I found some stuff at hobby lobby

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BowerR64

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I thought ide see if hobby lobby had anything useful i could use for my black powder shooting. I was thinking of some kind of pre charge tubes i could pre measure at home then pop a cork and dump in at the range between cease fire sessions.

I didnt find the little tubes or caps i was looking for but i did find some little funnels. The one im using now i made from a sheet of aluminum i just cut and bent into a cheesy funnel.

I guess they use these for "sand art" 6 of them for $6. i thought ide give a couple to this other guy who shoots black powder at my range.

I used a lighter to heat up the funnel part and bend it to the shape of the frame of both .44 and .36 right now ive been removing the cylinder to load the powder. Now i can leave the cylinder in and fill it from the side.

Blackpowderfunnels_zpsc1b3414d.jpg

I also found these pom pom balls im going to try them instead of wads. Using this jojoba oil the other guy gave me to try. I put a few drops on the pom poms and then put them in the wonder wad bag from my last set of wonder wads. I give them a couple pinches till they look a little more uniform in color oil wise. 2 sizes 1/4" and 1/2" $1.99 for 125 big ones and $1.47 for the little ones.

Jojobawads_zpsba0c61dc.jpg
 
I work evenings in a convenience store. Made an offhand joke about double-wide rolling papers to a sheriff's deputy once. He immediately gave me the fish eye.

"Whada you use 'em for?" he asks.

"Paper cartridges for a friend's black powder revolvers" I said.

He just laughed, said he has a "crazy uncle that does that 'civil war thing' too."

Life in the Hill Country is sweet.
 
I tried those when i first started i found paper in the chambers some times when i got them back home to clean em up.

It made loading alot faster and ive thought about going back to them a few times just ripping the top twist off and letting all the powder pour into the chambers then stuff the paper in ontop the powder as a make shift wad kinda thing.

I thought the paper was also an accuracy issue because i couldnt get all the balls down at the same height.
 
You said you are looking for some kind of tube for quick loading?

Try these...

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/advanced_search_result.php?s=1&keywords=quick+load+tube

I use them for my cap and ball pistols, have both the yellow and the whites for .44 and .36 respectively. They are great, you can load the powder and put a ball in on top to seal. At the range just pop out the ball, pour in the powder and then seat the ball. Super quick and easy plus they are reusable.

I also use them for my musket loads, the red ones for my .58 Minie cartridges and the black for my .69 smoothbores.

For minie ball cartridges they are fantastic in multiple ways, both for quick loading cartridges as well as lubing the minies. I fill my powder load and then insert the minie point down. This leaves the grease rings exposed above the tube. Then I simply melt some SPG lube in a cup and quick dip them all. The inherent hollow base of the minie actually air locks the lube from getting in and only the outside rings take the lube. Pretty cool. I can lube 50 cartridges in about 5 minutes. Super easy.

You can see what I'm talking about in this pic. My tubes are pretty dirty as they have seen TONS of use.

kgu5.jpg


You can see the pistol tubes in this pic. The ball seats on top and easily pops out but keeps the container sealed til use.

IMG_0864.jpg
 
Well a tip of the hat to the Phantom Captain. Am placing an order for those. By the way did you notice the bit about how to clean them.

Post Script: No 44 cal in stock. Bummer.
 
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Yeah i seen those somewhere but thought i could find something similar at hobby lobby they have a little science section i thought maybe some test tubes or something i could cork

The little rubber things look nifty you can pinch the tube to help pour it.
 
I got a whole pack of 25 small plastic test tubes and snap-on sealing caps from a lab supply place for about $5. They are big enough to hold a 110 gr. charge of 2F BP.
 
GCBurner said:
I got a whole pack of 25 small plastic test tubes and snap-on sealing caps from a lab supply place for about $5. They are big enough to hold a 110 gr. charge of 2F BP.
Click to expand...
Can they be cut down? to say fit in a small 44 cartridge case?

Right now ive added one extra bag to my gear i take to the range. I want to slim down the junk i take.

Would be nice to just take my ammo case/ear and eye protection and then my gun case.
 
I've used the vinyl tubes, small test tubes (blood sample tubes, IIRC)...and Speer shot capsules. I really like the latter. .38 tubes will hold about 18 grains, the .44 tubes about 25 grains.
 
What are those pom-poms made of? If they're some sort of plastic, grief shall certainly befall you when they melt in the bore....
 
AJumbo said:
What are those pom-poms made of? If they're some sort of plastic, grief shall certainly befall you when they melt in the bore....
Click to expand...
I thought thats what the oil was for? lube and keep them from catching fire.

Ill try and burn one... i think it is plasticish stuff but it doesnt burn easy like a Q-tip just catches fire and turns into a little torch
 
They didnt work as good as i planned, they didnt burn up or leave any plastic melted behind but the fuzzy balls get stuck under the forcing cone.

So you pretty much have to load a ball after the wad.

The whole idea for me when using a wad is the lube and they cover up the powder so i know that chamber is full and to hold the powder in while i put the cylinder back in.

The flat wonder wands works the best.
 
Had a 44cal wonder wad fail to leave the bore today, jammed between the cylinder and barrel and locked the gun up tight, shot hit were it was suppose to
however. Several hundred shots from that piece and first time that has happened.:confused:
 
By the way did you notice the bit about how to clean them.
Click to expand...

I did. And yes, I tried cleaning them before, as described, but wasn't too happy with the results. It just didn't work too well and it seemed to me that the vinyl even stiffened a bit.

Anyway, after that, I don't mind them dirty at all. I use them enough that cleaning them really doesn't matter since they will be right back out and used again. The black powder residue on hands and everything else is part of the charm in my opinion. :D
 
Phantom Captain said:
I did. And yes, I tried cleaning them before, as described, but wasn't too happy with the results. It just didn't work too well and it seemed to me that the vinyl even stiffened a bit.

Anyway, after that, I don't mind them dirty at all. I use them enough that cleaning them really doesn't matter since they will be right back out and used again. The black powder residue on hands and everything else is part of the charm in my opinion. :D
Click to expand...
Dixie was out of the 44 cal. I went ahead and cut down 60 pieces of some surplus 30/06
brass Cut just below the shoulder and fitted with a 0.5x0.69 cork they will hold up to an amount equal to my 40 grain measure. A .454 ball with sit snugly in the mouth but and stay there if turned up side down but don't know if it would take much of a jar to come loose, so went with the corks. Best part , held in a loading tray they can be charged in a minute or so on the Lyman powder measure.
 
Hobby Lobby is shooter's friend, and they don't know it. (Not from me anyway) There I get large paper sheets and random cheap artifacts for targets; leftover pieces of fabric for cleaning rags; small organizers and storage containers for parts and ammo; utility mats; solvents; plastic knicknacks for detailing jobs; silica for the safe; and project tools that cost reliably more at Sears or the neighborhood hardware store. I don't shoot blackpowder but saw this post and decided to drive by.
 
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Well this is what the pom poms look like after you shoot em.

I must blow all the oil off em or something because i dont see any trace of oil left on them. I actually havnt seen any oil left on the wonder wads when they shoot out either.

They look like they have a little burn on the side that contacts the powder but i dont think there is enough time for them to really melt or catch fire and they are out in the air flying and get put out.

I tried burning a couple with a lighter here at home and they wont catch fire

Blackpowderpompoms_zps8fbf7a74.jpg

They were worth a try though
 
Those sold at my local Michael's Craft stores are listed as acrylic. Think that stuff has a very high melting point.
 
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