New to Black Power Revolver Shooting. Any Advice?

[SomeGuyNamedMatt]

Yep, I'm new here.  Very nice forums you guys have. 

I've been interested in picking myself up a decent little cap and ball revolver for a while now.  I've been looking for something around $200 (not much of a budget, is it?), probably a .44 or .45 of some sort.

I was looking at the Cabelas website, and saw that they were selling a really nice looking Pietta 1858 New Army .44-Caliber revolver for $199.  There was also a nice 1851 Confederate Navy .44-Caliber model that looked pretty nice.  Would you recommend either of these, or is there a better model from a different company that costs roughly the same?

Aside from picking the actual gun, I just want to take a minute and make sure I have my basics down.  I know it sure sounds like a lot of fun, but I feel like things could go wrong extremely quickly with something like this...

I'll just go from start to finish.  When I want to shoot, I'm going to want to put a cap on each of the nipples and fire it to blow out any excess grease.  To load, first measure out the FFFG powder (I'd be getting a flask and a separate powder measure) and dump it into five of the cylinders (Cap it first? Seems like you would...); Six if I'm going to shoot immediately after loading.  Then, push a .44-45 Caliber Lubed Ox-Yoke Wonder Wad into each of the loaded cylinders, and ram it down.  Then, put a .454 (is that what you'd use, or do you prefer .451 or .457?) into the cylinder and ram it onto the wad.  I'm not sure about anything special that needs to be done to the bullet though - do you lube the entire ball, do nothing at all to it, or ram it down and then put grease on it?  I feel like there would be serious leading if there isn't any lube at all on top of the ball, but maybe a black powder revolver is different than your typical modern handgun... I guess that's why I came here, first.

Other than that, you slightly pinch in the sides of a cap, put it onto the nipple, and you're ready to go.  Right?  I'm sure I missed some things here and there, but I have exactly zero hours of shooting experience with this.

One last question.  Cleaning.  I have a general idea of how to clean a BP revolver, but maybe there are a few tricks or tips I haven't heard yet.  You need to completely take it down to every last screw, dump everything into a vat of soapy water, and start scrubbing, basically.  Then you're going to take everything out, hand-dry it the best you can, and apparently put it in the oven.  Wow.  Any alternatives to that?... because I'm a little hesitant in putting my recent purchase to bake at 150 degrees for half an hour.  Would a hair dryer work for this, maybe?  Anyway, once it's completely dry and warmed up, you submerse (do you?  Or just wipe?) it in something like Crisco which isn't oil-based to provide rust protection.  Reassemble and you're good to go.  Or at least that's how I think it goes... once again, I'm just restating my understanding of these things so you professionals can point out the correct way to do it. 

Oh, and I forgot.  Here's the list of stuff I'll need so far:
.44-Caliber Revolver
FFFG Black Powder
CCI #11 Caps
Nipple Wrench
Ox-Yoke Wonder Wads
Powder Flask
Powder Measure
Loading Stand
Round Balls (.451, 454, or 457?)
...and feel free to add to it, if you see need.

Load of reading there, I know.  I just want to make sure I get it right the first time and don't cost myself the $200 of a new gun.
Much appreciated!
-Matt

[Pat/Rick]

I am quite happy with my '58 "remmie" from cabelas' The other, the Reb navy in .44 is a brass frame for 149.99. preferably I stay away from brass frames, they will stretch after awhile. (Admitedly I have thought of getting the reb '51 in .44 to make a "snubbie" out of).

Yep, bust a cap to clear the nipple before loading.DO NOT cap the cylinder before loading. Capping should be the last step of the loading process. 1. powder  2. wad  3. projectile   4. cap loaded cylinders.Ensure caps are seated (tight) on nipples.  5. Shoot  You can lube over the ball after loading, I usually just use the ox-yoke wads, they are lubricated.

You might want to pick up a brass straight line capper, they work on all revolvers. The "snail type" looks like a six kind of, will NOT work on the "remmie" repros (the nipple recess shoulders don't have enough clearance).

Sounds like you have a grasp on the cleaning, helps to use an old ( or your brothers  ) toothbrush and pipe cleaners for getting tight nooks and crannies. You can "grease" the cleaned arm with crisco or olive oil (sweet oil is the old timey name).

There is alot of good info on these pages and fun to read a back page or two an evening. Alot of guys more knowledgable than i have put good stuff in here. Have fun!

