Can someone gimme a brief rundown on the loading process?

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

My brother has a cap-n-ball sixgun that had a soft trigger.  I replaced the trigger and got it working.

He said I can play around with it for a while.  I'm just curious what is necessary for loading this thing.

I'm familiar with muzzle loaders so I've got the BP, caps, and Crisco.  But I recall reading that you need a larger than caliber ball.  Something weird, like the .45 caliber ML use a .440 ball, but the .44 sixguns use a .451 ball?  Does that sound right?

Also, whats this about wads and Cream O' Wheat?  Totally necessary or optional?

Finally, it's an 1858 Remmington with the brass frame.

Thanks in advance.

[Good time Charlie]

I have the same gun and it shoots .454 balls. I use 25 grains of t7 3f      
                             Charlie

[Flint]

Your rifle uses a smaller ball because it is patched, and the cloth takes up the space.  The Revolver does not use a patch, it rides the bore directly.  The cylinder chambers are bored to be a hair larger than the bore grooves so the bullet will fill the bore, and the ball must be a few thousanths larger than the chamber to insure a tight fit, so the balls won't pull out under recoil of the firing chamber, and to help prevent firing multiple chambers from flash-over.  Most repro 44 cal (they are really 45's) revolvers work better with a 454 ball.  The bore was probably 44 diameter before rifling and it got its name from that.  When seating the ball, it should cut a ring of lead off the ball, and that will show you that it is a good seal and they won't (shouldn't) fall out.  Grease the cylinder pin well too, to help keep it turning, as fouling stops the revolver fairly quickly.

[The Shrink]

Black Jack

The other thing you should know is the use of a greased patch between the bullet and the powder.  Wonder Wad makes one, I make mine out of lube soaked wool weather stripping and cut them myself.  It doesn't matter which path you take, it obviates the need to use Crisco or some other grease on top of the ball, where it runs and gets on everything.  

I used to do the Crisco route and hated it, went with unlubed ball and got leading and one chain fire, started using the wads and haven't had a problem since.  

Wayne the Shrink

[The Shrink]

Black Jack

The other thing you should know is the use of a greased patch between the bullet and the powder.  Wonder Wad makes one, I make mine out of lube soaked wool weather stripping and cut them myself.  It doesn't matter which path you take, it obviates the need to use Crisco or some other grease on top of the ball, where it runs and gets on everything.  

I used to do the Crisco route and hated it, went with unlubed ball and got leading and one chain fire, started using the wads and haven't had a problem since.  

Wayne the Shrink

[HWooldridge]

Shrink,

Where do you find felt or wool weatherstrip?  I have looked in Lowe's and Home Depot with no luck...Hollis

[Gatofeo]

I bought my felt weather stripping at a True Value hardware. I've never seen it at Home Depot.
The weather stripping is, I recall, 17 feet long and about 2 inches wide. It's made by Frost King, which has companies in Nevada and New Jersey.
Sorry, I'm at work and don't have access to a package right now.
You'll find it as a gray roll in a plastic package. Frost King uses yellow plastic packages.
Many black powder books say, "get an old felt hat ..."
Yeah. Right. Ever tried to find one? I looked in thrift shops for years for an old cowboy hat, fedora or crusher. Not a one. Until someone told me about the felt weather stripping, I was forced to buy Wonder Wads.
Here's how to load that revolver:
1. Add a measured powder charge.
2. Push the well-lubricated felt wad into the chamber.
3. Use the rammer to seat the wad firmly on the powder but don't crush the powder.
4. Use an oversized ball. In the .44s this means balls of .454 or .457 inch. I know, I know ... the books say .451 inch but best accuracy will be with an even larger ball. The larger ball, when swaged into the chamber, creates a wider belt around the ball for the rifling to grip. It also creates a better seal and keeps the balls from moving with recoil.
For .36 caliber revolvers, use a .380 inch ball. Cast your own with a Lee or Lyman mould or purchase them from Warren Muzzleloading of Arkansas. See www.warrenmuzzlelading.com
5. Seat the ball firmly on the seated wad.
6. Use proper fitting caps. Your revolver will likely use No. 10 or 11 caps. Some of the older replicas of the Dragoon and Walker use No. 12 caps, which are very difficult to find.
Why do you seat the wad separately from the ball? A number of reasons:
a. If you forget to add powder, it's easier to remove a wad than a lead ball.
b. The amount of force required to seat the ball is reduced. Thus, the ball is not deformed and you get a better "feel" for how much force you're applying to the ball.
c. The wad, seated first, will keep powder from spilling from the other chambers as you seat the ball.
Careful loading of the cap and ball revolver will improve accuracy. Have fun!

