Just bought 1860 Army

[BobJ]

Hello. New here. Just bought an Uberti 1860 Colt Army. Picked up at Dixie Gun Works so I could handle all the other CB revolvers. This felt best. I also read every post on this board before buying.

I cleaned, prepared, and checked the gun as advised, but have not disassembled yet as I don’t have good screwdrivers. I have fired over 100 shots now, and the gun works flawlessly. Too cold and wet outside to concentrate on grouping and load development. Very satisfied so far.

Started with 454 balls and Rem 11 caps as recommended by Dixie. Used them all up. Bass Pro local store stocks only 457 balls and Rem 10 caps. The 10s are longer and fit better, I like them. The 457 balls leave a slightly thicker lead ring, so they may strain the loading lever more. Is .003 ball diameter that significant and will it wear out my gun faster?

What are those godawful square headed screws sticking out the sides of the frame? They scrape and bang up my fingers, and the original on display at BP doesn’t have them.

Another concern, my flask throws 24 grains. With Wonder Wads, the ball is 1 / 4 inch below cylinder mouth. With 30 grains, less than 1/16 inch. I am afraid the ball won’t seat firmly on the powder without a wad using 24 grains, so I am using 30 grains for now as I am out of wads. Bass Pro wants $14 for 100 Wonder Wads, NO WAY! Will this be hard on my gun?

Gripe, Balls 14 cents, caps 7, wad 7, for 28 cents per shot, I may as well be shooting cartridges! 35 cents buying stuff at BP. Will buy bullet mould and wad punch later.

Anyway, love this thing, appreciate your help and advice. The wealth of information on this board has really cut my learning curve. Thanks to all.

[Rebel-1]

Welcome to the Dark Side. Those screw sticking out of the frame are the extra screws to mount a shoulder stock. As for not using a wad, i use 25 grs of Goex 3f and then fill the chamber nearly full of Cream Of Wheat for a filler when not using wads. Put a dab of grease over the ends of the chamber for lubing the barrel and keeping the fouling soft and you are good to go. Cost less than wads do too.

[His lordship.]

I traditionally load my revolvers down some to preserve the gun and powder consumption, experiment with what shoots well.  I also use Crisco vegetable shortening to seal up the cylinders after seating the ball, but in hot weather this causes it to ooze out and not seal properly, either I avoid the heat or use a wonder wad.

Yeh, those bolts sticking out some do look a bit weird.  I have never gotten around to buying the stock extension, I suppose it would help steady the gun. 

[bedbugbilly]

BobJ - in regards to the cost of the balls - once you determine what diameter works best, consider casting your own.  You can buy an aluminum block mold very reasonaly priced.  I have purchased several from Track Of The Wolf - nice folks to deal with but there are other good dealers and suppliers out there as well.  You'll need a melting pot - sometimes you can pick up a cast iron "plumbers pot" at a flea markeet for next to nothing and you'll need a ladle as well.  You want to use "soft" lead - avoid tire weights as they are not pure lead.  I usually try to get pure lead from a scrap yard - lots of time I can find lead from "lead sheathed cable" - have had good luck with that.  I use beeswax to "flux" the lead after it's melted.  Don't cast in the house - you want good air circulation to keep lead fumes away.  I've melted lots of lead over just an ordinary campfire when I can set the pot in a nice bed of coals.  A propane hot plate works good as well.  In an afternoon, you can run a lot of balls to keep ahead of what you are shooting.  Do a search on this site for threads on casting your own and you should get some good information on it.  It's the one cost you do have control over - let's face it, swaged balls from a sporting goods shop end up being expensive.  If you find a cap that works well, stick with it and look around to get the best price on buying a quantity - in lots of ten tins or a 1000 caps.  You can make your own felt over the powder wads as well - check out the threads on that but make sure you use wool felt, not something with synthetic fiber.  Lube - lots of it out there but try getting some tallow from Dixie Gun Works and add some beeswax to get the right consistency for the temperatures you are shooting at and use it to seal your loaded chambers.  Good luck with your shooting!

[Flint]

As for the cost of shooting cap & ball, there was a time when it was cheaper than cartridge, but it is currently more expensive with the price of powder, balls and caps.  The "fourth screws" can be removed if they bother your shooting hand.  Some shooters have cut the heads down, or removed them and made or found a slotted set screw to replace them, I believe the thread is #10-32, but I could mis-remember.

I generally use about 27 gr of BP, with a Wonder Wad (You can make your own with some felt and a hollow punch).  The Uberti works with a 454 or 457 ball, the Pietta needs a 451 or 454.

[Gatofeo]

You can use all the .457 balls you want. The 1860 Colt lever is quite strong, stronger than the 51 Navy and Dragoons, owing to its design.
But no, .003 inch difference in ball size won't make a significant difference in seating pressure. Too many folks bear down far too much on their loading lever. Seating will be much easier if you invest in a loading block that holds the revolver upright.
I don't believe in using separate, bullet-seating rigs. The one included with the revolver is just fine, especially if you use a loading block.
Wonder Wads are expensive. I make my own wads with a .45-caliber punch purchased from Buffalo Arms. The punch sets sold by Harbor Freight and others have punches either too small or too large for the .45 caliber.
Finding the proper felt is difficult. It MUST be real wool felt, not polyester (read plastic). The felt must also be fairly stiff. You may find an old cowboy hat at the thrift store that works, if it's made of stiff, wool felt. If not, check out Durofelt online. It sells sheets of 1/8-inch, wool, hard felt that makes wonderful wads. I paid $27 for a large sheet some years ago and it will ultimately create nearly 8,000 wads for me. Buy a sheet of 1/8-iinch hard, wool felt and a .45-caliber punch and you're set.
As for balls, cast your own. Or search the net for bargains. Buy .454 or .457 inch balls. Avoid .451 balls. The larger balls seal better in the chamber and create a wider driving band for the rifling to grip, aiding accuracy.

[BobJ]

Thanks, Chris D, Bedbug, Rebel 1, Flint, Ugly Cat. Right now, since my wads ran out, I am using 24 grains (that’s what the flask spout throws) Goex with Cream of Wheat and Crisco on top. Works great, and the barrel kept pretty clean. I will order some mutton tallow and beeswax, and get some paraffin to make Gatofeo lube #1 soon and some felt from durofelt to punch out my own wads when I get a bit of mad money. I used to cast .58 Minie bullets and have a pot and dipper, so I will order an aluminum ball mould. Why not, the mould is the same price as two boxes of balls. The .457 Hornady balls I got seem softer than the .454 Speer balls, just my imagination, I guess, but I will get the .457 mould and use pure lead. As Gatofeo recommended, I bought a revolver stand with the gun, really assists uniformity. I am really liking my C&B. The natural pointability is amazing, but refining loads for accuracy will have to wait for some global warming, down to zero this week and snowing around here.

I will pull one of the “fourth screws,” replacing them with set screws sounds feasible.

Thanks for the help. Really love black powder, can’t get interested in shooting my modern firearms anymore, I think developing handloads was my main interest. Someone here mentioned Elmer Keith’s Sixguns as having a C&B chapter, looked it up on Amazon, they had some used copies for like $180! May try the library.