Pouring powder down the barrel on revolvers

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C Younger

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I’ve been shooting C&B since 1998 when I bought my first Ruger Old Army from the Anchorage AK K-Mart at the age of 18. After selling that Old Army in 2001 I took a short break from C&B until 2005 when I bought a 5.5” stainless Pietta New Army. I’ve since acquired a Pietta 1860 Army and another stainless New Army with an 8” barrel. Very recently, I found a NIB stainless ROA with fixed sights and snatched it up (still not sure if I want to shoot it or not as it is somewhat a collectible in un-fired condition).
Anyhow, the last couple days I’ve been tinkering and trying to figure a way to speed up the reloading process. I had been using the spout on my flask to charge the chambers, but I keep envisioning an ember lighting the flask off. I was thinking about using 30-30 cases with a pre-measured charge and an ear plug to hold the powder in, but it’s hard to remove the plug with one hand holding the gun.
My other thought was to put a funnel in the muzzle and pour the charge down the barrel into a properly indexed chamber. This would allow me to pour the scoop faster as I would have a funnel to catch any spillage and I wouldn’t need to remove the funnel until the last chamber has been charged. Is there a reason why this wouldn’t work, or shouldn’t be done? The only thing I can come up with is the possibility of powder sticking to the crud inside the barrel, but don’t know if this would cause any issues or not.
 
If flash ignition concerns you I would just transfer the charge to a secondary measure and pour from that into a chamber mouth. I use that method if my flask spout isn't cut for the charge I need. You'll get funny looks if anyone notices you're cocking and decocking (if that's what you do to ensure index) your revolver in order to pour powder down the barrel. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work though, so long as grains don't stick in the rifling.
 
It wouldn’t need to be cocked and re-cocked for indexing. If I turn clockwise just past index and back it up to where the hand stops the cylinder, it is right in line. I may just give it a try. I’ve used the second measure method and it worked, but I’m trying to do the loading with one hand while holding the revolver with the other. Just trying to simplify and clean up the process. It’s so easy to have an open container and a scoop to grab the powder with, but the scoop (.44 mag shell with a handle) is so close to the same size as the chambers, it’s difficult to pour the powder without some of it missing. As far as strange looks at the range, that’s just part of shooting C&B where I’m from.
 
I’ll track down some tutorials; do you use conicals or round balls?
 
I have a full set up to do it just haven't gotten around to it yet. Been adding to my modern gun collection lately.

A little spendy... but I bought this set from Omnivore over on the 1858 Forum:
https://1858remington.com/index.php?topic=11773.msg200218#msg200218
The custom cartridge box is really all I wanted as there are a few different pre-made paper cartridge tools floating around the various BP forums and facebook.

I plan to use round ball.

Video referenced in that link above:
 
drobs, thanks for the info and the link. My interests are constantly changing, so I understand spending money on modern stuff. Until recently I shot mostly semi autos, now I’m in to lever guns and SA revolvers. I still keep the scary black guns around, and stay proficient with them, in case the zombies show up; but, for whatever reason, I just don’t enjoy shooting semi autos as much as I used to.
 
I load off the gun with a loading rack like the Tower of Power, actually it's the earlier version of it, I also have spare cylinders so I can get as many as 36 rounds down range before reloading. The ROA cylinders and after market cylinders for them are a direct drop in, at least as far as my 2 ROA's are concerned.
 
Skeeterfogger, that is a pretty cool set up. A speed loader for a C&B revolver.
The powder is usually the biggest pita. At least this method gets it over with quick. Next is coming up with speed loading the primers. Only problem is it would be just as cumbersome to put primers in a loader as it would to just put them on the nipples.
 
Buy or make a stand. This one is dovetailed and breaks into two parts for storage. Some use a small hinge and some just make a taller permanent fixture.

The yellow tubes hold up to 40 grains, are soft at the mouth will hold the ball or conical firmly enough that an accidental drop won’t spill powder. Squeeze the mouth slightly and the ball pops free. No funnel necessary.
Yellow is 44, white, not shown is 36.

I load 96 of these at home.

94659813-C903-49D0-BF48-44383A2CA112.jpeg
 
I started using chamber full powder charges. Much easier than constantly shaking the powder flask.
 
I’ve been checking out some of the aftermarket ROA cylinders as I was curious about how they’d fit. I may give one of them a try. I keep seeing one on gunbroker that is fluted that I think would look nice in the ROA.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I love trying different things with these revolvers, so may just try a bit of everything you guys showed me. I’m off to bed, but keep the suggestions coming. I’ll catch up on the posts before I go to work tonight.
 
A farmer
See that’s what Im talking about. A stand to me is a must. I’ve just not got the hang of trying to hang on to the gun and do the necessary steps. Then too as often as not the round balls are an unknown alloy and a tad hard.

Tried the paper cartridges, just too tedious and fiddling for me
 
I like the thru the barrel idea. I think I would use a brass drop tube like the target shooters use, just shorter. Should be easy to make.

IronHand
I was thinking about a long spouted funnel to get past the sticky barrel crud, but possibly trying it first without it and see how much powder gets stuck on it’s way down the shoot.
 
The real plus with paper cartridges is that if I’m wandering the woods and need to reload. I wouldn’t need a separate powder container or scoop, just a box of cartridges. If I’m just out shooting though, they do seem like a lot of extra work to get ready.
 
I’ll track down some tutorials; do you use conicals or round balls?
Because I can only find round balls in the general marketplace, that's what I use. I wish I could use the conicals, but I would have to cast my own to do that. I don't want to get into that for just a couple hundred (at most) bullets, at my advanced age.
 
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