pyrodex pellets

[Bezoar]

Well pyrodex pellets do give convenience but heres a safety question. On blackpowderrevolvers.net, the creator/author seems to be using the 30 grain pellets with round ball and conical in revolvers that are supposed to be loaded with a maximum of 22 grains.

Even though he could physically get the pellets, wads, and projectile seated in the cylinder enough to shoot, and it hasnt blown up on him yet, is this exceeding the built in margin of safety here?

 

[DixieTexian]

I think that with modern replicas, as long as you can get the bullet in the cylinder, it will be fine. It would be real hard to blow one of these up with black powder or substitutes.

 

[Plink]

I don't think it's possible to blow up a modern revolver using correct powders, even if the charge is above the recommended level. My complaint against pellets is that they don't allow you to fine tune the load for maximum accuracy like loose powder does. I'm willing to bet that 22-25 grains would be a lot more accurate in his gun than 30 is.

 

[O.S.O.K.]

"maximum" loads

Keep in mind that the companies that manufacture these are listing their "maximum" loads with one thing in mind - you guessed it: defending their products in court.

 

[mykeal]

Plink and O.S.O.K got it right - 22 gr is likely recommended as the max load with a very healthy safety factor, plus, it's probably the best load for accuracy. I have 13 different bp pistols and none shoot well with heavy loads. Well, almost none - my Dragoons just love 45 grs, or rather I do, whether I hit the target or not.

Plink's point about not being able to fine tune the load with pellets is a good one. You can be assured that with a pellet you are not shooting the gun's optimum load unless you are very, very lucky.

I assume this is in a steel frame revolver (for no good reason whatsoever); if it's a brass frame he might see some loosening over several years, as 30 gr is probably a bit hot for a brass frame.

Finally, I've read on a forum someplace that the pellets had lower yields than equivalent loose powder loads. Can't recall where that was, however.

Anyway, bottom line - very unlikely that he will do any damage, and infinitesimal chance of blowing up a cylinder shooting 30 gr pellets in a gun rated at 22 gr max.