Missing anything? for new Colt

[brushrunabout]

Finally got my new new Colt Army 44 steel frame.

I bought some CCI #11 primers, some anti chain fire grease and 44 balls. Do I load the power then the ball with no patch then the grease?

Then when ready to fire put on the caps then a little more grease to hold them there and catch junk?

Any other place to grese up or prepare? Let me know if there is a post coving this alrady. The Traditions manual was very brief about the subgect. I will be using Pyrodex RS

Thanks in advance,

Jim

 

[Homesteader]

When I bought my first cap & ball way back when I would pour all the powder charges, ram each of the round balls, add grease over the top of the balls, and then place the caps on the nipples. No grease there. Always worked for me.

Now I use a wonder wad between the powder charge and the ball, no grease anywhere but the cylinder pin. Works better, I think. A lot less messy anyway.

You know to snap caps before the first load to clear the vents, right?

Have fun, and good luck.

 

[rebel727]

Better clean the chambers out real good then clean them again and snap a couple of caps on each one before you load it the first time. That stuff the factory puts in them is tuff to get out.

 

[guncobbler]

Are # 11 caps the right size? Some wheelguns use #10s. GC

 

[mykeal]

Finally got my new new Colt Army 44 steel frame.

I bought some CCI #11 primers, some anti chain fire grease and 44 balls. Do I load the power then the ball with no patch then the grease?

Then when ready to fire put on the caps then a little more grease to hold them there and catch junk?

Any other place to grese up or prepare? Let me know if there is a post coving this alrady. The Traditions manual was very brief about the subgect. I will be using Pyrodex RS

Thanks in advance,

Jim

First, fire one cap on each chamber to dry out moisture/oil.

Then load powder, ball and grease over the ball (in that order, no patch) in each chamber.

Place caps after each all chambers are loaded. Grease over caps is not necessary nor recommended. And when you get tired of the mess that the overball grease creates, switch to lubed felt overpowder wads that go between the powder and ball.

There's no way to tell if No. 10 or No. 11 caps are the right ones for any particular gun but to try them.

 

[renovato]

I don't bother putting grease over the balls. I just use a lubed wad under the ball. If the balls are sized to the chambers right, they will shave off a ring of lead when you seat them. This creates a tight seal so that the hot gasses can't set off charges in the other chambers. Grease doesn't resist hot gas very well anyway. Also, you don't need to grease the caps at all.

One thing to make sure of is that the caps fit the nipples tightly. They need to make a seal to keep the hot gasses from getting in from behind. If #11s are loose, then try #10 caps. As long as you have the front and rear of the chamber sealed up nicely, you don't need to worry about cross fires.

Also, if you will be using lower powered target loads (20-25 grain) you will benefit from putting some filler between the powder and ball. Otherwise the ball will be seated too deeply in the chamber and that's not good for accuracy. You can use cream of wheat, corn meal, grits, or a felt wad. The filler also helps keep down bore fouling.

 

[mazo kid]

As Homesteader touched on briefly, you NEED to grease the cylinder pin good or the gun will seize up after the first cylinder full is shot.

 

[brushrunabout]

Thanks I will look for the book.

Forgive me but what the heck is a cylinder pin?

should I remove the nipples each time I clean the gun or just brush out and clean the clylinders well with windex?

I use bore butter on my T/C omega inline. Is that fine for Pietta Colt barrel also?

I didn't know better than an inline when this wonderfull calling started. Luckily I learned to regress into flintlocks and ball caps pretty quick or actually up from flintknapping

 

[brushrunabout]

I got a box of .44 balls. Should I return for .451 or will .440 still be OK to start?

So much to learn.

 

[mykeal]

Forgive me but what the heck is a cylinder pin?

should I remove the nipples each time I clean the gun or just brush out and clean the clylinders well with windex?

I use bore butter on my T/C omega inline. Is that fine for Pietta Colt barrel also?

Many people use the term 'cylinder pin' for the arbor that the cylinder rotates on. Another, less common, term is 'base pin', which is what I was taught to use.

You do not have to remove the nipples each time you clean. However, it is good practice to do so fairly often - every third or fourth cleaning - depending on how often you shoot the gun. The pressures developed in the chambers will force combustion products up into the nipple threads and they will corrode over time if not cleaned fairly frequently. Also, after cleaning you should use a good thread anti-seize compound on the nipple threads. I use Thompson Center's Bear Grease (because it smells good) and remove the nipples every time I clean.

Bore Butter is not marketed as a storage rust preventative, and many people do not believe it is sufficient protection from rust over the long term. I use it on the bores of my revolvers for regular short term storage and have had no problems. For long term storage I use a good gun oil.

 

[rafterob]

Look at your box of balls, I know Hornady will have .44cal on the box and then list the specific cal as .451,.454, .430,.435 etc.As a general rule,if the specific caliber is higher than .44 then they are for revolvers. If the specific caliber is lower than .44 then they are for patch/ball front stuffers. i.e a .50 cal rifle may use a .490 ball.

 

[mykeal]

I got a box of .44 balls. Should I return for .451 or will .440 still be OK to start?

So much to learn.

You will need .451 or .454; I recommend the latter. .440 round balls are for single shot muzzleloading rifles/pistols.