Found! Original charges for cap and ball revolvers

[Gatofeo]

The February 1975 issue of the American Rifleman has an interesting article on what loads were used in Civil War .36 and .44-caliber paper cartridges for Colt revolvers.
No mention is made of Remington or other cap and ball revolver charges but they were likely identical or nearly so.
No granulation (FFG or FFFG) is noted in the article. Round balls were not used in paper cartridges, but were loaded loosely.
There was a surprising disparity in bullet weights and powder charges in paper combustible cartridges for the Colts, according to the article.

Conical bullets for the Colt M1860 Army .44-caliber revolver ranged from 207 grs. to 260 grs. Powder charges ranged from 17 to 36 grains of black powder.
Conical bullets for the Colt .36 Navy ranged from 139 to 155 grs. Charges ranged from 12 to 21 grains.
Nearly all of these variations are found in prepared, paper cartridges manufactured by private contractors. It appears that U.S. government arsenals made few paper revolver cartridges, preferring to contract this task.
Union Army ordnance manuals of 1861 specify a load of 30 grs of powder with a .46-caliber, 216 gr. conical ball in Colt M1860 revolvers of .44-caliber.
The same manual specifies a .39-caliber conical bullet of 145 grs., over 17 grs. of powder, for the .36-caliber revolvers.
An official Confederate States publication specifies a 250 gr. conical bullet over 30 grs. of powder for the Colt M1860 revolver.
The Confederate specification for the Colt Navy is the same as the Union (.39 caliber conical of 145 grs. over 17 grs. powder).
In the 1860s an average load for the Colt M1860 .44 revolver was 25 grs. of powder with a 146 gr. (about 460" diameter) round ball or a conical bullet of about 230 grs.
The average load for the Colt Navy was 15 grs. of powder with an 81 gr. (about .380" diameter) round ball or a conical bullet of about 146 grs.
Old loadings will occasionally list a 218 gr. conical bullet with a 40 to 50 gr. powder charge. This is intended for the Colt Model 1847 Walker or the later Dragoons, which have a larger capacity than the Colt M1860 .44 revolver.
Of great interest in this article is the apparent dissection of original paper cartridges and the weighing of their powder charge and conical ball weight.
The results follow:

COLT ARMY .44
Hazard Powder Co. - 211 gr. conical / 36 grs. powder
Bartholow's - 260 gr. conical / 19 grs. powder
Johnston & Dow - 242 gr. conical / 35 grs. powder
Unknown - 257 gr. conical / 17 grs. powder
Unknown - 207 gr. conical / 22 grs. powder
Hotchkiss - 207 gr. conical / 22 grs. powder

COLT NAVY .36
Hazard Powder Co. - 141 gr. conical / 21 grs. powder
Bartholow's - 139 gr. conical / 14 grs. powder
Johnston & Dow - 150 gr. conical / 17 grs. powder
Unknown - 155 gr. conical / 12 grs. powder
Unknown - 149 gr. conical / 13 grs. powder

The 2003 Dixie Gun Works catalogue recommends loads very closely resembling the above, but with a ball, not a conical bullet.
All .36 caliber revolvers: .376 inch ball over 22 grs. FFFG black power.
.44 Remington and Colt original gun: .453 inch ball over 28 grs. FFFG black powder
.44 Remington and Colt reproductions: .451 inch ball over 28 grs. FFFG black powder
In my own experience, I've obtained the best accuracy in reproduction guns with balls measuring .380 inch in the .36 and .454 or .457 inch in the .44 Remington and Colt. I have never fired an original cap and ball revolver.

