Actually, it's back-ordered, but due in ~beginning of May. It's a Uberti stainless 1858 8", and I'd like to know what loads others use and your favorite components/kit, so I can try and get that together.

I'm also considering conversion cylinders and wanted to know about the use of copper-clad bullets in factory loads. Everything I've seen mentions using only reduced-power loads, but I don't see anything regarding bullet material.

Thanks for any advice or links to more BP-oriented websites.

you sure like pain in a time of short everything.
Midway had round shot and wads.
You should be able to buy caps and powder substitute like the ffg or the right one for your revolver.Try locally acquired as midway loves to slam has mat fees .
I will never order powder or primers as the get you twice on fees.
You might look into using clean shot powder.
My old 44 remington clone is a bitch to keep clean.
Dont forget the bore butter,it helps.

Use real black powder only. You may have to mail order the powder as very few shops carry black powder. 454 round balls. After seating the ball dab Bore Butter or crisco over the ball. This will keep the fouling soft.

Clean with hot soapy water. Use bore butter afterward as a rust preventive. The bore butter should melt from the hot steel.

Unfortunately you will find percussion caps are currently nonexistent.

I have no experience with the conversion cylinders.

I was able to get a thousand caps, wads and lead balls this weekend from my favorite BP LGS for the upcoming Bird Brothers BBQ and Shoot.

There was nothing at the big box stores.

We clean ours with sudzy ammonia in hot water, then air blast them dry and then oil them down.

Thank you all for responding.

@45 CAL, I'm getting an education, already. I would've thought there'd be less demand for BP and components. Guess I was wrong. I may have to resort to mail-order, or make a long drive to a big city. But even if I have to wait, I think it'll be worth it.

@clayflingythingy, I watched a video where many comments were about using either 777 or Swiss black powder. Goex and Pyrodex weren't considered as potent.

@Mars_Attacks, your recent videos might've been the tipping point for me to buy a BP pistol. I've enjoyed you and your brothers' videos on antique firearms. Thank you for the cleaning advice.

The only other things I really learned from videos was to preferentially use a conical ball and 30g of Pyrodex seems to be a sweet spot. I'll see what else I can learn. Thanks again.

These days you shoot what you can get but while Swiss powder is high quality and Olde Eynsford is the premium line from Goex, they are probably not worth paying extra for in a cap and ball revolver. Regular Goex will be fine. I wouldn't shoot a fake powder unless that was all I could get.

I clean my BPCRs with Windex All Purpose with Vinegar or M-Pro 7, either diluted 50:50 with water. Haven't washed a Winchester yet, just clean the bore with patch, brush, and solvent, wipe off the outside with a damp rag, then oil. Ballistol is good if you can stand the smell.

quote:

for the upcoming Bird Brothers BBQ and Shoot

I enjoyed the last one I went to. Remembered we had about 1,000 buns & 15 or so people. Was a good time till my G27 blew up at the end.

Was also the first time I fired a BP Pistol.

https://youtu.be/BsYJviT9OTk

https://youtu.be/fntF7qrE9GY

Most everyone will tell you you need to use lead only in conversion cylinders. And “light” loads or cowboy loads means anything around 800-850 FPS with a 250 grain pill which is no slouch.

Mike beliveau says you can shoot any “non-Ruger” SAAMI level loads through them. I believe.

250 grainers at 850ish kick enough for me.

Another

https://youtu.be/nyST_EiJlVs

FYI...grafs.com has Goex available for order.

Avoid Pyrex and the other fake powders. Better results will be obtained with the Goex.

I still do not know a source for percussion caps tho.

I’ve resorted to shooting my Ruger Old Army. I’m pretty fat on powder. 777. Pyrodex. They all go bang. Good on caps for a couple years. But, I bought this.

https://sharpshooter-22lr-relo...percussion-cap-maker

I’ve made a couple caps, mechanically, worked perfect. Haven’t filled any. But, it’s my last ditch option.

Thank you @Jim Watson, myrottiety, 1KPerDay, and DansSIGs. I have a digital caliper and will mic the chambers, although I had read the Piettas have the smaller chambers and the Uberti the larger ones.

