not wasting food) and drop some down the cylinder. I use a 32 cartridge case glued to a stick (yep, ugly but it works) and dip it into a bag of meal.

Rich folks buy felt wads that are lubed and they insert those in lieu of cornmeal, farina or cream of wheat. Me, I'm cheap.

It's also important to pinch the cap to ensure that its tight on the nipple. Elmer Keith tought that chain-fires occur when the percussion caps get loose, slam back and forth and in going forth, ignite against the nipple. That's why oversized balls are important. They'll leave a very slight ring when forced down into the cylinder. That ensures there's no gap but the filler and the crisco are additional safety measures.

Cleaning isn't tough but it is work. The good thing is it's hot soapy water. No woman is going to scream at you because of Hoppe's. You scrub and toss into the oven to dry (or dry with rags). Oil & store.

FFFg Goex is perfect for you. OK to start with 20 grain loads. Light loads tend to be more accurate.
 
"it does not look like cleaning this thing will be fun/relaxing"

It's just a different 'ritual'. Not that bad once you've done it a few times. With a brass frame I'd stick to a little bit lighter loads. I had one just like yours and shot it for years but eventually it got a bit sloppy in regards to the cylinder pin and I retired it to the wall. You might want to get a spare nipple wrench. Those things seem to get worn pretty fast. The part that usually breaks first is the hand spring. The ears on the trigger will eventually chip and not hold on half cock. This isn't always the case but it's fairly common. Older Piettas are pretty famous for crappy springs. The newer ones are far from being junk but in my opinion not as nice as Uberti guns are.
 
Hi
Its been a while since I shot mine .
Don't forget to shoot a round of caps on empty cylinders to dry them up and get all the oil out .

Have Fun , Bill
 
Just a note on the black powder "woosh" thing when it burns. When I was a kid I had a brown thumb for a week or two because of that. Don't ask. Let's just say I learned something about black powder that day (like don't try to make a line of black powder burn like they do in the movies to blow up the mine). Black powder revolvers are great. I got one fro my dad. The best thing is that they're fairly simple mechanisms, and you can really learn ow they work. I understand completely how my Colt1862 works. Can't say the same for every spring and lever in my GP100. Have fun.
 
Cool, that's alot of good information guys! Thanks!!

Ok, what do I do if I put in 25 grains, the little wool pad, press the ball in and it doesn't feel like it sat down all the way? How do I back out without blowing my entire arm sky-high?

-Colin
 
Colin,
25 grains with a wad SHOULD seat OK I'd think, but if not pull the cylinder out of the gun, remove the nipple, dump the powder out thru the nipple hole, then use a thin cleaning rod or something to drive the ball out. Use an aluminum rod or wood dowel, you don't want anything that might cause a spark when it hits metal because there will probably still be some powder in there.
 
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