In "A History of the Colt Revolver From 1836 to 1940" by Charles T. Haven and Frank E. Belden, the authors list load recommendations from Colt in the 1850s and 1860s.
Haven and Belden note, "FFG black powder is best for the large and medium-size revolvers, and FFFG for the small pocket models, but any grade that is available will work reasonably well."
Gatofeo notes: In my own experience, I use FFFG in my .31, .36 and .44 revolvers with fine accuracy. I don't see much need to use FFG powder in the .36 and .44 revolvers if you can get FFFG.
Colt recommended the following, more than 125 years ago:
1 dram = 27.3 grains (grs.)
.44 Dragoon: 1-1/2 drams of black powder (41 grs.) and a round bullet of 48 to the pound (about 146 grs, which calculates at about .46 caliber) or a conical bullet of 32 to the pound (about 219 grains).
.44 M1860 Army - Powder charge about 1/3 less than the Dragoon, or 27 grains. A conical bullet of 212 grains (33 to the pound) or the same round ball used in the Dragoon above (about .46-caliber or 146 grs. weight).
.36 M1851 Navy - Powder charge of 3/4 of a dram (20 grs.) and conical bullet 140 grs. (50 to the pound ). Or a round ball of 81 grs. (86 to the pound, which would be about .379 or .380 diameter).
.36 M1862 Pocket and Police - Conical bullet over 15 grs. of powder. No weight is given the conical bullet for this model but it's known that it had its own bullet mould, casting a shorter and lighter conical bullet than the Navy .36 revolver.
Presumably, the .380 ball above is used with the same powder charge. In my own 1862 reproduction, I use 20 grs. of FFFG under a .380 inch ball.
.31 Old and New Model Pocket Pistols - Conical bullet of 76 grains (92 to the pound) over half a dram (13.5 grains) of powder, or a round ball of 50 grs. (140 to the pound and about .320 inch diameter).
Gatofeo notes: Present day 0 buckshot measures about .320 inch and makes an excellent ball for the .31-caliber cap and ball revolvers. Cheap too!
.265 M1855 Sidehammer: Ball of 35 grains (200 to the pound, about .285 diameter) or a 55 gr. (128 to the pound) conical bullet. No charge is listed, but I would guess that 10 grains of powder would be correct.

The late gun writer Elmer Keith (1898 - 1984) wrote a book, "Sixguns" in the mid 1950s. In it, he included a chapter on cap and ball revolvers.
Keith learned how to load and shoot these revolvers from Civil War veterans when he grew up in Helena, Montana. In 1912, at the age of 14, he began carrying a Colt 1851 Navy in .36 caliber.
Keith recommended FFFG black powder for the .28 and .31 caliber revolvers, and FFG black powder for theh .36 and .44 guns.
He didn't list loads by weight, but he instructed to pour in the powder until it almost filled the chamber, leaving room for a greased felt wad.
Keith punched felt wads from an old hat, and soaked them in a lubricant made of melted beeswax and tallow.
Gatofeo notes: I use a mix of paraffin, beeswax and mutton tallow. I use canning paraffin, regular beeswax and order mutton tallow from Dixie Gun Works.
This wad was placed over the powder, then the ball rammed down with it until the ball was slightly below flush of the chamber.
Gatofeo notes: I seat the wad as a separate operation, then seat the ball.
Keith noted, "A percussion sixgun thus loaded will shoot clean all day if you blow your breath through the bore a few times after each six rounds are fired. It will also shoot very accurately if it is a good gun."
"I had one .36 Navy Colt that had a pitted barrel, but with the above load it would cut clover leaves for its six shots, at 20 yards, all day with seated back and head rest and two hands used between the knees to further holding," Keith wrote, adding that he later traded it for a modern .38 Special revolver that was never as accurate as that Navy.

So, as far as a "standard load" for the old Colts, there ain't no such animal! The soldiers used what they were issued, and that issued ammunition varied greatly.

 

[Old Fuff]

When I was much younger we shot original cap & ball revolvers because the modern reproductions had not yet come onto the market and the price of Colt’s and Remington’s had not reached anything close to what they are today.

I had an 1851 Navy Colt that was made around 1862. It was devoid of finish, but in good mechanical shape with clean chambers and bore.

On one occasion I shot a group at a measured 25 yards wherein 5 out of 6 shots were in a single hole slightly larger then a quarter, and the last shot about an inch out of the group at 7:00.

My load consisted of around 21 grains of FFFG and a round .375 dia. ball.

Unlike the original guns, many reproductions have undersized chambers. When a ball or bullet is loaded the chamber swages it down to where it is actually smaller then the bore. This of course does not help accuracy. In any case, if the chambers are opened up to bore diameter the revolver will shoot much better. Remember that you have to use a larger ball or bullet if the chambers are enlarged, and that in most cases the chamber walls are tapered, not straight.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I've noted better groups in my cap & ball guns with the larger size balls. E.g., .380 in my 1851 Navy and .457 in my Dragoon (no longer mine). And .457 is the size Ruger recommends for the Old Army.

 

[Old Fuff]

Dave:

Depending on the chamber diameter you're right up to a point. When the ball is swaged in the chamber the larger ball will have a wider flat on it. But still, if the ball is smaller then the bore because the chamber is undersized you won't get optimal accuracy.

Ruger's "Old Army" is in a class of it's own, and the chambers vs. bore size is usually right - out of the box.

