Is the "P" word OK?

Haven't used the pellets, but Pyrodex fouling tends ro be more gummy than black, whose fouling is more "mealy." A lubed felt wad behind the ball (with even one drop of Ballistol) helps the bore fouling a lot. The gumminess from Pyrodex fouling tended to jam up my 1860 hammer and action. A drop or two of cheap thin oil in the works after every 6 shots suffficed to keep the revolver revolving. Love Pyrodex in general, just needed extra effort to keep the fouling from gumming up the little recolver parts in their tight spaces. Cleaning was same as for Black. Nowadays I sometimes I'll clean with turpentine, just to avoid having to dissect the whole action chasing out moisture. Let us know how the pellets treat you.

I fired off the last 30 grain Pyrodex pellets I had in my Uberti 1860.

The pellets were from 2007 and the Labradar said the .454 ball was going slightly over 1000 fps.

Accuracy was fine, loading was quick, but I prefer loose powder, either 3F Swiss or 2F Triple 7.

“Easy” and “fast” aren’t why I shoot traditional BP lol. I’ve got modern guns if I want that.

i shot them in an 1851 pietta brass frame and no problems

jim mencken said:

i shot them in an 1851 pietta brass frame and no problems

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Same. They work fine. Have not tried them in a single-shot Kentucky type firearm.

I still have a partial can I bought several years ago, they were easy loading and went bang every time. I will never buy anymore though and doubt I will ever use the ones I have again. Accuracy went from great with 30 grains of loose powder to horrible with the pellets. Never could get a good group with them. They might work well in your revolver, that is just my experience with them.

Elgatodeacero said:

I fired off the last 30 grain Pyrodex pellets I had in my Uberti 1860.

The pellets were from 2007 and the Labradar said the .454 ball was going slightly over 1000 fps.

Accuracy was fine, loading was quick, but I prefer loose powder, either 3F Swiss or 2F Triple 7.

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Wow you gots a dog that can tell speed of a bullet? Incredible.

@nhmoo, yup, and he talks too!

Thanks glad to see humor is alive in some here..

never having used pyrodex pellets, can they be cut in half for a reduced load? somewhere in my clutter is a box with some in it someone gave me. seems they were 50/50? i assume that is .50 cal and 50g weight? or is it volume equivalent?
guess i should try them. just for s+g's.

I’ve used the pellets and just completed my own little experiment. Last Sept I loaded 3 revolvers with Pyrodex pellets and left them loaded. There were two 1858 types, loaded with 6 and one 1851 type with 5. I put one over powder card between pellet and ball. These were stored in the house but each was carried outside in a holster for 5 whole days non-consecutive. The caps were CCI #11 Mag because the nipples are for 11s and that’s what I had. I’ve fired them off. I did 3 for accuracy and observation and the rest over the chrono, so the ‘51 only had 2 over chrono. First, every one fired. Second, the 10-yard accuracy was the same as a fresh load with powder. Last, of the 17 shots, 3 sounded and felt a little weak. The velocity was good but the fps spread was a bit more than a fresh load with pellets or powder. The short ‘58 was 40 fps less average than freshly loaded. The longer ‘58 was 31 fps less and the ‘51 was 17 fps less. Not every shot registered on the chrono so this is what I got average now compared to the cylinder full average with a fresh load. I think the velocity difference is inconclusive or insignificant. I usually load 3F Goex and put 28 grains in the ‘58s. Fresh, it gives higher velocity than year old loaded P pellets. I put 22 grains in the ‘51 and get the same as a P pellet. Only the ‘51 had some rust at the muzzle and the mouth of two cylinders, but I can’t say the pellets had anything to do with that. I was testing for reliability after long periods of remaining loaded, so for that the P Pellets pass the test. Normally I load Goex and change the caps every 3 month and shoot/clean/reload every 6. I’ve had 100% reliability with no velocity or accuracy loss doing that.

deerstalkert said:

never having used pyrodex pellets, can they be cut in half for a reduced load? somewhere in my clutter is a box with some in it someone gave me. seems they were 50/50? i assume that is .50 cal and 50g weight? or is it volume equivalent?
guess i should try them. just for s+g's.

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No the igniter is on the bottom

Well, I couldn't find them locally, so I checked with Midway - they have them, BUT, with HazMat the price came out to $.54 a SHOT. I think I will stick with learning how to make better paper cartridges instead, more period correct, as well.