I have a complete set of American Rifleman magazines dating from 1929 to the latest issue, about 900 issues. Reading these old issues often reveals something interesting.
The Dope Bag column of the May 1930 issue (p. 41) caught my eye : LOADS FOR A CAP-AND-BALL.
A reader, J.F.D., wrote to ask what loads are suggested for a Remington .44 cap and ball revolver. Remember, this is for an original Remington; reproductions were not produced until nearly 40 years later.
Major Julian S. Hatcher responded to J.F.D. with responses that remain interesting 80 years after they were published. Among the most interesting points:
This marks the earliest record I’ve encountered where a greased, felt wad was suggested for use between the ball and powder of a cap and ball revolver. Prior to this 1930 report, the earliest reference I’ve found was Elmer Keith’s 1955 book, “Sixguns.”
Born in 1899, Keith was 13 when Civil War veterans showed him how to load his original Colt 1851 Navy. To my knowledge, Keith never said where he learned to use a greased felt wad.
The lubricant that Hatcher suggests is interesting: Vaseline and paraffin or beeswax. Today’s experienced black powder shooters prefer natural greases and oils, rather than those based on petroleum. Experience has shown that petroleum lubricants, when used with black powder, often produce a hard, tarry fouling. Natural greases and oils keep fouling soft and easily removed by each shot, or with a damp patch.
King’s Semi-Smokeless powder is mentioned and recommended. It was once popular for old shotguns and target rifles originally designed for black powder. King’s Semi-Smokeless was made to measure in the same volume as black powder, and produce equal pressures, but with less smoke and fouling. It was discontinued about 1936, probably because America was swinging into pre-World War II production and the older, black powder guns had fallen out of favor.
Today, there is no smokeless powder safe to use in a cap and ball revolver, even revolvers of modern design and materials.
Hatcher advises not to use black powder granulation smaller than FFG, but cap and ball revolver shooters have been using FFFG granulation for decades, with improved burning characteristics. Interestingly, in “Sixguns” Keith suggests FFFG grade for revolvers of .28 and .31 caliber, and FFG for those .36 caliber and larger.
Myself, I’ve had excellent results in all bore sizes, from .31 to .44, with FFFG and I believe that most experienced cap and ball revolver shooters would agree it’s the grade of choice. But if you can’t find FFFG, then FFG will certainly work well.
The need for plenty of lubrication is noted by Hatcher, and that remains true today. Not only does the lubricant ease the passage of the projectile down the bore, but excess lubricant tends to get sprayed onto and into areas covered with black powder fouling, keeping the fouling soft and reducing drag and binding of moving parts.
The best lubricant remains some type of natural soft grease, such as Crisco, lard, Bore Butter, mutton tallow or related blends. These soft greases are readily distributed with each shot, and don’t dry out from the heat of firing, as oils do.
Back to the 1930 inquiry from J.F.D. to The Dope Bag:
The reader notes that he’s been using Ideal (Lyman) 450225 conical and 451118 (.451 inch ball).
“I have used the latter (.451 inch ball) with good results with 40 grains FFG. Are there any other bullets that you would recommend?” J.F.D. wrote.
“Is FFFG black better than FFG? With the load mentioned above I got excessive fouling. I suppose this is due to an over charge rather than to the size of grain of the powder.
“Is there any smokeless powder that I could use, such as bulk smokeless?,” J.F.D. wrote
Major Julian S. Hatcher replied:
“The two Ideal bullets you are using are O.K. for your gun. Forty grains of black powder is a heavy load. You can use this or any smaller one with these bullets. As long as you use over 20 grains of powder. Do not use any smaller size than FFG.
“The only other powder I have tried for a gun of this kind is King’s Semismokeless. You might try 20 grains of FFG with this powder.
“The excessive fouling may be due to insufficient lubrication. Fouling with black powder is almost always severe under any conditions, and the only way to avoid having it bother you is to use a well-lubricated wad between your bullet and powder,” Hatcher wrote.
“To get good results with these guns, it is essential to use plenty of lubrication. One way to do this is to use greased shotgun wads, and another way is to use greased felt wads that you can make yourself out of an old hat or any other similar material. The felt should be soaked in an equal mixture of Vaseline and paraffin or beeswax.
“The use of these wads will greatly alleviate the fouling you obtained,” Hatcher replied.
This is now the earliest reference I’ve found to the use of greased, felt wads in cap and ball revolvers. Their use prior to this 1930 reference remains unknown, but it must have been common knowledge for some time before this date. Ideally, I’d like to discover a reference to greased felt wads in cap and ball revolvers in the Civil War, or earlier. We may never know when this practice began.
