Bp sub in gatling gun?

[WARD O]

A friend has a one of the modern full scale repros of the Bulldog Gatling Gun chambered for 45-70. It is a beautiful gun with the brass enclosed barrels and the massive oak tripod. I have been loading 405 gr cast boolits with 13 grains of Unique for him for use in this gun. It works like a charm.

I have been repeatedly trying to get him to use black powder in the gun but he is unwilling. He is afraid of the cleanup! I would love to see one of these babies rap off a hundered or so rounds of the real thing - I bet it would be quite a site.

I have gotten him interested enough that he 'might' try some rounds with a black powder substitute. I realize that there wouldn't be much difference in clean up but I guess we'll have to take this program one step at a time.

I shoot black powder in quite a number of cartridge guns but have never used any of the substitutes - we're looking for smoke - lots of it.

What would be the best of the BP sub to use in this gun and why????

thanks

Ward

[rockrat]

Go to Gatling Battery Gun company website and see videos of their black powder guns firing.


On their website, they recommend "clean shot" powder for their black powder guns

[bruce drake]

lube those 405gr boolits with a ton of LEE Liquid Alox and you'll get some smoke!!!!

Bruce

[Arnie]

That substitute stuff is more corrosive .Actually black is not corrosive ,it draws moisture , the substitutes turns to a acid when there burned and mositure gets to it .Arnie

[Chill Wills]

Arnie is right of course. It is not uncommon for people to think otherwise due to all the hype about the subs.................. But it is just plain bunk.

The real deal, the holy Black powder is easy to clean and will NOT hurt anything if cleaned off. BP fouling just like’s water is all. BP = Hydroscopic, and unlike the fouling left from the subs, when BP fouling is left on the metal it will attract and hold moisture, and then rust. The data on the subs leads me to think it is something to clean twice, two days running.

I'm no chemist, just real interested in it for about 35 years, so I could be wrong.
(This subject gets people all riled up so I am trying to not step in it)

[NickSS]

I have seen a percussion new Gatling gun in action and they are a blast the same company makes them in 45-70 but the guys who own the one I saw are reenactors and wanted the gun that uses steel chambers to hold powder and bullet. They were only shooting blank loads but boy did they make smoke. It only took them about 15 minutes to clean the barrels and wash out the empty steel cartidges the thing uses. If I had the bucks I would buy one just to shoot at my club matches for fun and lots of smoke.

[Hardcast416taylor]

My experience with being urged to make up specialty rounds and then shoot them off in my weapons for the amusement of the people urging me to do this, is the fact these people never are around to assist in tearing down these firearms and helping to clean and oil them!Robert

[BerdanIII]

So.... BP in the .416 is out?

[cajun shooter]

While the subs do produce smoke, they don't have sparks and flames coming out of the barrel. They are also not as loud as the real Black Powder. They are very corrosive and if your friend thinks that the subs are safer to shoot he has been fed a bunch of false information.
Please go to the Hodgdon site and see what they say about their own product Pyrodex.
I sent my brand new TTN shotgun for repairs to the factory gunsmith in Illinois. I advised him that I shot nothing but BP and I wanted my gun tested with BP rounds before it was returned. He advised me that he had a friend who shot BP and he would have him load some hulls for him. This is how my gun arrived back as it was shot with Pyrodex instead of real black powder. I have shot my real BP in a SASS match and not cleaned them for 5 days with no problems. The subs are trash!!.

[Hardcast416taylor]

So.... BP in the .416 is out?

Now, I didn`t say it wasn`t attempted!Robert

[WARD O]

As I started out saying, I use only real black powder and I find no issue with it that is why I was asking for advice on the BP subs. You are all basically reinforcing my opinion of why I use the real deal - I never could see the advantage of the subs - except maybe in transportation or storage rule and regulations.

Ward

[omgb]

Cajun, I sure hope you got a refund of some kind from that "smith". I would have been hopping mad.....that is absolutely uncalled for.

[cajun shooter]

I sent a set of pictures to Walt Johnson who first started the importing of the TTN at EMF and they sent me a new gun.
They sent the one in the picture to the gunsmith and relieved him of his job of doing warranty work for EMF.
I told them that I almost fell over when i opened that box. Later David

[Buzzard II]

I agree with Arnie and Chill Wills-use the real BP. I shoot North-South Sqirmish Asoc. and just clean with Ballistol between relays. I use SPG lube. Use a bullet with big lube groove. Good shootin'! Sgt. Bob.

[smkummer]

I too have been looking for a gatling (Now that Colt has it name to the gun its retail is $50K!!!). My plan was to use unique for much cost savings over black. Unique is about $16 per pound using 13 grains. Real black around here is now $22 per pound at about 60 grains. That is 6 or 7 shots with unique compaired to one with black. I too have noted that heavly liquid allox produces much smoke. I shoot a MP40, M3 grease gun and Reising with cast bullets and much smoke.

[leadman]

I have used WC872 in my 40-65 Rolling Block using Accurate 870 data and it smokes and velocity is pretty close to BP loads. Accuracy is outstanding.

I did not use a kicker charge as some do.

[WARD O]

We've been using that Unique load with great success. It is what the manufacture has recommended. The manufacture also recommended we use Triple 7 for a BP sub.

[RMulhern]

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!!

:takinWiz: