Breech Seating: anyone?

[Argentino]

Howdy,

I would like to start using this technique for an old .43 Spanish Rolling Block.

Since I intend to use BP loads on it, and given the long throat on my Roller,
my main concern is about the possible gap between the base of the bullet and the loaded case.

Of course, BP will be compressed inside the case and I was thinking to top it off with some filler (cornmeal)
and then adding wad+grease cookie+another wad so the loaded round will be filled up to the case mouth in order to reduce that gap to the minimum.

However, I´ve measured the chamber and I still have a gap of about 1/6" from case mouth to bullet base.

Did anyone try this technique before and ran into the same issues?

Should I be concerned about any potential risk by having that air space (1/6" gap) between wad and bullet base when using BP loads properly retained (by using filler and wads) in a loaded case?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Argentino (Argie)

[Gunlaker]

I breech seat using black powder, sometimes with considerable airspace. I have not run into any problems, but most of my rifles have barrels made with modern steel. If you are concerned, you could seat a felt wad between the cartridge case and the bullet.

Chris.

[singleshot]

Gunlaker makes a good point with the felt wad, in addition you could add more cornmeal, COW, dried coffee grounds, etc...

[Nobade]

Since those rifles don't actually have any real throat in them, but just a really long neck in the chamber, I have found far better accuracy by using 44-90 Shiloh brass and sizing it in a 43 Spanish die to set the shoulder back, and trimming to the chamber length. Loaded with slick boolits paper patched to be a snug slip fit in a fired case, with a grease cookie between two card wads and a lightly compressed load of FFg, it shoots far better than I ever imagined it could.

I am afraid if you try to breech seat a boolit in it, since it's not throated for that, you will find they want to tip as they are launched and you'll not see terribly good accuracy. (Unless you make the boolits the diameter of the neck portion in the chamber. But then pressures might get a bit wild.)

-Nobade

[bigted]

argentino ... if i read your fear correctly ... your breech seated boolit ... when seating the boolit in the rifled begining of your breech ... there is a gap of the 1/6th between the case mouth and the boolit base ... is this correct?

if so then 6 tenths is a lot ... unless you meant 1/16th which is very little. 6 tenths tho is well over half an inch and i understand your fear if this is the circumstances. not sure i would attempt to shoot the breech seated boolit if it were going to be 1.2 inch or better from the case mouth. that sounds like something to avoid ... but i've never breech seated anything to date so i comment on what goes thru my noggin and it may very well be incorrect.