 

[Gatofeo]

I use .380-inch balls in all of my .36 calibers. I buy the balls, which have no sprue, from Warren Muzzleloading in Arkansas.
Visit their website at www.warrenmuzzleloading.com
About 18 months ago I bought 1,000 .380 inch balls for under $70. Every ball is perfectly round and shows not a mark on it, which is more than I can say for the culls I typically find in boxes of Hornady balls. I haven't seen any culls in boxes of Speer balls.
Neither Speer nor Hornady make .380-inch balls in their line of swaged balls.
I wrote Speer a couple of years back and suggested that they offer that diameter. Got a thank-you reply and that was it.
Frankly, I don't see why Hornady and Speer don't offer a .380-inch ball. It would make the proper-sized ball for most .36-caliber revolvers. They offer different sized balls for the .44 revolvers: .451, .454 and .457 inch.
Also, the .380 inch ball would be better than the .375 inch ball for use in rifles such as the .38-55 and .375 H&H for very light plinking loads.
Warren Muzzleloading makes exceptional balls and bullets for all kinds of black powder shooting. The quality is excellent. Check them out.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Thanks for posting this info. Regarding balls, cast them yourself and you'll never have a problem with supply. That reminds me to buy a bullet mold from Rapine Bullet Mold Co. in PA.

 

[Gatofeo]

"... cast them yourself and you'll never have a problem with supply."
I concur, 4v50 Gary!
I recently bought a double-cavity Lee mould to cast a .380 inch ball on Ebay for $12, including shipping! New in the box ... heh. Heck of a deal. The Lee makes a sprueless ball, unlike my Lyman mould that leaves a heck of a teat on the ball, that must be tediously centered.
I got tired of centering that teat, so I bought the Lee. Haven't had a chance to use it yet.
But before I got the mould I bought 1,000 .380-inch balls from Warren Muzzleloading about 18 months ago. Been through about 300 of them so far. Didn't shoot as much this summer as I had hoped.
I pack a large cardboard box with layers of 1/2-inch plywood and newspaper. then pin my targets to that.
Last fall, the box was finally giving up the ghost. Recovered about 10 pounds of lead balls that would otherwise have been left in the hillside.
When the weather warms, I'll be out on the patio casting more lead balls for the .36 and .44 revolvers.

 

[piteruu]

Gatofeo, what is chambers diameter and grooves diameter in yours best shooting Navy '51?

 

[FSCJedi]

Gato,

Do you just pry the balls out of the plywood? Got a design pic or something for that box? It sounds like something I'd like to make and use to get into molding my own roundballs.

 

[Gatofeo]

Piteruu: I've never measured the chamber or bore diameter of my Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy. I suppose I should but I just never thought of it until you mentioned it. Hmmmm .. have to do that.

FSCJedi: I've never had to pry the balls out of the plywood. They always seem to stop in the newspaper. As you lay the box down, place a piece of 1/2 inch plywood --- cut to fit just inside the box --- at the back.
Then add two inches or so of newspaper --- not crumpled, but lying flat!
I try to distribute the layer of newspaper evenly, so there is no high spot in it.
Then add another layer of plywood. Then a layer of newspaper.
After a while, you'll have it filled.
I like computer paper boxes because the lid is a slip-fit over the top. Apple and fruit boxes with a slip-fit are good for this reason too.
Most balls, even with the stiffest load, will be stopped in the first half of the box. Bring duct tape to the range to make minor repairs if the box splits a bit along a seam or something.
Anyway, you'll eventually reach a point where the box is more duct tape than cardboard. Time to harvest the lead and make a new one!
My most recent box has an "insurance policy" in the back. I found a piece of scrap steel --- looks like the cover of a fuse box or something --- that is about 1/16th of an inch thick. I put it at the very back (or bottom, when you construct the trap) to catch anything that might make it through.
Not had a problem yet, but then I've only put about 100 balls in it. By fall, the box should be ready for harvesting.
This box is also good for .22s and I'm sure it would stop .38 wadcutters or similarly light loads. A stout .38 or .357 Magnum load might punch through it. Ditto a .45 Auto and most certainly a 9mm, .41, 44 or .45.
So, you have to be careful what you shoot into it. But it catches pistol balls just fine.

 

[FSCJedi]

Thanks Gatofeo. I'm gonna try and put one of those together then print up some life-size rabbit and squirrel outlines to try my hand at "killing" from a respectable distance. I'm hoping to use it for a day-hunt sometime in the future. Just me and my Navy. Looks like I may have a while before I can do that, though. My revolver I sent in for exchange to Cabela's is on backorder till April 11th. Oh well, it'll give me a change to make one hell of a target box, I guess.