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Post by eddien on May 21, 2016 15:13:34 GMT -6
Just bought a black powder revolver. 1851 Navy. Looking forward to my next trip to the range. Any and all advice welcome. It's new to me.
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Post by Alpo on May 21, 2016 20:08:10 GMT -6
Brass or steel framed?
Real Navy (.36 caliber) or one of them "Confederate Navies" (never-existed replica gun, .44 on a .36 frame)?
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Post by Alpo on May 21, 2016 20:09:15 GMT -6
Advice - Wonder Wads. Crisco is so MESSY.
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Post by eddien on May 22, 2016 8:22:08 GMT -6
It's a 36 caliber. I'll look for those wonder wads? Trying to read the manufacturer. Does EIG sound right? It is Italian made.
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Post by armedandsafe on May 22, 2016 15:48:54 GMT -6
I use Pyrodex P, mostly. I use the Wonder Wads or cut them out of shirt board. With either Pyrodex or black powder (FFFg) I prefer 17 grains , although that doesn't have to be as exact as when shooting rifle. Remember that black powder, whether Pyrodex or genuine, needs to be compressed by the load. The ball should leave a tiny ring of lead as it is pressed into the cylinder. The .36 revolvers don't usually like cylinder slugs. Stick to round balls. Clean the gun after shooting. Then clean it again each of the next two or three days. I prefer Ballistol for cleaning and lube. Many people will use boiling water and Ballistol for the first cleaning. I MUCH prefer the the squirt bottle over the aerosol. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BallistolPops
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Post by armedandsafe on May 22, 2016 15:53:06 GMT -6
The old standard for black powder weapon care is pretty simple.After shooting: Clean once a day for a week Clean once a week for a month. Clean once a month until you shoot again. Pops
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Post by Alpo on May 22, 2016 19:04:16 GMT -6
I researched EIG. I knew of an Italian maker AIG. Thought you might be having a brain fart. EIG - Sal Eig - was an importer. His company, in Miami, became FIE - Firearms Import and Export. Mostly cheap European stuff, like RG. GCA68 pretty much put EIG out of business. If you do have an EIG, it's an old gun, and probably not a well-made one. Don't try to hotrod it. There are 36 single-shots, that use a .355 ball. Don't get that by mistake. 36 revolver takes a .375 ball. You probably already know tkat, but just in case.
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Post by shooteruk on May 26, 2016 15:14:37 GMT -6
Pops I heard Pyrodex corrodes oddly, but have no experience with it. I also heard Pyrodex P is volume wise the same as BP, but does it need a filler? Also, can anyone tell me how much pyrodex I should throw for a .44? Also, one guy said Pyrodex creates more pressure than BP, true or false? Whats a wonder wad?
Actually BP shooting can be a lot of fun. Less bangs than centrefire, cause it takes so long to reload, but loads of history and smoke.
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Post by Alpo on May 26, 2016 17:41:07 GMT -6
A Wonderwad is a lube impregnated felt disc. It goes atop the powder and underneath the ball. Gives you lube and chainfire protection without the mess of greasing the front of the cylinder. www.trackofthewolf.com/categories/partdetail.aspx/203/1/ox-wad-44-wThis isn't a new thing. In HELL, I WAS THERE, Elmer tells about punching wads from an old felt hat, soaking them in his wax/tallow mixture and using them in his percusion revolvers.
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Post by Alpo on May 26, 2016 18:09:02 GMT -6
I guess you could say Pyrodex has more pressure, as it's lighter. If you take a blackpowder measure that will throw a consistent hundred-grain charge with Goex FF, fill it with Pyrodex R, and then weigh the Pyrodex, it should come out around 72 grains, If you weigh 100 grains of Pyrodex R, and pour it in a measure, it oughta come out around 130. So if you WEIGH your charge you're gonna get excessive pressures. Pyrodex was designed to be loaded by volume, not by weight. Corrosion - I've heard Pyrodex is more corrosive than black. Black, being made from charcoal and nitrates, the fouling left in the gun will absorb moisture from the air, causing rust. But whatever they use to make Pyrodex, its fouling LEAVES WATER BEHIND. So it doesn't have to draw moisture from the air to corrode. Shooting it puts water in the barrel. This gives rust a headstart over black residue. As to your "How much should I use?", that kinda depends on your gun. If you have a brass-framed "Confederate Navy" (which is a gun that never was, designed by the Italians - a 36 Colt Navy, chambered in 44), you would use much less powder than if you had a steel-framed Walker. But assuming you have a Colt or Remington Army 44, get a 30-grain blackpowder measure and fill it with Pyrodex P. By weight, that should probably be 22-23 grains. But it don't matter how much it weighs. Use a 30-grain measure.