[SomeGuyNamedMatt]

Ah, thanks.
You're right... now that I read back over it, it would be a really, really stupid thing to do to try and cap your gun, and rest it on the hammer to load it.  I'll probably pick up a capper while I'm at it, now that you mention it, too.

Any opinions on Pietta?  How well made are their firearms?

[Pat/Rick]

The three revolvers I have all came from Cabelas' and are Pietta brothers. I have been very happy with them, have no complaints at all.

[SomeGuyNamedMatt]

Sounds good. 

Couple last things I'm still wondering about...
Do you really have to bake your gun to dry it, or would a hair dryer do?  I could understand it being a one-time thing, maybe...
I'm assuming you just use a bronze bore brush to get rid of leading.
And one more.  What size balls do you prefer, if you have a .44?  I'd probably order .454 just to be in the middle, but maybe one or the other works better for you.

And that should cover everything I'll need to know for the next couple months.  Once again, much appreciated. 

[FourBee]

Do you have to bake your gun to dry it ?
  No....  Rinse it in HOT water and lay in on a towel.  While you're pat drying the parts with a towel you'll note they are drying before you get to them.  But that is a personal preference.

Getting rid of leading. 
If you see leading, which I doubt, a bronze brush won't hurt it.

Size Ball:  A Pieta 1858 Rem New Army requires the .451" Ball, but a .454" is good insurance to seal off the powder from flash.  I use a greased wad under the ball for my lube.  When rammed down into the cylinder there will be a definite ring of lead remaining atop the cylinder.

Enjoy your experince in Black Powder.  Looks like your off to a good start.
4B

[SomeGuyNamedMatt]

Well, that pretty much answers everything I needed to know.  Thanks to everyone who contributed for the help.
That should be all for right now.  I'm sure I'll be back soon enough.

[jlchucker]

I started doing the cap and ball thing in 1972.  Ah, those were the days!  You could order just about any Colt or Remmie copy for around 40 bucks--and if I remember, 69 bucks for dragoons and Walkers.  I got several different models, delivered to me by mail to the post office, and shot them all.  I never did get a brass frame gun though, and never will.  Nearly all of my cap n ball copies are gone now, except for a 44 remmie copy, and that was my woods-walking handgun for years.  I still use it now and then.  I looked at your list.  Here's my 2 cents:  I've used wonder wads, and still do. But for starters you can use grease like Crisco, or if you prefer the store bought stuff, bore butter in a tube.  You don't really need a loading stand.  I've never had one, never used one. 

As far as ball sizes go, when I was really into it I used to get the Dixie Gun Works Catalog, more for information than buying products.  They were a good company, and I hope they still are. For a 36 revolver, I learned from them that 000 buck, bought in 5 lb bags, is a bargain and fits just right.  For 44 round balls, I settled on buying Hornaday 454's for everything.  That diameter is a good one to start with for copies of the old 44's, I found.  451's are a bit loose in some guns.

 Back to Bore Butter.  One of the things you'll find is that you'll have to keep your revolver's base pin greased up or it will start binding from powder crud after a dozen shots or so.  Remmies are worse than Colt open tops for this. Bore butter is a great base pin grease.  By the way--I've never baked a gun to dry it, and they didn't rust.  I never had any leading issues either,  so nylon brushes have been OK in every gun I used but bronze wouldn't hurt anything. 

One last thing--read Pat/Rick's post.  He's stressed the most important safety point--CAP LAST when loading.  Once that cap is on you've got a loaded gun--the kind of which put many a civil war trooper in an early grave. As for cleaning,  Pat/Rick's comment reads like he does it like I've done for years with no problems.  Good luck.

[FourBee]

Right On jl:   I like that post....
1972....... back in those days it wasn't easy to find black powder possibles.


I agree on the Wonder wads.   The grease was just too messy for me.  Dixie Gun Works Catalog is worth the $5 even today.  It has all kinds of BP info , guns, and parts.


And  U also mentioned 'Bore Butter' .   Good stuff.  Keeps your piece running when practicing.

[SomeGuyNamedMatt]

Wow, very nice pictures.  Thanks.

I'm debating on whether to get myself a Remington 1858 or a Colt 1860.  I'm at a loss as to which one I like more right now... I like the fact that the Remington has a top strap and how the sights work on it, but I love the casehardened finish on the 1860.  I saw that Cabelas was selling an 1858 with checkered grips and a casehardened frame, but I can't say that I like the grips on it... it would be perfect if they just gave you the standard, smooth finished ones instead.

Oh, and you'll have to excuse my comment on capping the pistol before loading it.  I was a little tired when I said that...