Your opinion about this book

[Bartek]

Hallo every body! I'm beginner. Today i have made an order by "Track of Wolf". I have ordered the book "Lyman's Black Powder Handbook & Loading Manual, by Sam Fadala", second edition. What is Your opinion about this book, guys? Was is a good choice? ::
I have ordered a two bullet moulds from "Track" too: for round balls cal..454 and for conical revolver bullet cal..450 of Lee. I have colt navy cal..44. What is Your experience about these both kind of bullets? What kind of difference between them can You tell me. :hmm:
And the last question. What do You think about using the grit loading the revolver? I have heard some people do this.
Thanks a lot for every answer! :master:

 

[bovey]

The choice was a good beginners book. One that I recommend is "The Black Powder Handgun" by Fadala which is no longer in print. I have included a link that lists it as a used book.

http://www.bestwebbuys.com/Black_Powder_Handgun-ISBN_0910676224.html?isrc=b-search

It was published in 1981 but has lots of good handgun specific info. Hope this helps... Bovey

 

[Bartek]

Thanks a lot Bovey for answer! Can You tell me something about those bullet. Are You revolver shooter too?

 

[bovey]

I have ordered a two bullet moulds from "Track" too: for round balls cal..454 and for conical revolver bullet cal..450 of Lee. I have colt navy cal..44. What is Your experience about these both kind of bullets? What kind of difference between them can You tell me.

Well, need to know which brand of "Colt Navy" you have. The difference between the ball and conical is the shape and accuracy of each one. Normally the conical is more accurate. The ball will elongate when it is forced into the cylinder and as it passes through the forcing cone of the barrel when the revolver is fired which will upset its axis. The accuracy of the revolver depends on the quality of the machining tolerances and fit of the parts. I always consider a revolver a "Wheel of Fortune" because you never know how accurate it will be and you need to have the patience to coax out the best it has to offer. I have found this true in blackpowder as well as modern revolvers.


When loading the ball, you will shave a little lead off as you seat it in the cylinder... this is due to the sharp edge on the cylinder chamber. I usually lightly chamfer my cylinders if they have an edge. When you purchase a revolver you should check the barrel/cylinder gap by rotating the cylinder to see if the alignment is true. Hold the revolver up to the light so you can see the light gap between the face of the cylinder and the barrel. This is where you have pressure loss when you fire the chamber (also true on modern revolvers). If you have a problem with the revolver spitting lead from the b/c gap then you have a cylinder alignment and timing problem.


Conicals are smaller than the ball so they should seat without a problem. I have used a wonderwad under the ball or conical as I load then top it off with grease as a safeguard against a chain fire. If you omit the wad be sure to use the grease... sorry if I got a little wordy here.

And the last question. What do You think about using the grit loading the revolver? I have heard some people do this.

Do not understand this question???

 

[Rebel]

"And the last question. What do You think about using the grit loading the revolver? I have heard some people do this."


I think he probably means something like corn meal as a filler.

If so, it works, but is time consuming and can get kinda messy. A lubed felt wad works better, and also helps keep the foulng soft.

 

[bovey]

Makes sense... never tried it with BP... have heard of folks using it in ML Rifles... I use it to fire form brass.

 

[Bob J]

Good book :imo:

 

[Mr Nick]

Bovey states "I usually lightly chamfer my cylinders if they have an edge"

My understanding is that by shaving a little lead off the ball you gain a little flat surface for the rifling to grab. Gatofeo recomends a larger ball (.454) in the .44 cal and shaves a little more lead to give a larger flat area.

 

[Rebel]

I found with my Pietta Remingtons that a .457 ball worked even better than the recommened .454. :m2c:

 

[crockett]

You ought to keep an open mind on the RB vs Conical issue. Some conicals like those made by Buffalo Bullet Company are sort of like a tin can with lots of bearing surface. Some traditional conicals have very little bearing surface and can twist out of line as they are being seated.
The corn meal is a filler so you can use less powder. The idea is that the projectile should be seated just under the end of the cylinder for best accuracy. Without the filler the ball or bullet will be seated deep within the chamber if a small powder charge is used.
A wad helps a lot and it is generally thought to add a bit to accuracy. Always seat the projectile tight so there is no air space between powder and ball, or wad and ball.
Good luck, have fun.

 

[LRB]

A major problem with many imported c&b revolvers is that the chambers are undersize and swage the ball down smaller than the bore. The ball needs to be about .001 larger than the grove to grove size, to have good acuracy.

 

[Bartek]

Thank You

 

[Bartek]

Thanks a lot Crockett !