New to BP. some observations and questions for Mr. Wizard

[Little Tex]

hello All-  I have a Pietta Remington 1858.  After reading the forum posts, I have come up with the following:
1) 22-25grains of 3f is a good charge for target shooting.

2) you can load up to 30 grains of 3f in this pistol.

3) the 15 grain max that pietta says is hogwash.
 
4) you want to seat the bullet all the way down on the powder....space between the powder and bullet is BAD for accuracy and can be dangerous

5) You want the bullet to be close to the front of the cylinder as possible, again good for accuracy.

Sooooo, assuming all the above is true (please tell me if its not!)

A) With 22 grains of 3f, and pushing the bullet all the way down, There is still about 1/10 of an inch space between the powder and bullet. 

B) I would have to load MANY TOO MANY grains of BP to get the bullet to seat on the power and still have the bullet barely sub flush with the front of the cylinder.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Been doing some more reading, about fillers

1) lots of ways to do it, but it seems the round foam insulation you buy at lowes is ez to do.  (looking for opinions here)

but...here is my question.

IF you put lets say 22 grains of 3f, and you use the foam insulation that will compress the powder, can you seat the bullet so it is just barely sub flush with the front of the cylinder and still have it be safe?  My thinking is that foam is So less dense than the ball, that from the black powders perspective it will see the compressed foam filler as nothing more than thick air.

I know I am nerding out a bit here, but what the heck.  That's why this hobby is so much fun.

Thanks in advance for your advice and experience.

-LT

[AtlLaw]

a greased felt wad will fill up space and more!

[Little Tex]

so how exaclty would you do this?  And when you seat the ball, would you seat it 'snug" or just to the top of the cylinder?

Thanks

[AtlLaw]

Well suh... First thing I'd do is read the stickie "Proper use of a cap and ball revolver" started by Gatofeo.  That'd give you most all the info you need.   

Now, if'n I were worried about about gettin the ball as close to the mouth of the chamber as I could, which I ain't,    I'd probably add some a that Ka-reem of Wheat on top of the best performing BP charge and under the greased wad.

Me, I just pour in the powder charge my revolver likes, 40 gr. for my Dragoon which I have been shooting the most, or often just drop in the charge wrapped in combustible paper, seat a wad, punched from a roll of felt and lubed with Gatofeo's BP Lube formula, then seat the ball with firm pressure.

Maybe, if I had nothing more pressing to do, I would experiment with seating depth...    Not likely though.  I don't even do that with Smokeless Powder hunting or target loads anymore!   

[Little Tex]

Most excellent.  It looks like I have some reading to do. thanks a bunch for taking the time to help me out.

[AtlLaw]

No problem LT!  And welcome to GBO! 

Keep posting your questions and experiences, we love to talk!  I'm supprised no one else posted to this...    I'm sure others here have opinions...  Naw, maybe not... after all, BP shooting is an exact science!   

[Pat/Rick]

Yep, the stickies will answer most questions I imagine. Alot of us use wads to take up space in the chamber as well as sealing/ lubeing purposes. You could measure your selected projectile with wad, and then know how full to fill your chambers, leaving X amount for projectile and wad. Have fun!

[Little Tex]

I have played around quite a bit and have come to the conclusion that it really does not matter if the ball is seated firmly.  That you can use wads, or foam, or some type of bore lube over the ball.

It comes down to ease.  its all pretty ez.  But I want to be pure of heart.

I have my parafin and bees wax.

Mutton Tallow is not as available as one would hope. 

Any good ideas?  Any resonable substitutions?

I bought some stiff felt at the store and it is sure thinner than the commercial wads.  any ideas for local supply of stiff felt?

BTW, found the best punch in the word.  A pipe of the proper inside diameter spinning in the drill press just knocks them thar wads out as fast as I can pull on the handle.  Nice and clean too.

[AtlLaw]

I have played around quite a bit

That's the whole idea isn't it!     Have fun there Skippy!  Hi-ebber, and day always be a hi-ebber,  I will say that... <ahem>

it really does not matter if the ball is seated firmly.

I try to seat BP projectiles with a consistant firmness.  To much airspace between BP and ball reminds me to much of a pipe bomb...    Remember, BP is an explosive, not a propelant.

you can use wads, or foam, or some type of bore lube over the ball.

Bore lube is cool, but I worry about meltable synthetics or possibly creating a bore obstruction in anything I shoot.

It comes down to ease.  its all pretty ez.  But I want to be pure of heart.

God loves the pure of heart!   

I have my parafin and bees wax.

Good stuff!  'specially the beeswax!

Mutton Tallow is not as available as one would hope.  Any good ideas?  Any resonable substitutions?

I musta got the last bucket of mutton tallow for sale in America!  Glad something worked out for me... We had quite a discussion here some time back about tallow.  Seems to me it even got into rendering it yourself.  Might want to search for the thread(s)

And, a member here (doc623) has deer tallow.  He sent me some a long time back and I have let it sit on a shelf in the man cave to see how it acts.  So far so good.  No odor or deterioration that I can see.

any ideas for local supply of stiff felt?

Gatofeo posted a supplier for felt and I ordered a roll from her.  Nice lady.  She even tagged the felt (1/8 inch I think) for wads on her website.  I don't have the URL handy though.  Maybe someone else has it and I'll try to find it for you.  Buy one roll and happily punch out a lifetime supply of wads!   

found the best punch in the word.

Now you tell me!     Still may try it if I can think of a way to get a .460 pipe into the chuck...   

[AtlLaw]

Mutton Tallow is not as available as one would hope.

Okay LT.  I've PM'd with doc623 and he's going to check his stock of tallow.  Seems he had a less then great deer season... Anyway, he doesn't sell the tallow but will share with members, a common trait here on GBO, if he has the stuff.

He told me to tell you to PM him if you want some and he'll do his best to help you out if has any.

Did you find the URL for the felt?  I think it's in the FAQ's somewhere... 

[crgator]

Duro-Felt Products link http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html