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Post by armedandsafe on May 26, 2016 20:05:00 GMT -6
Pyrodex or blackpowder, and, other BP substitutes, are measured ONLY by volume. Note that some measures are labeled BLACK POWDER and others are not labeled. Any powder measure with markings indicating grains is a VOLUME measure. They cannot be safely used for smokeless.
If you run a wet patch down the barrel and into the cylinders of the gun after shooting, you will have no problem with corrosion. I keep cleaning patches wet with Ballistol in my possibles bag for that very purpose. Field strip and clean the gun upon arriving home, or, at LEAST, that evening. Clean again over the next two or three days. Put the gun away "wet" with lube.
Cleaning is the most important function of owning and firing black powder guns. I use Ballistol because it will emulsify in warm to hot water. That makes it a very good cleaner. Two buckets, one empty and one with HOT water and Ballistol.
Pour the cleaning solution through the barrel into the empty container twice. Drop the cylinder and removed nipples into the solution. Using a rod or string, run wet clean patches through the barrel until they come out clean. Run a patch wet with pure Ballistol through the barrel. Using a patch jag, clean the cylinder. Using a pipe cleaner, clean the nipple holes. Using a light brush, clean the outside of the nipples. There is no practical way to clean the inside of the nipple. I do use a hypodermic syringe to blast the solution and oil through them, but I don't know if that is really helpful or just satisfies my comfort level.
Drop the cylinder and nipples back into the solution and clean the frame and workings of the gun. Oil freely with pure Ballistol. Remove the cylinder and nipples, dry then and oil freely with pure Ballistol. Reassemble the gun and admire your handiwork.
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Post by armedandsafe on May 26, 2016 20:22:08 GMT -6
You will read some places that the Ballistol / water mix (Moose Milk) will work as a lubricant, preservative,patch wet and cleaner. Do not use the mixed solution as a preservative and lubricant. The water will separate over time and cause corrosion.Use only pure Ballistol as your final coat. Wetting patches with the mix is OK for shooting and cleaning. Not for storage. Ballistol to water mix is from 1 to 5 up to 1 to 8. I use a measuring 1 cup of Ballistol to a 2 lb coffee can, about 3/4 full. I pour in the boiling water followed by the Ballistol and let it sit while I field strip the revolver and remove the grips. Be careful when pouring it through the barrel the first couple of times as it will still be HOT! I made a funnel for that purpose so I could pour the solution through from the breech. Then I realized that I was going to wet the action with the solution anyway, so why bother with that complication. Just a plain funnel in the muzzle works fine. Keep in mind though that the funnel will prevent the solution from washing the muzzle bore, so you have to pay more attention to cleaning that. Now, I don't use a funnel at all. I just grab the barrel with a padded pair of locking pliers and pour a stream down the barrel. It will spill over, but that is actually desirable as that wets everything. The old cleaning regimen for black powder maintenance: Clean once a day for a week. Clean once a week for a month. Clean once a month until you shoot it again. Pops
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Post by armedandsafe on May 26, 2016 20:27:48 GMT -6
Black powder residue contains Sulfur compounds. When dissolved in water, the most common chemical result is H2SO4(Sulfuric Acid!) That is a pretty effective corrosion accelerant.
Pops
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Post by armedandsafe on May 26, 2016 20:28:36 GMT -6
Class dismissed for today. Pops
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Post by shooteruk on May 27, 2016 7:49:56 GMT -6
Many thanks for all that. The BP I am thinking of making into a shooter is the old Starr. I have worked out the cylinder takes a .480 ball, meant for a .50 cal. It just shaves off a little bit.
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