black powder revolvers

[pistolero]

New  member...

Here goes a question.. I have a colt  walker .44 repro by Uberti.

I was told that it takes a .455 ball... Since  it takes a  ball that large, is it  capable, with no damage to the revolver, of taking  a bullet  rated for smokeless powder??  I'm thinking about  the same size as a .45  1911 ACP..

I have even  been thinking about  a copper jacket slug of the same size... All Would be conicals.  

Thanks for your help.

Larry

[Dan Chamberlain]

Pistolero;

Don't think of Cap and Ball revolvers as anything close to their cartridge firing cousins.  Yes, there are similarities, but it ends with what you are suggesting.  Here's the reasons why.

A C&B revolver requires (for safety sake as well as accuracy) a good seal between the projectile and the chamber walls.  To achieve this, the ball to use is one that is actually grossly oversized.  While a .452 sized conical might have some resistence when seated, it will not generally swage itself into the chamber or shave off lead during the seating process.  To prevent the possibility of any ingition particals or gases from reaching the powder in chambers which are not immediately under the hammer, resulting in a chain fire (not a good thing at all), there MUST be a veeerrrryyy tight fit.  The short answer is:  NO, you should not use conicals designed for smokeless powder, and NEVER use jacketed of any sort!  

So, why not lead conicals designed for the .45 Colt?  Well for one, the lead is probably hard cast and not pure.  This prevents obturation of the projectile as it is kicked in the pants by the explosion of the powder.  Obturation also assists in keeping the explosion behind the ball.  It's never a good thing to have fire push past the projectile as it's moving forward.  It causes leading, fouling and trash for accuracy.  

Do you want to really enjoy your Walker Repro?  Use pure swaged or cast lead balls of .454...or even better yet, .457!  I use .457s in all my .44 caliber C&Bs and they're the only ones I'll ever use.  Trust me, you are considering walking down a path that will lead to terrible performance at best, and physical harm at the worst.  Best wishes.

Dan C

[Flint]

The only bullets (other than Buffalo Bullets) I've found that are safe to load in a C&B are the Speer swaged 200 gr SWC 45 bullets made for 45ACP.  I've loaded them in a Remington, but the rammer chews up the bullet nose.  They do obturate because they are soft lead, and hit with authority, but are not as accurate as a Round Ball.  The Colt 1860 won't let that bullet around the corner to get under the rammer.  A roundball is a much better bullet in 454 or 457 diameter.  As Dan said DON'T try to load a jacketed bullet.  You might also bend the loading lever trying, and it is very hard to load a conical straight.

[wiley]

are available for revolvers, Lyman has several mold patterns, as does Dixie. They were used historically during the Civil War in paper cartridges. Buffalo does make a swaged pistol bullet that's used in conjunction with a felt wad, that's available commercially, if one does not wish to learn casting. Agree that jacketed bullets wouldn't work too well, the loading process would be difficult and the jackets would be damaged in the process.

[KING]

To play it safe,for you and any one  else in the immediate area,only use what the bp revolver was designed for.  I have shot conicals in mine,but I am interested in accuracy and found that the rb works the best,shoots the best,and is the easiest to load.  It is almost impossible to get a conical,unless it is designed for that gun,to load properly.  When we deside to change what a gun was made to shoot we generally end up in some kind of trouble.  King