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Post by whyohe on May 1, 2009 13:51:58 GMT -5
i have a Traditions replica 1858 cap and ball pistol. it shoots very nice with round balls but I've heard they shoot even better with the conicals designed for them. I'm going to cast my own balls and conicals. i was just wondering if any one here uses conicals in their cab and ball pistols and what load they where using. right now with the hornady balls I'm shooting 30 grns of 3F T-7 and its works great! but i was wondering how much i should reduce the load. any suggestions? i was figuring on trying 25 grns.
oh and I'm buying lee molds.
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Post by rossman40 on May 2, 2009 22:12:35 GMT -5
In my 1858 conicals were real particular to loading pressures, I even varied powder from 20-25gr but found you had to go a little light and be consistent on the loading lever to get accuracy even close to what you could get with round ball. You had to be very careful not to cock the bullet, you could tell by the amount lead left after you rammed the bullet in the chamber. Since I just plinked with mine I didn't get real serious but the best tip I got was to use .457" balls instead of .454", that little extra bit of bearing area made a big difference. Also make you a loading stand, it really helps getting the feel of loading pressures.
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Post by whyohe on May 3, 2009 13:41:29 GMT -5
thanks rossman. i used the .457 RBs befor and i doo get great accuracy out of them. since ill be casting my own i might just give them a try. the mold isonlu 20 bucks for the conicals.
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Post by rossman40 on May 4, 2009 10:31:04 GMT -5
I can not remember what mold the conicals I shot came from, many moons ago. If they went in straight you didn't see any shaved lead. If you cocked them you would see a crescent of lead and the larger the crescent, the farther away from the point of aim. If you went to fullcock on the hammer it seemed to help on centering the chamber under the rammer. My 1858 is a Uberti and the best thing I liked about conicals was the lube grooves which the guy that cast them used a excellent lube in. That and using a wonder wad behind them really helped with fouling. I even went to using wonder wads under round balls also.
The .457 round balls worked the best for me. One guy that shoots SASS said he uses .464 balls with like 23-25grs but I never tried that.
Your pistol is actually a Pietta. The thing with both Pietta and Uberti is they have different models/grades. While a $250 model will look almost exactly the same as a $750 one if you look real close you will see better machining, materials, fit and finish. The newer high end Piettas even have progressive rifling.
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Post by whyohe on May 5, 2009 1:13:56 GMT -5
i use the lubed wonder wad to help prevent chain firing, but it does help with cleaning. i got mine just to plink with. here in pa you are not allowed to hunt with them. a black powder pistol must be 50 cal to use for deer. hmm i wonder if i could use for small game though? that was not my intention though. just a cheep toy to play with.
if i remember right the mold is a .450. my father-in-law has a .454 mold and it was way to tight to load and it was long and very hard to get under the lever. he loaded them in his cap and ball but his is alot older than mine and i beleave his is a uberti.
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Post by rossman40 on May 5, 2009 7:47:44 GMT -5
Cap and ball shooting can become very addictive. Everytime I watch "Outlaw Josey Whales" I got to get my guns out and smell some black powder. I do prefer the top strap design of the Remingtons.
A guy told me that when using wonder wads I didn't have to use the grease over the chambers, then I had a chamber chain fire with the wonder wads and went back to using the grease regardless. Insurance on a crowded firing line.
Probly the mac-daddies of the cap&ball pistols is the Ruger Old Army. Shame Ruger has dropped them from the line up. The 5 1/2" barrel model is a sweet shooter loaded light. When ever I see one cheap I never have the extra bucks to pick it up and some cowboy shooter is quick to jump on it. Maybe one of these days.
If you can find a .36 cal Navy or Police model those are great to plink with also. Dixie Gun Works was selling a Pietta replica of a Spiller and Burr which is a rare Confederate pistol design that handles great
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Post by savedbyjc7 on Aug 20, 2009 23:07:17 GMT -5
check out bpstuffllc.com. this is where i order my c&b stuff. good site with good prices.
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Post by savedbyjc7 on Aug 20, 2009 23:09:17 GMT -5
forgot to mention both my son and i have 1858 rem's[pietta]. mine is a tack driver with the .454 ball. i load 30 grs of wano[grafs] fff.
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