New Guy Here

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TX Mudcat

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Howdy Folks,
Just joined the forum...hoping to make some new friends, have some good discussions & learn some new stuff along the way.
Recently got into Black Powder shooting & really enjoying it so far.
On that note, anyone have any good recipes for a POTENT snake load? I'd rather load fewer larger balls than a bunch of tiny shot. Similar to a. 410 buck load...if at all possible. Any thoughts?
I currently carry a Pietta 1858 Remmy (5.5").
 
Hi Mudcat, This is my first post too! Saw this on youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19EP9ZgygHc brush hippie loading snakeshot.
The guys here are great and share their knowledge freely. I have fixed the short arbor on my uberti 1860 and the timing problem with my '51 Pietta all from reading and using the search option!
 
Nice to meet yall. Watched Brush Hippie's video...pretty helpful. I'm interested in a way to load up Maybe, say...5-10 balls, tighter pattern. I'm a little nervous about the trial & error aspect though. HA!
 
Welcome in fellas. You found a gaggle of good folks and a herd of help. There are plenty of great write ups in the files so use that search function. Very few no-nos here so as long as you keep it clean, gun related, and not zombie or political your good to go. If you ever need help on anything there are a few on here who are their own encyclopediabritannica of gun, blade and ammo wisdom. A few names come to mind...rcmodel, old Fuff, ugaarguy, Sam Cade, sam1911...lots of good folks. Welcome to your newest addiction.
 
The first thing that leapt to mind is a Howdah pistol loaded with #4 buck. 20 gauge, two barrels. Works great.

Then I saw the 1858 part. Oh, well... I got nothin.
 
I've loaded a modest powder charge, a lubed wad, some #5 shot, another wad and using the loading lever put some pressure on it.

Pattern is generally poor so you'd have to be closer than I would like to be sure of killing a snake.

Load is held together by friction of the wad against the cylinder so it would not stand much rough handling.
 
Well I appreciate the enthusiastic welcome, fellas. Yeah...I may just have to try a few things out & see what works. I'm planning on doing some shooting tomorrow anyways, so I'll keep yall updated if I come up with a winning formula.
Still experimenting to find that perfect charge that allows good accuracy without sacrificing power. So far, for my '58...I like about 35g of FFFG with a .454 ball. Got pretty good grouping last time so tomorrow should be the clincher.
What do yall use/shoot?
 
Welcome to the forum. Keep in mind that shot loads out of a rifled barrel generally (always?) result in poor patterns, to the point that beyond about 10 yards they're not very effective.
 
That's a good point. Guess I hadn't given that much thought. I could always take the Judge out there (hunting), but like the idea of carrying a BP due to state/Fed regulations always changing in various places.
 
but like the idea of carrying a BP due to state/Fed regulations always changing in various places.
Click to expand...

Welcome TX Mudcat!!!! And I agree there 100%. I grow tired of their constant BS and constant changing regulations regarding firearms so I bought black powder so they would leave me the H#LL alone.
 
I like about 35g of FFFG with a .454 ball. Got pretty good grouping last time so tomorrow should be the clincher.
What do yall use/shoot?
Click to expand...

They all seem to be a little different, but for accuracy with .454 balls mine's a little more accurate with lighter charges - 25gr is perfect. With conicals I've had the best accuracy at more like 35gr.
 
Crawdad1 - Ain't that the truth! It's ALWAYS something. They sure don't make it easy for those of us who prefer to stay on the right side of the law. I figure carrying BP will eliminate some of the hassle of always having to research every place we set foot.

EljaySL - I may try that load. Got pretty decent grouping with 35 but there's always room for improvement. I'll see if I can get a tighter group at 7 yards with 25g & see if I can work my way out to 14 yards, then 21, etc. Let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all the feedback fellas. Yall sure know how to make the new guy feel welcomed!
 
Maybe 2 years ago I was asking something similar, and a fellow who had done a lot of testing found that making something like a paper cup helped keep the group a little smaller, and I don't recall if it made the typical donut pattern.

One thing I thought quite interesting was that Brushhippie had a Remington '58 with a bad barrel (or some issue) and reamed it smooth. Not sure if I'd want a pistol permanently smooth, but I think it would be cool with a Colt where the barrel could easily be swapped.

I've been thinking that I'd like a Lyman's Plains Pistol with an extra barrel to smooth.

My Pietta '58 does it's best with 30 grns of 3F Olde Eynsford or Triple 7 with my 170 and 195 grn bullets.
 
I'd spend some time shooting at 25, 30, 35 and see if you can see any difference between the loads. Sometimes a 5gr change makes a big difference. Sometimes it doesn't.
 
Sounds good guys. Was planning on getting to the range today but got tied up. Gonna try to go Thursday. I'm taking yall's advice; Gonna start with 25gr & work my way up...see where it's most accurate. Looking around at possibly picking up another BP revolver in the next month or two, just to have a little variation. Any suggestions?
Hey...I really appreciate yall's feedback.
 
Welcome.

Ruger Old Army. Not historical, but the best.
Colt Walker or Dragoon. Horse pistols.
 
Boy...those Rugers sure are nice, but pricey!
Reliability wise, who would yall delivers the struggled & reliable revolvers?
 
The most reliable would be the Ruger or the Howdah or other muzzleloading pistols. I'm not familiar with the LeMat, but I have read about it's fragile loading lever.

Colt's often, but not always, seem to need a little work to keep cap jams from occurring frequently.

If a small pocket pistol is your thing you may want to consider the Remington .31 cal pocket pistol. Fairly weak and benefits from reaming the chambers a little larger as they are grossly undersized.
 
There are good and great Pietta revolvers, as in Uberti, but its a little more hit or miss with the Pietta though.
 
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Welcome to both of you to one of the coziest spots for black powder folks out on the 'net.

Hey Mudcat, watch the minimums if you're not using anything to pack the chamber volume. I know that with 30gns and no wad or other filler my ram is very close to the end of its travel. To go with a lower charge I'd have to use a felt wad or a top layer of some filler such as Cream of Wheat over the powder so the ball sits up high enough for me to ram reliably.

Some of the guys have played with fillers with the idea being that if the ball is closer to the forcing cone it's not going as fast and might engrave the rifling a bit more cleanly for a little tighter accuracy. I've yet to try that since my guns already shoot better than I can. But if you're looking for that last little bit it's something to keep in mind.

You could also pick up and try some .457 and see if the gun likes a slightly wider riding band with the bigger amount of lead that gets shaved off during seating.
 
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