Colt SAA .45 Colt Blackpowder Types?

[birch]

I know nothing about blackpowder and would like to get some concrete information on the best type of powder to use that will be the easiest on my gun. I know that as the "F's" get longer, the powder gets finer. I.E> FFg is a more coarse grain the FFFFg. In my mind, a finer powder will stack up thicker than a course powder. If my logic is correct, there is technically more powder in a compressed FFFFg powder than a similarly compressed load of FFg.

Is this a correct assumption?

After research, I plan on using this technique--fill a case by volume to assure a complete lack of voids when the boolit is fully seated=somewhere between 1/16 to 1/8 inch of compression. Use a good lube, and have a ball.

Is this correct?

[John Boy]

30 to 35gr FFg with no wads or fillers ... LP primers of your choice
Black powder is a weak powder and the 30-35grs will not exceed the SAAMI max pressure of the caliber - 14,000 psi ... in original or replica Colts

[Silver Jack Hammer]

FFg or FFFg is what I have used because that is what Mike Venturino recommends and his recommendations come from what has been used down through the years. Goex is what brand I use because that's what the local dealer has. I use a dipper and just drop enough black powder in the case so that the seated boolit compresses the powder about a 1/16 of an inch. I used a 24" brass drop tube and made an upright stand with a base out of wood to hold the tube. Wads are not necessary. The cases have to be charged full so the bigger the case the more powder and that .45 Colt case is really powerful with black powder. The powder has odd properties; high velocity, low pressure, high heat and lots of smoke and fouling. It's really impressive to shoot but a mess to clean up afterward, I have to take my Colt's completely apart to clean them after shooting black powder. And you have to clean right away. First just boil some water and pour it through the bore and cylinder right after shooting, that's easy but then the rest of the fouling is still in the action. I use SPG lube and 454190 wheel weights in my Lyman 4 cavity mold. It is fun and impressive to shoot. You can't shoot fast because the target disappears behind a cloud of smoke after the first shot. You'll find yourself standing there waiting for the wind to blow or you'll sidestep for the next shot. Rooster Cogburn couldn't have shot all those snakes in that ground hole to save Mattie with a Colt full of holy black. The overpressure is significant, I read an article in the Cowboy Chronicle that a guy fired off a few rounds in a chicken coup and came out coughing and retching. A chicken coup was used because buildings were small on a lot of the frontier, wood had to be shipped. He said that a kerosene lantern was set behind him and it blew out from the first shot.

Put your cases in a mix window cleaner without ammonia and water for a while, then tumble them as usual. They come out very clean.

['74 sharps]

I shoot Schuetzen 2F in a 45 Colt. Tried 3F, and a bit uncomfortable to shoot. I believe the original load was 2F and a 250gr bullet. For case cleaning, a soap/water rinse, and tumble as usual.

[joec]

I also use FFg and fill the case to a level about 1/16" for the bullet to compress it. I shoot 250 - 255 gr bullets and use SPG for lube which is important as not all lubes work with black powder. Other than that I clean using soap/water then rinse and tumble the brass or lube the gun. I have Ballistol for cleaning the gun at the moment but other things also work well as long as water based.

[BCRider]

A drop tube will let the powder pack in a little tighter. And as you suspected using a finer grind will allow for a higher density. But in the case of the .45Colt you want to stop at 3f which is as fine as you want to go at that sort of volume.

The load itself isn't that fussy as long as you fill the whole volume. From there whatever dipper gives you anywhere from 1/16 to 1/8 of compression is fine. If you set up a drop tube it'll pack the powder in a little tighter. In that case go with enough to get from zero to 1/16 compression. As long as there isn't a serious air gap left behind you're fine.

If you want to play around with lighter charges then use a filler such as cream of wheat. Again, it's to avoid any air gap which results in instant combustion of the entire charge instead of a progressive combustion like you get with a packed charge.

Silver Jack makes the cleaning sound worse than it is. I've got my cap and ball guns down to around 15 minutes for the barrel and cylinder. The action itself adds another 20 to 25 minutes but I only do that every third day out. And with a pass through cylinder of a cartridge revolver you should be able to quickly develop a technique that results in cleaning, drying out and lubing the basics within 10 minutes. Again, add another 20 to 25 every third time out for the internals.

Ballistol is your friend. It's black powder friendly for lubrication and corrosion protection. So it doesn't need to be cleaned away before shooting like other oils. Avoid the stuff usually used for smokeless as most of them turn into a sticky tar like deposit when used in black powder guns. Ballistol won't do that.

The smoke IS an issue. But it's also the whole point of shooting black powder.... :D Effective it may not be. But it's hellishly fun! ! ! ! ! And the thing I like is that it provides a direct connection to our history. With a proper replica gun or one of the originals in good shooting shape loading it with black powder means that we're experienceing EXACTLY the same things our fore fathers experienced. Both in terms of the successes and the hardships. It's not often we can say that.

[rintinglen]

I respectfully differ--The clean up IS that bad. Failure to thoroughly clean will result in rust, and you better not put it off--"the sun never sets on an un-cleaned gun" is generally good advice, but imperative if you live anywhere with a lot of moisture and humidity. There's a reason why outhouses and black powder aren't widely used anymore, they've been superceded by newer and better alternatives. I've a pair of Pietta .44 1860's and I just don't shoot 'em anymore, clean up is just too much hassle. One of these days Midway will have the cartridge conversions for them in stock when I have some money.

[44man]

Cleaning is not that hard. Remove the cylinder and grip panels. Put the gun in the laundry tub and hose it down. Cold water to start will work better for BP. I also like Birchwood-Casey BP solvent and a mix of 50-50 anti freeze cleans good too. But cold water is enough.
Then I go to some soap, patches and brushes.
Rinse with hot water from the faucet so it dries better, then spray the whole thing with Birchwood-Casey Barricade, flush out the inside of the gun. Spray Ballistol is also good.
No need to take the gun apart. 15 minutes is about right.
The sprays will creep everywhere, neutralize any BP, provide lube and prevent rust.
Clean the cylinder pin hole and pin and put STP on the pin and ratchet.
NO WD-40---EVER!

[BCRider]

Re:Cleaning

I guess we all have our different standards as to what constitutes "a lot of work" for cleaning our guns. And yes when shooting black powder one can't set it aside for days at a time until it's convenient.

For my part I find that the fun of shooting something different and that makes SOOOOO much smoke easily justifies the work needed to clean the guns when I get home. So I don't begrudge the need to spend about 20 minutes per gun cleaning away the black powder fouling.

As the old saying goes YMMV. And it would be a boring world indeed if we all agreed and did the same things.