I forgot to compress the BP in my martini henry rounds. Is it ok to shoot them like t

[Danm55]

New to reloading BP cartridges. I loaded ten rounds for the first time ever and i forgot to compress the black powder. Is it ok to shoot them? Everything else is done correctly.

[Dan Cash]

As long as you have no or minimal air space between powder and bullet, you are ok. Often, uncompressed powder leaves lots of fouling is all.

[Danm55]

Thanks thats good to know. There shouldnt be any gaps in the rounds. Just out of curiosity what if there was a gap? Could it be dangerous? Or would it just make the round not burn right? Maybe possibly causing a squib bullet? Next time ill be sure to compress the powder tho.

[country gent]

If your charge required compression and you forgot seating the bullet compressed it. I you hand seated with out the compression done they may be to long to chamber.

[Lead pot]

If there is a gap between the wad and bullet you will have a problem if that gap is excessive. You will ring the chamber or depending on the gap put a walnut of rupture the barrel.
There was a guy at the range I shoot at show me a brand new 74 Sharps with the .45-120-3-3/4.
I asked him what he had for a load and he said they are loaded with black and a 500 grain gov bullet. I asked how much powder he said 80 grains and I said don't shoot that load. The guy with him said it's a mild load and I said yes but you will damage the barrel.
They went to the 100 yard line and shot the rifle.
I heard a couple shots before he came over the 200 yard range where I was shooting and asked if he could use my cleaning rod. I asked done already and he said ne I have a tight case stuck in the chamber.

[Danm55]

Yikes that sounds scary. I dont think there is a gap at all. But i deff didnt compress the powder befire i loaded it. The wads and cookie and cotton ball may have a lil bit. If there was a gap would u here the stuff inside move when u shake the bullet? Jw. I really dont want to take any risk. I plan on shooting my martini, 1873, berdan and chasspot gras soon. Well maybe not the berdan i cant find any brass :(

[R-71]

How much powder do you have in your rounds? I load my MH with 85 grains of powder and use carded wool to take up the space in the case. I then use a card wad, lube wad followed by another card wad. There is really no way to compress the BP in a martini round.

[Danm55]

Oh really? Thats good to know. I used 80 grains FF, some cotton wool, a cardboard wad, felt grease cookie, 2 more wads, then the grease grooved bullets.

[oldracer]

If it were me.....and it has been a few years since I shot cartridge rifles (muzzle loaders only now) I would pull the bullet carefully then compress the powder with yor compression die. If a load is NOT done perfectly then results can be disasterous as show in the pictures of a destroyed schuetzen rifle that happened at our South Bay Rod & Gun Club when the powder load was too big!

My mentor, the late Doug Knoell told me to ALWAYS do the cartridge load the same way every time and never let a run of loads get interrupted. I loaded 10 cases each time and put them in a plastic case and set aside. I always used a home made compression die to compress the news wad, milk carton wad and powder. The bullet either grease groove or paper patched would just slide into the case finally measure overall length. The only time I let my late wife bother me was when she came into the garage crying the day Dale SR was killed and I had to calm her down and go upstairs and see what had happened. I was lucky as I had just finished 10 loads and I didn't do anymore that day!
John

[R-71]

If you are shooting GG bullets and you can get enough neck tension to hold your bullet you don’t need any of the other fillers. I’ve fired my MH this way and it works fine.

[FrankJD]

IMHO, this is no time to mess around - if you are unsure, or if you want to take the safe route, pull those ten cartridges completely apart, start over, do it right. Lesson learned.

[namsag]

^^^^^This^^^^^. It's only 10 rounds, pull them apart and be sure, not the end of the world. This is what they call "experience!"

[R-71]

If this is a 577/450 MH there is no way you would want to put enough powder to fill the case! It would probably take close to twice the British Service charge of 85 Grains. It is a huge bottle neck case. In a long straight walled Cartridge such as the Big 45s and 50's an air space would be a concern.

[Danm55]

Ok ill take em apart and compress the powder. Is the method the same for all black powder loads? Like for the other types im planning to load? 45 70 and 11mm gras? Compress it and use grease cookies?

[martinibelgian]

R-71 is right, no way you want enough powder in a 577-450 to compress the charge. Just 80-85 grs of FG and DON'T put a wad on top of the Powder. DO leave airspace between powder and wad, or use a filler to completely fill the airspace. No compression needed, 577-450 is not a 'normal' cartridge and doesn't obey normal cartridge rules. Remember, no wads, no grease cookie below the neck, no granular filler. And yes airspace will work, I already shot close to 1,000 RDS of 577-450 in original rifles following the above rules. This is NOT a typical straight BP case, don't treat it as such.

[Danm55]

Ok so i shouldnt put a cardboard wad on top the powder? Just cotton then wads? And dont compress the powder at all before loading?

[R-71]

You are reloading 577/450 MH for a Martini Henry rifle? If you are using a GG bullet simply prime the case, Charge with your 80 grain BP load and seat the GG bullet. I've loaded and shot my MH in this fashion and it works fine. What GG bullet are you using? I have the RCBS which drops a little small so I have to size the neck a bit.

You do not want any of the card/lube wads to creep below the neck or shoulder area.

[martinibelgian]

Basically, you compress powder to be able to get more in. Do you really want to use more powder? I don't think so....
No compression needed, a little airspace is ok as long as you don't seat a wad on top of the powder. Also, how in heaven's name are you going to compress powder in the case body, below the neck? And anything you put on top of the powder needs to come out through that rather 'radical' funnel from 577 to .460. So no granular filler either. You actually want your powder column to slump, thus avoiding the risk of bulges. Read vieille 's work, he explained it in the 19th century. Seems like R-71 is the only poster having actual experience with the round. Mind you, the others are kinda partially right too, but not for this round!
The 1st and only time I loaded 577-350 with a load without airspace, I put in 110+ grs of powder. It a) hurt, and b) shot like ****, and c) literally kicked the snot out of me....

[martinibelgian]

BTW, suggest you check out the Martini forum at British militaria forums, and check there for reloading the venerable 577-450.

[Danm55]

Ok thanks for the info. Im using hand poured GG bullets. I like making my own bullets. Theyre 450 grains i think.