Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #1 |
Are there other black powder pistol shooters aboard? I got interested in these pieces of history a few years ago and now I shoot BP only. Since it is painful to walk, I shoot BP pistols and ride my lawnmower to the target to score and inspect. To keep the number of round balls to a minimum, I bought only .44 caliber pistols. I know that these arent authentic calibers except in the case of the Walker, Dragoon and a couple of other models. Just wanted to know if there are other shooters there who like to dabble with the Holy Black. |
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Gy7ras
Moderator
Registered: 09/14/07
Posts: 234
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Reply with quote | #2 |
I have 1836 Sheriff's model 36 caliber black power pistol, it's never been fired. Now that would be a great shooting competition!
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Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #3 |
Hey Gunny, Dont knock those .36 Cal. Wild Bill killed a man with one shot at 75 yds in Springfirld Missouri. They know the distance because Bill was on one corner of the block and his opponent on the other corner. Bill carried two 1851 Colts long after fixed ammo became popular. I goi into black powder 30 years ago and now I only collect and shoot pistols. I have a couple that I really like but don't want to give up any. |
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SgtWookie
Fire watch
Registered: 01/16/08
Posts: 6
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Reply with quote | #4 |
I have a replica 1851 Confederate Navy .44 caliber revolver that I won in a Navy Relief raffle @ NAS Memphis in 1974, just like this one from Cabela's site:
Haven't fired it in a number of years, but it's fun to shoot with that mighty roar and the roiling grey smoke.  Unfortunately, the soft brass receiver didn't stand up very well to the recoil of the cylinder, and now the gap between the cylinder and the barrel is excessive. I think that perhaps one day I'll machine a spacer to fit between the cylinder and the receiver to correct the gap, but it's not on my top 10 list of things to get done at the moment...
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Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #5 |
Sgt Wookie. Ive got a Pietta .44 in the same model, 1851 and I shoot 25 grains in it all the time. Ive never seen but one stretch and the folk that stretched was using 777 and shooting 30 grains in it. Ive got a couple of pistols that have what I consider excessive gap but I dont have lead coming out them so I continue to fire them occasionally. Ive got a Pietta 1860 Army that Im partial to. Has excellent balance for my hands. I have all my pistols in .44 so I dont have to keep a bunch of different sizes in balls. |
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sgtjimh
Fire watch
Registered: 07/19/08
Posts: 3
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Reply with quote | #6 |
I shoot a Remington 1858 .44 and a Hawken 50. Both lots of fun but a mess to clean. A word or warning, don't clean your black powder guns in your wifes new dishwasher.
Semper fi
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marblemt
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 19
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Reply with quote | #7 |
Snaggletooth, I admire your dedication to black powder. I got into it for a while back in the 80's and found I was just to lazy for the clean up, even with pyrodex (sp). Really enjoyed the .36 pistol. Being a jarhead I really enjoyed it with 2 or 3 cylinders would go off at the same time...ha ha. I had to finess the art of sealing the fronts of the cylinders. What do you use? We were using lard.
S/F
marblemt
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Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #8 |
Seems like I got a BP thread started and neglected to keep it up. Its getting good weather now and Im looking forward to popping a few caps when I get back from the Doctor tomorrow. Ive bought several this winter, trying to get a time line. Ive got a couple of 1851 Colts now, one 36 and a .44 They never made a .44 in 1851 but Im sure ol Sam would have if he thought they would sell. Ive got a Uberti model of the 1847 Walker Colt and the Walkers replacement. a Colt 3d Dragoon. Really alot of history on these early pistols. Ive got a few Remington models. Many people consider them an improvement over a Colt, Ive got a couple of Colt 1860 and 1862 models. It takes me several hours to clean the ones I shoot but when you are my age, there isnt much to do anyway. Ruger probably makes the best black powder pistol. The stopped making them a couple of years ago and Pietta had improved their quality control a great deal in the last few years
I make a "Lube Pill" to eliminate "chain fires". Its equal parts of bees wax or toilet boll ring, Beef or mutton tallow , and parafin. I heat it all up after Ive rendered the tallow, To do this place beef fat in water and boil it for a while, let it sit to harden and take the top fat off and use it for the tallow, Melt the three together, pour in a shallow pan to 1/8 inch amd I use a .45 casing to cut the "Pills" out of the hardened lube. The pill lubes the spindle, prevents chain fire and makes cleaning easier. Many people think that "Chain fires" come from not having one cylinder capped and the fire comes in the back of the Cylinder. Squeeze the caps just a little and they wont fall off from recoil. The pill is placed between the powder and the ball.
The BP pistols have about the same muzzle velocity as the ol .45 1911A1s that were the side-arm when I was in the Corps. The Walker Colt has more stopping power than the .357
Brass frame revolvers were produced by the Confederacy . Brass was used for the lack of steel. I only shoot 15 to 20 grains of powder in those to prevent damage.
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Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #9 |
Cleaning Bp pistols is a small problem. I take it apart, spray it all with blue "Windex" . I then put it in a bucket of real hot soapy water and use tooth brush , bore brush and a small paint brush and remove all the residue. I then rinse it off in real hot water and lay it on a clean rag to dry. I oil it down with olive oil or a good gun oil. I dont have rust or other problems |
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Gy7ras
Moderator
Registered: 09/14/07
Posts: 234
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Reply with quote | #10 |
Hey Bro!
Good to hear from you. That's a lot of good info on BP's. I've still never fired mine. I've been so busy training Young Marines, and putting in time as the education coordinator for the 188th Fighter Wing, Fort Smith Arkansas. My three little grand daughters and of course my wife keep me moving too.
I'm also involved with the Marine Corps League, but will have to make time soon for the things I want to do like travel, and shoot BP's. I've been fully retired since 2003 and still haven't manged to slow down. At age 57 I've decided that maybe next year I'll start to slow down and do some real activities that are fun.
Anyway I'll make time for these forums and stay in touch with everyone.
Gunny Sanchez Admin. 
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Snaggletooth
Fire watch
Registered: 12/01/07
Posts: 15
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Reply with quote | #11 |
Gunny, I hope you are teaching history and the Constitution to these lads on the sly. The will never get it in public schools.
I went on the disability retired list in '71 and to the fleet reserve in '73. I enlisted in 1950. After retirement I got a degree and couldnt find anyone who wanted to pay me what I thought I was worth so I drove a Semi for30 some years. It got my kids educated and no debt so I guess it was worth it.
I live 25 miles from anywhere. I dont see all that great at night so I dont have many activities except during the day. I stay busy but like a nap from 3-4 in the afternoon.
There is a great many things to know about BP. Alot of it is trial and error. The recipe for lube comes from an old British recipe. I dont own any modern firearms. Now I'm practicing "point and shoot" since my eyesight is failing
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