First black powder revolver. Advice seeked!

blackdeuce

blackdeuce

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This is another one of those things that my son talked me into. Sounds like fun, so I went with it. He did some research and concluded that the 1858 Remington reproductions would be a good choice and Uberti gets good reports. I was really surprised to find that the Uberti that I wanted was in short supply. I got lucky and snagged the only one that Midway had. It has the blued, forged steel frame with an 8" barrel (they make a less expensive version with a cast frame).

1858 New Army Revolver and 1858 Target Carbine Revolver | Uberti

I ordered balls, wads, powder pellets, some cleaning stuff, etc. from Cabelas. I probably didn't get everything that I'll need. I want to give the regular powder a try at some point, but the pellets sounded easy for starting out.

I'm not having any luck finding percussion caps. I'm also confused as the whether I need #10 or #11 caps. I've read that both work, but I'm leaning toward #11. Any advice here?

I also know that keeping these guns clean is critical. I bought some Hornady products made for cleaning black powder guns. I'll give them a try.

Suggestions are welcome. I know next to nothing. I plan to do some more research before I go out and shoot the thing. It will be a few days before I have the gun and other items. If I don't find some percussion caps, I'm screwed.

This is a stock photo of the Uberti:

 
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Your Uberti Owners Manual will tell you what size caps to use, my guess #10, but you can use the #11's they just won't fit as tight.
If you are target shooting you can use about 25 gr. of powder and work your way up until you figure out the load that shoots the most accurate.
Pellets will work just find and are easier to load than loose powder.
I use Rusty Duck (?) cleaning products, they are a pre-saturated moist patch that cleans very well.
Hopefully you will have some one with experience help show you the proper way to load and clean the revolver. Once you get the hang of it you will have a lot of fun shooting the revolver. For target shooting I use wadcutter bullets, they are cheaper than roundballs. Just make sure you get the correct size diameter (as in .457) to fit your chambers, you want to be sure that when you seat the ball, a very thin shaving of lead O-ring is left on top of the cylinder. That indicates the ball is properly seated and fits tightly with NO air space between the ball and the cylinder wall.
You can probably order a book off of the internet on muzzleloader shooting to give you more information, the NRA Bookstore should have something.
Good luck.
 
Go to a local gun shop to find percussion caps, or drive to Cabela's in Sidney...
Make a few phone calls to your local sporting goods store; where I live Walmart sells percussion caps.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Cabelas didn't have any percussion caps last night, but they had Remington in stock this morning. I just ordered a box of 1,000 #10 caps. Some guys on another forum liked the Remington #10, so I hope I'm good to go.
 
The only downside to a blackpowder revolver is all the necessary cleaning. I cannot prevent one from rusting no matter what I do.

That being said, I have a similar Remington repro, and it is probably the most accurate handgun I've ever owned.
 
As far as TP wadding is concerned, that can be a fire hazard. I've seen muzzleloading guns throw hot embers out onto the ground when fired and set a grass fire that in turn started the woods on fire.
The Native-Americans called them "thunder-sticks" due to the noise and fire produced by the muzzleloaders.
 
gregintenn said:
The only downside to a blackpowder revolver is all the necessary cleaning. I cannot prevent one from rusting no matter what I do.

That being said, I have a similar Remington repro, and it is probably the most accurate handgun I've ever owned.
Click to expand...

Cleaning a blackpowder revolver is super easy, i use only hot water.
Swab the barrel and cylinder with a wet patch (use hot water)
Dry it and oil it, no rust :D
 
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Wadding??? What wadding?

Cap and ball revolvers normally don't use wadding, as the ball is pressed into the cylinder by the loading lever, and if the ball is the right size, this will shave a small ring of lead from the ball and provide a tight seal.

