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Pyrodex Pellet query

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Paul Aguayo

32 Cal
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Feb 21, 2019
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This being my first post, not counting my newbie intro, it may sound odd
to ask this...
I like the looks of all the brass framed Pietta available in the two nearest sporting goods stores and know through reading through posts here they need to be more lightly loaded.
Can a 30 grain Pyrodex Pellet be cut in half? Or lope off a third, and be used? Just like the feel of the 1851 and the pellets be used on a windy day at the range. (It's uncommon for it NOT to be windy 'round here)
 
FYI there are some brass framed Piettas for sale on this forum.look them up. Pyrodex is ok if that is
The only powder you can get.
 
That's a good question.
I doubt that the manufacturer Hodgdon would recommend it.
But I'm not saying that it can't be done safely either.
However a person would really need to know what they're doing and to do it right would be complicated, especially for a newbie.

1. It has been said [but not verified] that Pyrodex pellets have some sort of black powder coating on one end to help them ignite.
But I don't know if that's ever been verified. Instructions don't mention which end should be loaded and most folks do not pay
attention to which end is loaded into the chamber or bore of their rifle either.

2. The weight instead of the volume of powder being loaded would probably need to be known by weighing it on a scale.
There is a popular conversion chart but that doesn't include a conversion for converting pellet weight to a volume of black powder or loose Pyrodex.
So as far as powder strength, a person would be more or less operating in the dark, or based on estimation of the equivalent powder charge.
In the end, a person wouldn't really know the equivalent strength of the partial pellet compared to a volume of powder without measuring velocity or percentage of a full pellet.

3. The method of cutting the pellet would need to be perfected so that it remains relatively intact, or else the purpose of using pellets would be defeated.
Once the pellet breaks into pieces, then that could be wasteful and leave the person with an unknown volume equivalent.
Pellets are also more expensive than loose powder.

A full pellet may or may not be harmful to a brass frame revolver.
It depends on the model and what one considers to be harmful.
For the sake of discussion, they could be cut in half and a person could load a 5-10 grain powder charge of loose powder in the bottom of each cylinder
to tailor their charge to meet their needs.
But again that defeats the purpose of using the pellets for convenience.

So to sum it up, while it probably could be done, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do it that way unless someone had a bunch of pellets and were left without any other powder options.

If a person really wants to use pistol pellets, then it's probably a better idea to buy a steel frame revolver.
I am biased toward the Pietta Remington 1858.
The cylinders can be easily removed from the gun for loading off the frame and they rarely ever have cap jams.
Plus extra cylinders can be purchased for quickly swapping in a loaded cylinder if you're out in the field.
They can be loaded with a ball starter, and then the balls rammed the rest of the way after the cylinder is placed on the gun if needed.
But which ever revolver that you choose to buy, try to research them before buying one to find out as much as you can about each brand and model.

Good luck and keep asking questions until you decide which features are the most important for your revolver to have.
 
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Ya can be done but be real hard to be consistent in the break so the pellets are all the same grain wt (for accuracy). I'd just fill some film cans or similar with pre loaded charges and damn the wind! Me vet tech son grabbed me a bunch of lil tube like things look perfect for small charges, may look there.
 
I used Goex FFFg and then the Pyrodex pellets in 30 grain pistol in my 1858. The velocity from the pellets was the same as 25 grain of FFFg volumetric. So if the velocity is the same I figured the pressure would be nearly the same and used them just fine. You can either use that ratio to draw a conclusion for your particular revolver, do the same experiment with your revolver or disregard this information all together. I know you are talking about a different revolver/frame. Based on my results I just don't think those 30 grain pellets are generating as much pressure as the same amount of FFFg Goex. BTW - this was with a .454 ball and a card wad over the pellet.
 
BIG THANKS GUYS. Did not expect response that quickly! Well that decides that. Steel frame 1858 8" barrel gotta be the one, till I get some experience. Then azmntman's suggestion make sense, also.
 
I just read 2 threads about using pellets in the '51 Pietta Colt.
Because the chambers may be rebated at the bottom, the pellets may not go all of the way down to the bottom of the chamber
which can sometimes cause misfires.
Apparently, some air space [gap] may be left in the bottom of the '51 chamber which other Pietta models may not have the same chamber shape at the bottom.
Also, the pellets sometimes get crush during ramming which may affect how well they ignite and perform in some of the Colt models.

So there you go, a Pietta Remington may not perform the same as a Pietta Colt with pellets.
These 2 threads were on other forums dated 2008 & 2009.
I don't know if the shape of the Pietta 1851 chambers are still made with the same round bottom chamber dimensions or not, or how that will affect the use of pellets.
But one fellow complained that he couldn't even fit a wool wad over the pellets in his Pietta 1851 without the balls sticking out of the chamber by 1/8".
He had to crush the pellets to get them to fit, and Hodgdon recommends the use of wads with pellets.

He also mentioned that the pellets seemed to be shoot stronger than loose powder and created more fouling.
And that the pistol pellets have a hole in the center.
 
The left one is a sheriff model with a shorter 5.5" barrel.

I think the water sound is from melting snow & ice streaming off the roof into a puddle.
 
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I just read 2 threads about using pellets in the '51 Pietta Colt.
Because the chambers may be rebated at the bottom, the pellets may not go all of the way down to the bottom of the chamber
which can sometimes cause misfires.
Apparently, some air space [gap] may be left in the bottom of the '51 chamber which other Pietta models may not have the same chamber shape at the bottom.
Also, the pellets sometimes get crush during ramming which may affect how well they ignite and perform in some of the Colt models.

So there you go, a Pietta Remington may not perform the same as a Pietta Colt with pellets.
These 2 threads were on other forums dated 2008 & 2009.
I don't know if the shape of the Pietta 1851 chambers are still made with the same round bottom chamber dimensions or not, or how that will affect the use of pellets.
But one fellow complained that he couldn't even fit a wool wad over the pellets in his Pietta 1851 without the balls sticking out of the chamber by 1/8".
He had to crush the pellets to get them to fit, and Hodgdon recommends the use of wads with pellets.

He also mentioned that the pellets seemed to be shoot stronger than loose powder and created more fouling.
And that the pistol pellets have a hole in the center.
All the info on your 3 posts have been valuable to me. I'm going to set aside the laziness and use black powder. Just was intimidated by not knowing how to measure the loads correctly. With the proper device I want to be able to measure from 18 to 25 grains.
 
You can learn to make paper cartridges or even paper powder bags. Maybe speed loaders would work well.
Darn! Had a speed loader for little Charter Arms about 30 years ago, wonder how that would work...I think paper cartriges might be the thing. Thanks.
 

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