Black Powder revolver

[Old Grumpy]

I have an old Iver Johnson black powder .32 S&W revolver. It was manufactured in 1904 and appears to be in good shape. I'd love to put a few rounds through it but all I have are modern factory loads using smokeless powder.

I'd be more than happy to pull a few of those rounds and reload them with a reduced charge. Sadly there is very little information on what pressures the black powder cartridges produced or a "conversion chart" showing approximate smokeless loads.

I'd rather not mess with Pyrodex or black powder substitutes. If it can't be done safely I just leave the .32 in the safe.

BTW, I will have a qualified Smith check the revolver over before I fire any rounds through it if I can find a safe load.

Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

Grumpy

 

[Oldgoat03]

Grumpy

I load some BP 45 for a modern Ruger Vaquero so can't help much with specifics for your caliber and vintage pistol.

I did find the following that may help.

The link below is an overview of loading BP cartridges by some Cowboy action shooters. Pretty interesting read and some good info once you get into it.

http://www.jspublications.net/tips/BPLoading.pdf


Goex link with some load data. ( I use 2F and 3F in my 45's)

http://www.goexpowder.com/load-chart.html

Have fun and be safe.
OG03

 

[Don McDowell]

The saami spec pressures the factory loads and reloading data in the books, are done to the pressures of the original blackpowder loads.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

While a casing of FFF will get you a load, I would use smokeless TrailBoss. It can be loaded to the bottom of the bullet, but not compressed. There is one load shown at www.hodgdonreloading.com . IMR also shows a starting load at 70% of case capacity. The max load shows 8,100 cup., which should work in your revolver.