Lyman 450225 and 1860 Colt

[rmcc]

Hi all,

Just got this mold in a bunch from an auction. Have a Pietta 1860 Army that I have been shooting round ball in. My question is, do I need to put a wad over the powder before seating bullet or just seat bullet on powder. I know next to nothing about shooting BP in anything so any help would be much appreciated!!

thanks,
rmcc

[rodwha]

No wad needed at all. I assume you are lubing the grooves?

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Am I right in thinking that is the hollow based mould? With flat-based bullets a wad would be harmless but of no real benefit. With a hollow base, though, there is a good chance that the wad would sometimes lodge in the cavity and sometimes not.

[Walks]

I've been using wonder wads in all my C & B's for at least 25yrs. I cast my own bullets from the LEE molds designed for C & B revolvers in .36 & .45. I have to breakdown the 1851 to load bullets into the cylinder/chambers. There isn't enough room in the '51 frame to get a bullet in there. I prefer the safety factor, I load by charging every chamber and topping them with the Wonder Wads then seating the bullets.

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE WADS GETTING STUCK IN THE BARREL. ELSE AFTER 25YRS+ I'D HAVE HAD A BLOW UP BY NOW.

No problem with 1860, plenty of room to load a bullet. Same with the 1861 Police

[Valley-Shooter]

Am I right in thinking that is the hollow based mould? With flat-based bullets a wad would be harmless but of no real benefit. With a hollow base, though, there is a good chance that the wad would sometimes lodge in the cavity and sometimes not.

Not a hollow base. Flat base round nose with 2 narrow lube grooves.

I have shot this from my Remington with a lube felt wad and the grooves filled with bp lube. I don't shoot max loads, the wad just fills a little space. Loads and shoots fine for me. The more lube the better with black powder.
I put strips of aluminum tape on my mold to increase the diameter a little. Then lube and sized with a .454 sizing die.

[Good Cheer]

Hi all,

Just got this mold in a bunch from an auction. Have a Pietta 1860 Army that I have been shooting round ball in. My question is, do I need to put a wad over the powder before seating bullet or just seat bullet on powder. I know next to nothing about shooting BP in anything so any help would be much appreciated!!

thanks,
rmcc

The hard part can be getting the boolit to load straight in the chamber. Especially so seeing as many reproduction revolvers have chambers than are less than .45".
Sometimes the best way to go is sizing just the hind end of the boolit to less than chamber diameter.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I've been using wonder wads in all my C & B's for at least 25yrs. I cast my own bullets from the LEE molds designed for C & B revolvers in .36 & .45. I have to breakdown the 1851 to load bullets into the cylinder/chambers. There isn't enough room in the '51 frame to get a bullet in there. I prefer the safety factor, I load by charging every chamber and topping them with the Wonder Wads then seating the bullets.

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE WADS GETTING STUCK IN THE BARREL. ELSE AFTER 25YRS+ I'D HAVE HAD A BLOW UP BY NOW.

No problem with 1860, plenty of room to load a bullet. Same with the 1861 Police

Several decades ago I had some experience using the Lee .36 conical in an original Navy, from the London factory of which Charles Dickens wrote in glowing terms. At that time the bottom band of the bullet entered the cylinder easily, and only the rest of the bullet required ramming. It is a good design, and I can't imagine them changing it, although I can't make it out in the picture in the current catalogue, and they don't mention it. I found that they could be rotated round under the rammer when inserted that way. I haven't seen anyone reporting any very functional advantage over round balls, though.

The 450225 being flat based, there should be no harm in using a wad. If a BP substitute is used in small gallery charges, there might be some use in filling up space with one, and locating the powder adjacent to the nipple. I can't see any good in conventional wads with round ball, as they would become cup-shaped and permit passage of gases under pressure.

I doubt very much if a thick felt wad is likely to lodge in the barrel, and I wouldn't anticipate a blowup if one did. Maybe a ring bulge, but I tend to doubt even that with something so light. I've seen one or two ring-bulged Colts, and I am sure those were due to lodged bullets.

[Good Cheer]

BIS,
Appears to me that originally the functional advantage was the pointy nose helping to punch through layers of mid 19th Century outdoor clothing.

Functional advantage...
Nowadays people are using added weight of lead to gain penetration for hunting. And that's an iffy proposition if one is trading powder for lead in the predetermined volume of the chambers. A seemingly small reduction in powder space can make a big difference. And, the shape of the nose can also make a big difference in penetration. Lots of fun to tinker with.