wheel gun conversions

[toot]

I have a COLT WALKER, with a R & D conversion can I shoot smokeless powder loads, home rolled or factory smokeless cowboy loads, BLACK HILLS in it safely or only BP. loads in the conversion cylinder, witch is in 45 long COLT.?

[Dryball]

I will be 45 Colt. I have a couple. You can load smokeless or black but need to keep the pressure down or the gun will loosen up. If going with factory ammo, stick with cowboy loads. Also, check out youtube...lots of stuff there

[toot]

Dryball,thanks for getting back to me with the information, a great help. youtube is a real help.

[yeahbub]

Dryball is right, keep them in the BP pressure range. This is particularly true of the open-top Colt designs. Loading them hot will cause shearing of the alignment pins in the frame and stretching/loosening of the cylinder pin or in the frame threads. Even long-term BP use can eventually cause a loosening in some examples of the 1851's or the 1860's with the smaller diameter cylinder pins. The large diameter pins of the Walker, Dragoons, etc are less susceptible to this.

[toot]

yeahbub, thanks for the come back with the info.

[Knarley]

I'd leave the BLACK HILLS ammo alone. Nothing wrong with it, it just seems hotter than snot when I have used it. IMHO
Besides, the milder stuff is a hole bunch more fun to shoot.

Knarley