Big, black powder, sh@t-eating grin!!!!!!

[cciota]

As you can tell, I have a huge ass, ear to ear grin on my face!

UPS guy showed up about an hour ago with the remainder of the stuff I needed to finally shoot my black powder gun. So, of course, I had to go out back a try my Remington 1858 out. What a freakin' blast!!!!!!!


First thought was that it didn't have the recoil I thought it would have. Next thought was that it was pretty accurate. I was only shooting from about 15 yards but it kept everything on a 8 1/2" by 11" piece of paper. Pretty cool. Loading it was a bit akward but I'll get the hang of it. I built a loading stand but I didn't account for the pistol having to be half-cocked to load it. I'll take care of that problem in the morning. The other thing I noticed is that the ball set alot deeper in the cylinder than I thought it would. I loaded it with 20 grains of powder, a wonder wad and a .454 ball. Can't wait until Thursday, when the wife is off to let her shoot it.

I would just like to thank you guys for getting me interested in black powder.

[slamfire51]

Glad you're grinnin!!!
I'm sure the wife will love it too.
The only reason I don't shoot them is the cleaning afterward.

[Hedning]

Gongrats.... black powder is pure fun. You might improve the accuracy by using .457 balls. You make a bigger surface on the ball to grip the rifling that way. Just make sure you are using balls made out of pure lead.

I find 24-28 grs of Wano PPP, one 9mm casing full of cornmeal on top of the powder and then a .457 ball to be most accurate in mine. In front of the chambers I use some homemade grease.

Have fun....

[Kadmos]

Sweet!

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

[Schuetzenman]

Now as fun as it is to shoot them it's a pain in the ass to clean them. Full disassembly, scrub down in soapy hot water then rinse off with hot water so it evaporates quickly then a complet spray oiling and wipe down. I had a 44 New Model Army Remington repo and shot hell out of it for maybe 6 years before I lost interest. I use to go out with a 1Lb. coffee can full of balls I'd molded and a Flask full of 3FG. I'd quite generally when I ran out of powder in the flask.

[aliceinchains]

Black powder is fun. I have a ruger stainless cap and ball. Bought one when they just stopped making them. I shoot small cannon and mortar to.

[O.S.O.K.]

This is a steel framed Pieta right? If so, drop 40 grains of Pyrodex or fffg in each cylinder, place a lubed wonder wad and your ball and let her rip! Kicks a little more than those light loads but still only about like a 38 Speical.

Boom!

My standard load is 30 grains which is a fun plinking/practice load.

[alismith]

Now that you have BP in the blood, you might want to start looking at different guns to add to your collection. Here's a few of mine:

Traditions .50 cal. A great deer hunting pistol to use as a backup to my .50 cal. rifle.


Army model Buntline (Buffalo Hunter) with target sights.


Starr revolver. Double action BP revolver.


Some of my BP pocket revolvers. .22 cal. and .22 Mag cal.


.36 Remington style revolver.


A throw-away .44 cal rifle I had given to me. It was a long barreled hunter, but had something stuck in barrel. Whatever it was, it was rusted into the barrel and would not come out or move at all. I ended up cutting the barrel off just below the obstruction (to 17 inches), crowned the muzzle, and shortened the stock. I still have more work to do on the stock. I never argue with a gun given to me.


BP guns are fun to shoot and collect.

[cciota]

Now that you have BP in the blood, you might want to start looking at different guns to add to your collection. Here's a few of mine:

Traditions .50 cal. A great deer hunting pistol to use as a backup to my .50 cal. rifle.


Army model Buntline (Buffalo Hunter) with target sights.


Starr revolver. Double action BP revolver.


Some of my BP pocket revolvers. .22 cal. and .22 Mag cal.


.36 Remington style revolver.


A throw-away .44 cal rifle I had given to me. It was a long barreled hunter, but had something stuck in barrel. Whatever it was, it was rusted into the barrel and would not come out or move at all. I ended up cutting the barrel off just below the obstruction (to 17 inches), crowned the muzzle, and shortened the stock. I still have more work to do on the stock. I never argue with a gun given to me.


BP guns are fun to shoot and collect.

Nice collection of BP weapons!

[American Rage]

I want an 1851 navy in .36 cal. That's what Wild Bill really carried, 2 in fact.


Rage

[O.S.O.K.]

Here are three of mine - the top is an 1851 36 cal Colt made by Uberti. As you can see, its very sveldt compared to the 1860 Colt 44 underneath it which is in turn, more streamlined and lighter than the 1858 Remington below it... but the 1858 can hold 5 more grains of powder...

[American Rage]

Very nice, OSOK.


Rage

[Penguin]

The only black powder gun I have is a Charleville.

[TheMrMitch]

I have many......cattlemen's carbine.....50 Hawkens....sheriff's .44 and several more.
My sweetheart is my Howdah. About 60 grs of FFFG in each barrel and either shot or ball up
to .61 caliber.

[HDR]

As you can tell, I have a huge ass, ear to ear grin on my face!

UPS guy showed up about an hour ago with the remainder of the stuff I needed to finally shoot my black powder gun. So, of course, I had to go out back a try my Remington 1858 out. What a freakin' blast!!!!!!!

You joined the ranks of those who know why some call them smoke poles.

[HDR]

Starr revolver. Double action BP revolver.

"The Starr Model 1858 Double Action Revolver allowed the user to fire a chamber without first manually cocking the hammer. The 1858 DA was a .44 caliber 6-shooter whose design failed to meet Army specifications for a barrel longer than the 1858's 6 inches. The 23,000 produced were purchased, due to war conditions, and Starr then produced the Model 1863 Single Action Revolver. With an 8-inch barrel and fewer parts to break, the 1863 production of 32,000 was almost completely consumed by the military. Both models were manufactured in Binghamton and Yonkers, New York. The large numbers of Starr revolvers purchased by the military is only surpassed by the Colt and Remington companies."
http://civilwarhandgun.com/obscure.htm

A beautiful example of a rare revolver.

[cciota]

Here's how I have them displayed at home. And yes that is a John Wayne cuckoo clock.

[slamfire51]

WOW guys!!
Some nice collections.
Damnit, now I'm interested in BP again after 30 yrs.

[O.S.O.K.]

Very nice, OSOK.


Rage

Thanks

I'm diggin TheMrMitch's howdah - I bet that's a hoot!

[TheMrMitch]

My Cattleman's Carbine:
*