.44 caliber conical black powder bullets..

Printable View

02-24-2011, 12:44 AM
leadloader

.44 caliber conical black powder bullets..

ive been looking at a few diffrent types of conical bp bullets to feed the bp revolver...i was looking to either by these that seem swaged or thinking on casting my own useing a lee mould... my biggest cocern with the lee mould is ive read a few reveiws that certain guns will not allow for loading of these type projectiles... i own a Pietta 1851 Confederate Navy .44 Caliber Revolver
and takeing the cylinder out to load every time isnt a option as with this model its a bit of a task...just looking to see if anyone has any advice or suggestions ..... Thanks
LL
02-24-2011, 11:55 AM
fryboy

i like the lee conicals , some ( as stated ) wont allow the boolit to be loaded because of the cutout is too short , while the lee was designed with a slightly rebated heel it still needs a lil more clearance than a round ball , a ball is appox .451-.454 tall , my conicals ( from either of my two molds ) are .565 tall , not much taller but if a round ball is a snug fit getting in then the conical will be worse ( also good are the "ball-et's" they are a lil shorter than lee's conicals , if i had one handy i'd measure it ) if the lee's dont fit one can judiciously enlarge the opening with a dremel and then cold blue it , btw ? a true navy would be in .36 caliber , many of the so called "confederate" copies use a brass frame and for these i would suggest using light loads and balls ( the brass isnt known for longevity with max loads )
FWIW a .450-ish ball weighs about 140 grains , the ball-et 180 grains , the lee about 200-203

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product...oducts_id=3630
02-24-2011, 01:15 PM
GabbyM

the Lee fit in my 1860 Colt copy.
At some point I stretched the frame on my 1860. Euroarms steel frame.
Can’t say what did it but the 200 grain Lee ball over 26gr fffg may have been to much for it :rolleyes: That was decades ago. I don’t know what a recommended load would be. 26g fffg is the round ball chare weight for an 1860. So much less than that.
02-24-2011, 02:07 PM
leadloader

thanks guys...i got this gun from cabelas on a deal of a price at least i thought so...i was wanting to put the conical through it... would be willing to buy the mould and try to see if it will fit...those boolits you posted in the link fit but required some fanaggleing to get them to...(had to hold the cylinder and turn the bullet a lil crooked to get them to start...)
02-24-2011, 04:15 PM
fryboy

if the ball-et's are snug then the modification would be needed for the taller ( and heavier ) lee conicals , the diameter is set so that means the extra weight can only go towards adding to the height

FWIW with the balls and the brass frames that dixie shows listed load is 22 grains FFF , we used to have alot of fun using about 1/2 FFF topping the other half with grits , sure made plinking easier ( but a lil slower loading ) i suppose in some way the grits also helped clean a bit of the BP fouling out of the bore ( as well as working as a fire stop for cross fires ), once a person gets the hang of it pulling cylinders out gets to be quicker ( and easier ) along time ago they used to carry extra loaded cylinders for faster reloads , while it worked with the colt it worked much faster with the remingtons
02-25-2011, 06:26 AM
NickSS

From everything I have read including the entire official records of the civil war I have never come across a single reference that showed anyone changing cylinders to reload a cap and ball pistol. What I did find was that many cavalry men and most irregular troops carried several revolvers. One confederate when killed was found to have six revolvers on him self and a couple more on his horse. Mosby's men were known to festoon themselves with as many as 4 to six revolver. Mosby himself carried two in belt holsters and another pair in saddle holsters. You got to admit grabbing another revolver was a lot faster reload than fooling with loose cylinders on horseback. So I really think that this extra cylinder stuff got started much more recently than the old days.
02-26-2011, 02:43 PM
cajun shooter

Being a bit of a civil war buff I will agree 100% with Nick. The practice did exist but in later times. The movie that shows Clint Eastwood walking down the street with a pair of open tops is one that comes to mind. In the Outlaw Josey Wales it shows more than one person carring two or more extra guns. The pommel holster was a popular way to carry revolvers. When I worked as a Narcotics agent and we went on search warrants that involved kicking in a door to face the unknown, I carred as many as three guns as even today it is faster than reloading.
02-26-2011, 03:06 PM
fryboy

think "patterson" .... it came with it's own reloading tool and had no reloading lever ........until a modified version in 1839 ( the first of the colts revolving pistols )
i wont deny that many carried more than one pistol - they did this when they could afford/appropriate them ( even predating revolvers ) but having more than one wasnt always the option ( just handy when it worked out that ways ) as well all know life isnt always like the ummm movies ( just sayin' )
02-28-2011, 01:16 PM
Grapeshot

