PAPERLESS .44 cal revolver cartridges

[avatarshots]

So I'm still rather new to black powder shooting, but I LOVE it. Have a 1861 Colt Navy .36, a Colt 1860 Army .44, and a Remington 58 New Army Target model in stainless steel.
I've been watching a lot of videos on making paper pistol cartridges, and I thought to myself, why not just use a 30gr pellet for .44's?
So this was my solution. A drop of super glue on the pellet, place the wad on top, a drop of glue on the wad, then place the ball on top of that.

Anybody ever try this? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[25cschaefer]

I have not tried it but, pellets are designed for 209 primers, usually strong ones. You may have some ignition problems. Let us know how they go.

 

[Kaeto]

The powder pellets don't ignite reliably with normal percussion caps. They were designed for use in inline guns using primers.

 

[avatarshots]

I've been using pellets since I started shooting BP, and never had a problem. That's what gave me the idea to make these up because the preformed pellet was half the battle right there.

 

[1KPerDay]

Cool idea if it works!

 

[Packman]

Neat! I kinda like it. I enjoy the slow process of loading each chamber with loose powder. I tried the paper cartridges once, which was also kinda neat, but I decided it wasn't worth the effort involved. These look kinda cool though, let us know how it works!

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

Interesting idea, but wouldnt any remnents of the super glued wad adhere to the projectile and affect ballistics negatively, particularly for a round ball? What if the ball over ran the glued wad as it was going down the barrel? Could such an event cause barrel overpressure resulting in a barrel bulge? Paper cartridges are treated so that they burn up as they are fired.

Besides, IMHO revolver pellets are way too pricey.

 

[avatarshots]

Just tried one. Just to be sure the ball came loose from the wad I twisted it just before I rammed it down the cylinder. It worked fine
I used a gel type of glue so I was able to just uses very tiny drop to hold the ball. Then I let them sit for about an hour.

 

[elhombreconnonombre]

There ya go, no worries then. I just might to try that just for fun, despite the cost.

 

[[email protected]]

I read somewhere a guy back east came up with the idea of having a brass tube
With the powder in it and the bullet on one end held in by pressing the lip of
the case into a groove on the bullet. The back of the tube was solid with a hole
drilled in the center and countersunk to hold a cap which had it's own little
anvil inside so it would fire. The whole thing was waterproof too. Don't think they
will ever catch on tho.

 

[BowerR64]

I liked the pellets but there were 2 things about them that caused me not to buy a second can of them.

i shoot to much to justify the cost of only 100 shots

i dont like the 30 grain charge, 30 grains is a bit much for my i like a girly load.

20g of 3F or 26g of 2F Tripple 7 is about the most i ever want.

30g just beat me up to bad.

 

[Packman]

Bahaha !

I read somewhere a guy back east came up with the idea of having a brass tube
With the powder in it and the bullet on one end held in by pressing the lip of
the case into a groove on the bullet. The back of the tube was solid with a hole
drilled in the center and countersunk to hold a cap which had it's own little
anvil inside so it would fire. The whole thing was waterproof too. Don't think they
will ever catch on tho.

 

[BowerR64]

I read somewhere a guy back east came up with the idea of having a brass tube
With the powder in it and the bullet on one end held in by pressing the lip of
the case into a groove on the bullet. The back of the tube was solid with a hole
drilled in the center and countersunk to hold a cap which had it's own little
anvil inside so it would fire. The whole thing was waterproof too. Don't think they
will ever catch on tho.

what are you trying to say?

We all start somewhere.

Ill admit i used the pellets and the paper cartridges, and the wads i once even tried REAL black powder!

 

[BullSlinger]

My experience with revolver pellets was like Bower's, they went boom just fine but the cost is high and the charge was too great for accuracy. I do wish they were made in 20 or 25 gr. The one thing going for them IMO is that it makes reloading easy.
Unlike the 50gr pellets used in rifles they seem to ignite easier.

 

[Pulp]

The only drawback is: be careful not to crush the pellet when you seat the combined "cartridge". Crushed pellets are harder to ignite than uncrushed. I tried the pellets many years ago, they worked great in .44-40 cartridge, not so great in percussion. I always had a noticeable delay 'twixt pop and BOOM! It was always very quick, but it was noticeable.

 

[Lunie]

If'n I were ye, I would skip the wad, unless the pellet is too short for your rammer to fully seat the ball on top of it. A wad would be preferable to an air gap, if that is the case.

I don't personally find wads, over-ball lube, or any projectile lube to be necessary or even particularly useful. Your Mileage May Vary.

 

[BowerR64]

To the OP, how do you like loading them into a colt?

I noticed they were easy to load in a Remington but found it tricky to load in the colt.

I like to load the remington on the side, the colt seems to be easier right under the ramrod.

Part of my sequence is keeping the ramrod down on the last ball ive pushed in so incase i get distracted or have to leave the gun unatended i know where im at on the loading sequence.

My range has a cease fire called every 15 minutes, we must leave the booth and put the firearms in a rack. WHen this happens you can sometimes get confused where you are in the loading.

 

[avatarshots]

I have a Remy and a Colt. Load em both the same

 

[BCRider]

That seems like a slick idea. But there's one little problem. They don't make pellets out of proper black powder....

 

[avatarshots]

They don't make pellets out of black powder until SOMEBODY does. Maybe you'll be that somebody

 

[kBob]

In the mid 1970s in West Germany FRG/BRD whatever the only way I could get BP for a '51 colt repro was as pellets. It was BP and they easily fractured. I was told one needed a gun owners ID card to get loose powder, but not pellets sized for .36 or .44 C&B revolvers. No idea what the charge was for I was young and dumb. They worked. Came I na styro foam tray with fifty to the box. One end was rounded convex and one con cave, I assumed the rounded end went into the chamber and the hollowed end accepted the bullet. Smashing the pellets, they seemed to be held together with something like Elmers glue. One guy at my shooting club crushed pellets for his long gun and used his regular measure when loose powder was not available locally and another did the same for his model cannon.

In the .36 one rammed until they heard the pellet crush. Satisfying boom, BP smell and smoke, dead and holes garbage dump rat....what more could a twenty something Infantry man want on his day off.....when those other things were not available. Most trouble we got in was popping a cap in a sink by putting it on a burning bit of paper....just because.

-kBob