That was an interesting point about shooting SAAMI loads. I saw at THR a thread where it was mentioned there is no SAAMI spec for CAS rounds.

https://www.thehighroad.org/in...ion-cylinder.868990/

.45 Colt is notably lower pressure at 14,000 psi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_Colt

than .45 ACP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45 ACP

yet both chamberings have conversion cylinders.

quote:

The U.S. Army's .45 Colt round used in its M1909 revolver, which had a barrel of 5.5 inches (140 mm), fired a 250-grain (16 g) bullet at a muzzle velocity of 738 ft/s (225 m/s), giving a muzzle energy of 297 ft⋅lbf (403 J).[10] Today's standard factory loads develop around 400 ft⋅lbf (540 J) of muzzle energy at about 860 ft/s (260 m/s), making it roughly equivalent to modern .45 ACP loads. There are Cowboy Action Shooting loads which develop muzzle velocities of around 750 ft/s (230 m/s).

Cartridges of the World states that .45 Colt should never be loaded to more than 800 fps.[11]

I've seen CAS loads with higher velocities than that.

Interesting stuff. Still want to shoot BP at least some, and now with those videos I have an idea what I need. Thanks again, all.

I make my own paper cartridges for mine.
Makes loading much easier.

Oh I picked up a Uberti 1951 this past weekend.
Always wanted the .36 cal.

Be aware that cleaning is nothing like on a modern handgun that uses smokeless powder...

You need to break the revolver down completely... I mean every screw / bolt and spring and clean all with hot soapy water then dry and lightly lube...

even though the frame might be stainless... I can guarantee the springs and internals aren't and good old BP will eat them quick.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
I make my own paper cartridges for mine.
Makes loading much easier.

Oh I picked up a Uberti 1951 this past weekend.
Always wanted the .36 cal.

That's cool. .36 pistols don't seem that popular.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Be aware that cleaning is nothing like on a modern handgun that uses smokeless powder...

You need to break the revolver down completely... I mean every screw / bolt and spring and clean all with hot soapy water then dry and lightly lube...

even though the frame might be stainless... I can guarantee the springs and internals aren't and good old BP will eat them quick.

That might not be all bad, though. A number of videos state there are machining burrs quite often on these reproductions. Never hurts to look it over and familiarize myself.

I tear them completely down and slick the parts up with a stone. Deburring the hand will do wonders. I have one specifically designed to slick up the hand slot.

Look into Moose Milk. When I get done cleaning mine, it goes in a gallon size Ziplock with Moose Milk. (Ballistol and water). Slosh it around for awhile and then pull it out and air dry it. Space heater, blow dryer or (here in Nevada) set it on the porch for a bit.

FYI lots of CAS shooters don't break down their cap and ball guns every match. They fill the guts with Mobil 1 synthetic grease (which helps the action as well) and just clean the bore, cylinder, cones, and all external surfaces after each match. Then they tear down/clean/repack the internals after each season.

I haven't tried it but it makes sense to me. I generally strip mine completely after each use but I've gotten a couple of mine worked on recently and the smith packed the internals with Mobil 1 so I think I'll try the above method and see if I get any rust inside.

Also IME Piettas are fine with .454 or sometimes even .451 balls, and Ubertis might need .457". YMMV. Use pure lead balls/bullets. IME a lubed felt wad below the projectile is MUCH more convenient and far less messy than grease over the ball. FWIW

Gifted my 36 cal navy pistol years ago, but I still shoot BP rifle and Brown Bess. WRT cleaning, I use cold water and either dawn or simple green. But I wipe them at the range before the crud can dry and become hard....even If you can’t clean it perfect at the range, definitely wipe it and punch the bore with a wet patch.

After getting em clean I rinse and let dry in the hot sun here in TX, then oil as usual.

You can’t use oils or other cleaners like CLP, Hoppes etc as the BP crud is only cut by water and soap...some people wipe with windex or add ammonia to water...some use Moose Milk which is just ballistol and water mixture.

BLack powder is a lot of fun.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,