I DO finish filling the chamber with a little grease on top of the ball to help avoid the possibility of a chain-fire. :eek:

I also advise getting a capping tool to make this operation much simpler and reduce the number of dropped/lost caps as you try to get them on the nipples. :rolleyes:

I have an 1851 Navy in 44 Cal. These guns can be surprisingly accurate and repeatable if you take care with your powder measuring and use consistent pressure when loading the cylinders. For longer ranges I'm even better with this than with my M&P pistols with factory ammo. Of course, that long, rifled barrel kinda helps. :cool:
 
I don't doubt.....

Rangerpat said:
As far as TP wadding is concerned, that can be a fire hazard. I've seen muzzleloading guns throw hot embers out onto the ground when fired and set a grass fire that in turn started the woods on fire.
The Native-Americans called them "thunder-sticks" due to the noise and fire produced by the muzzleloaders.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that what you are saying is true, but he shot all day at the range with no sign of trouble. Maybe the grass wasn't dry. Now something that will cause fires is fireworks. I've set several over the years, burned up the woods where the fire engines came out and a pasture next to my MIL house. I wasn't there for this one but some relatives had to go to the hospital for smoke inhalation trying to put out a dry broomstick grass fire that burned like gasoline.:eek::eek::eek:

PS I've heard that at first the Native Americans thought they were magic and all you had to do was point it in the general direction of the enemy and fire. I think they caught on pretty quick, though.
 
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Robotech - The OP mentioned he ordered wads in post #1.
I use felt wads between the powder and the ball in place of using grease, to reduce the chance of chain-firing.

rwsmith - Yes, the grass was extremely dry and on a High Fire Danger Day, as recorded by the U.S. Forest Service. If the relative humidity drops below 25%, any spark can set the grass on fire.
 
Texas Star said:
Good, but what about modern reproductions? Few today will shoot original Colt, Adams, or Remington revolvers.
Click to expand...

The reproductions are licensed :(
Screw for screw can be identical but the year of manufactory is very important :confused:

I had a very long discusion with the lady that procesed my license request
about storage. I can hang an original Colt 1851 on a nail on the wall (if i'd like)
But the identical Uberti (with a license) has to go into a gunsafe.


And whith this i would like to say....
Please send all your unwanted old muzzel loaders to me,:rolleyes:
i will take good care of them. :D
 
Make sure you keep your nipples clean-soap and water and then be sure to oil them well afterwards.
One of the smartest things I did when I got my Ruger Old Army was to call the factory and order an extra 12 of them and an extra wrench cause I knew they would be harder to come by in the future. Now if I can just remember where I put them :rolleyes:
 
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I hope my wife doesn't find out, but I just ordered two sets of nipples! Hopefully, they actually have them in stock. I ordered from Taylor's and Co. and I've learned that their website isn't based on live inventory. No rush, so long as they come in a few weeks.
 
gregintenn said:
The only downside to a blackpowder revolver is all the necessary cleaning. I cannot prevent one from rusting no matter what I do.
Click to expand...

There is a way... stainless Ruger Old Armies...


If you want a good website to learn BP stuff... my good friend Curt Rich (SASS alias Capt. Baylor) has this...
Frontiersman Category for Dummies
 
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I've had a couple of reproduction revolvers in years past. Now I own originals including 2 Remington New Army revolvers (1863 and 1864), a Colt 1860 Army, and a Colt 1851 Navy. All are in good and shootable condition.

My Remington revolvers require balls of .457" diameter. I use a charge of FFFg (pistol) powder at 25 grains. After ramming the balls home in the chambers I apply a fairly heavy application of Crisco shortening over the seated bullets. My pistols take the #10 caps, standard for revolvers of that era.

Cleaning begins with a field-stripped pistol and a bucket of boiling water with some dish soap dissolved in it. Parts may be immersed in boiling water and when removed the water will immediately evaporate away. Remove the nipples from the cylinder. Scrub the chambers and bore with a .45 caliber bore brush, then finish with cleaning patches. Wipe everything down with oily rags.

Then on the next day repeat the cleaning procedure. Then the piece may be oiled and stored until the next use.

My pistols are all 150-plus years old and this keeps them in top condition, ready to do what they were designed to do any day of the week.
 
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