[Good time Charlie]

When you go to buy your felt, be careful what you buy. A lot of today's felt is oil based! Be sure you are buying wool felt. The synthetic stuff will screw up you barrel
                                            Charlie

[The Shrink]

Ditto.  Stay away from the polyester stuff.  I checked at a fabric store and all the "felt" thay had was poly!  Frost King is the only source I know at the moment, but one roll will last a while.  

Wayne

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Ok thanks for the info.  

Now I'll pass along something that might interest you fella's.

It's not that difficult to make your own wool felt.  I've seen it done at a craft fair our family went to.  They just took wool yarn soaked it in soapy water, then rubbed it against something.

It was really simple, they had little kids making felt balls, mittens etc.  I just can't remember what they rubbed it against.  The idea was to get the wool to fray and hook onto other wool fibers.

I'll ask my wife if she remembers.

[The Shrink]

Yeah, and it can be made from raw wool also.  This has the advantage of the lanolin not being stripped from it, so it's more lubricating naturally.  If you have a source for raw wool, that is.  

Wayne

[Good time Charlie]

I  found this place on the net (DurO felt) They have 100% wool felt. I just am not sure what thickness to order to make over powder wads. Like wonder wads.
                                  Charlie

[Gatofeo]

I once got hold of some very stiff felt from Buffalo Felt, out in New York. It was very good stuff.
I used the 1/8 inch stuff. It was a little thicker than Wonder Wads but that meant it held more lubricant. The Frost King felt is a little thinner than 1/8 inch but works well.
And the others are right, beware of synthetic felt. You want wool felt. As was noted, most hobby shops carry polyester (read plastic) felt. This stuff will melt and leave tiny clumps of melted plastic in your bore.
Hard, stiff wool felt is not easily found. Should you spot an old hat at a thrift store, glom onto it. It will provide you with a lot of wads.
But if you don't find such a hat, keep looking for the weather seal. In the meantime, the easiest source I know is to buy Wonder Wads made by Ox-Yoke and soak them in a black powder lubricant such as SPG, Lyman Black Powder Gold or Bore Butter.
My favorite lubricant is a homebrew concoction of:
1 part canning paraffin
1 part mutton tallow (available from Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax.
All measures are by weight.
Weight 200/200/100 grams of ingredients on a kitchen scale and place the ingredients in a quart Mason jar. Place the jar into a pot containing three our four inches of boiling water, for a double boiler effect (the safest way to melt greases and waxes).
When all ingredients are melted, mix thoroughly with a clean stick or chopstick. Allow to cool at room temperature. Hastening cooling by placing in the refrigerator may cause the ingredients to separate.
To lubricate wads, place two Tablespoons or so of lubricant in a clean tuna or pet food can. Place the can on a burner at very low heat. You only want to melt the lubricant, not cook it.
When melted, add about 100 wads. Stir them around so they soak up the lubricant. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
When cool, simply snap a plastic pet food lid on the can and carry your lubricated wads in that can. When you get low on wads, add more lubricant and wads and reheat. It's a good system.
Store the lubricant and lubricated wads in a cool, dry place. No need to refrigerate; I've never had a problem with raw or mixed mutton tallow going rancid.
The paraffin in this mixture stiffens the wad and helps it scrape out fouling. The beeswax and mutton tallow do most of the lubricating.
This is a very old bullet lubricant recipe, originally used by factories for outside-lubricated such as the .22 rimfire, and .32, .38 and .41 Long or Short Colt.

[Good time Charlie]

Gatofeo I made up a batch of your lube a few weeks ago. I found it in an old post of yours. I used it to lube some REAL bullets I gad cast for my GPH.54. It worked very well. I was shooting an over powder wad and I think I could have shot all day with out cleaning.
                                             Charlie

[crossbow]

I checked the DurO-felt site and I think I will buy some of that stuff,only I am confused as to which to order as there are soft, medium, and hard felt there which should I buy?Is a wonder wad hard medium or soft?.

[Good time Charlie]

For over powder wads I think you will want the stiff.
                                      Charlie