Need info for my 1860 Army.

[Crawdad1]

I found a good accurate load for my 1860 Army and I just need some ballpark figures for this load. Its 30 grains of Goex 3Fg with two Oxy wads and a 454 Rb. Has anyone tested (Chronographed) this load or something similar out of their 1860 Army?

 

[kituwa]

I write down others results that i see posted on several forums and i see a good bit of diffrence in what people say they get over a chrony, but averaged out your load should be around 850 fps.

 

[72coupe]

Chambers, barrels and throats are so much different from one gun to another that anyones elses results are unlikely to match yours.

 

[Lunie]

I found a good accurate load for my 1860 Army and I just need some ballpark figures for this load. Its 30 grains of Goex 3Fg with two Oxy wads and a 454 Rb. Has anyone tested (Chronographed) this load or something similar out of their 1860 Army?

As someone who doesn't use wads or lube, can I ask why you are using 2 ox-yoke wads?

 

[mykeal]

Chambers, barrels and throats are so much different from one gun to another that anyones elses results are unlikely to match yours.

Very true.

But don't forget the chronographs. They probably vary more than the guns do.

 

[Crawdad1]

Thanks guys for the information. And that’s what I kind of thought that there would be too much variance between the guns and even the chronographs to apply results across the board. But using 850 fps as Kituwa said, Thanks Guy!!!! combined with a phone book penetration test I should get an idea of how “Hard” this load is hitting. I’ll post pics of the testing when I get done.

Lunie, I’ve notice after shooting this 1860 Army that this particular revolver, and they’re all individuals, doesn’t like a lot of freebore. So instead of using a filler like cream of wheat or corn meal I used a column of the wads to eliminate as much of the freebore as I can. Even though using a column of wads is more expensive its so much easier than using a powder fill. But I’m kind of impressed with the ‘room’ in that 1860’s chamber (the rebated cylinder NOT the full fluted cylinder) where I can fit 30 grains of powder, two wads and the 454 ball in there.

 

[Hellgate]

Crawdad,
I buy 45 cal 1/2" wads from Circle Fly. Then I lube them with any number of formulations (deer tallow, or 50/50 beeswax/olive oil, or crisco, etc.) and split them to desired thickness: in half for 1/4" wads or in 3rds for about 1/8" wads. The fiber wads seem to scour the bore better than felt. You can also buy pre lubed fiber wads from them that are a little more dense. My next order will be for a bag of each in order to save on shipping.

 

[Crawdad1]

Circle Fly!!!!!! How in the heck could I ever forget about them. For a few dollars more I could buy a thousand wads. I must be getting old.
Thanks Hellgate for pointing that out to me.

 

[Hellgate]

That you're getting old? ;>)

 

[Crawdad1]

Well I am forgetting a lot of stuff I should be remembering. Like where in the heck did I put that dogon revolver.
Next go around at Track I'll get a thousand Circle Fly wads for a little more money.

 

[Crawdad1]

I shot the 1860 Army today at a phonebook that was 2 1/2" thick from 20 paces. I was using 30 grains of 3Fg, 454 RB, and two Oxy wads. Hopefully you can see the penetration of the balls and the recovered balls. I figured that they made it through approximately 2 1/4" of the phonebook. Enough for a deer load???

A couple pics of my Sig Series 1860 Army.

 

[fdf]

If you want to shoot deer, buy a rifle, leave your pistol with 30 grains at home.

 

[kituwa]

I have shot a good many deer with a load very much like you are useing and it works fine if you keep your shots to 30 yards and under and hit them in the right place.Even if you use a riffle you still have to hit them in the right place.Most of the deer i shot with a C&B the ball went completely through. Also if it helps any,,i have never lost a deer i shot with a C&B revolver either.

 

[Crawdad1]

Kituwa, thanks for that information, very helpful. And, all but one of my deer have been under 30 yards and that's with a rifle. I am a little surprised the ball didn't go all the way through, almost but not quite, but phonebooks are pretty dense.