.44 Conicals for C&B Revolvers

Quote:

Originally Posted by leadloader

ive been looking at a few diffrent types of conical bp bullets to feed the bp revolver...i was looking to either by these that seem swaged or thinking on casting my own useing a lee mould... my biggest cocern with the lee mould is ive read a few reveiws that certain guns will not allow for loading of these type projectiles... i own a Pietta 1851 Confederate Navy .44 Caliber Revolver
and takeing the cylinder out to load every time isnt a option as with this model its a bit of a task...just looking to see if anyone has any advice or suggestions ..... Thanks
LL

Check out this site for a conical for your C&B revolver: http://www.biglube.com/
02-28-2011, 02:16 PM
shoestring

i cast my own. i have a lee mould and when i bought it 2 years ago, there was only one style. i shoot '58 pietta (remmy) and as long as you get the entire heel of the boolit all the way down into the cylinder to the band they rotate in just fine, a buddy of mine has an identical '58 to mine and they wouldn't rotate under until he broke out the dremmel tool on it. hit it with a re-blueing pen and it looks factory. since i started casting conicals, i haven't shot a rb since.
03-01-2011, 05:10 PM
leadloader

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoestring

i cast my own. i have a lee mould and when i bought it 2 years ago, there was only one style. i shoot '58 pietta (remmy) and as long as you get the entire heel of the boolit all the way down into the cylinder to the band they rotate in just fine, a buddy of mine has an identical '58 to mine and they wouldn't rotate under until he broke out the dremmel tool on it. hit it with a re-blueing pen and it looks factory. since i started casting conicals, i haven't shot a rb since.

could you give me a few measurements of the bullet... also is it a .44 cal? im lokking for the oal just to measure points on my frame to see if these can be loaded...thanks for your helpful info...lol thread s tend to float on this forum dont they
03-08-2011, 04:44 PM
45-70 Ranger

Lee 450-200-1R IS Accurate

Been shooting C&B revolvers and such for over four decades. Nearly all with RB's. Had a Ruger OA that I used the Lee 456 CB in and it was super tight in the group department.....

A few months ago on a whim I got a Lee 450-200-1R mould a nd cast up 100 and went to the range with my '58 Remington and 2nd Mod. Dragoon. The Remmy shot the CB's with fantastic tight groups and nearly to the point of aim. Was using 24 gr. of 3f 777. I was stunned! Never thought that the slower twist of the revolver would lend itself well to the longer bearing surface of a CB, but it did!

Upping the charge to 35 gr. of 777 and the CB, I barly got it to seat in the chamber, and boy did it buck for a BP wheelgun! Too heavy for everyday shooting, thus I went back to the super accurate 24 gr. The Dragoon was a real beast with CB's! Dumping 40 gr. of 777 into the chamber and loading the CB was not that bad either. It hit the backstop with a loud smack and the next rounds proved to be a might high but the group was all in all pretty good. RB with this revolver have proven to be a tight group maker, but more loading will be needed to work out the right amount for the CB, but the potential is there.

If some revolvers do not load "from the frame" and need to be opened upened up to load, then it's the price you will have to pay for the use of this style projectile.

Oh, I have slowed the production of RB now and going to the CB for future loadings.

Wade
03-08-2011, 05:55 PM
Fredx10sen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grapeshot

Check out this site for a conical for your C&B revolver: http://www.biglube.com/

+1 on the 45Cal 180 grain. Loads easy and holds lots of lube. [smilie=1:
03-08-2011, 06:52 PM
leadloader

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fredx10sen

+1 on the 45Cal 180 grain. Loads easy and holds lots of lube. [smilie=1:

thats a mighty high price for my pocket... plinker is what i am so i want to try to stay with the lee molds as much as possible....been looking in to buying a 1858 steel frame revolver hopeing this will accept the cb also...