Loading a .44 C&B with blanks.

[Capt. Texas Elliot]

Hi, pretty new to this. What would be the blank loading procedure for a .44 C&B to be used to practice mounted shooting?

Many thanks.

Cheers
Rod

[hellgate]

The re-enactors put in the powder and then stuff florist's foam into the mouth of the chamber to seal them. If you are going to just shoot into the air and not toward anyone then i will put in the powder and then a stiff card wad or even a lube wad (like a wonder wad) and pack it down with the rammer. You could also  put in powder, top it off with cream of wheat and a thin card wad. Again, only if it is not being aimed at anyone regardless of the distance.

[Adirondack Jack]

Watched a guy set up for a short film (a gunfight, so yes, downrange was an issue) and he put 15 grains of FFG, then topped off to the top with corn starch, rammed, topped off again with corn starch, rammed again, and that's it.  No "solid" retainer, and it worked well.

[Capt. Texas Elliot]

Thanks Gentlemen, what about chain fires? Are the cylinders sealed off enough not to set off each other cylinder?

I've done a lot of mounted blank firing with flintlocks but not with revolvers.

[Dalton Masterson]

Capt, thats a great pic, and looks like a pretty good horse. I miss riding and shooting off of mine.

When I loaded my cap and balls for blanks, I removed the cylinder, added my powder, which I think was 20-25 gr., then used floral foam from your local florist or box store. Make sure to get the "wet" style foam, that is more dense. Its usually the darker green color.
I packed the foam into the cylinder with a wooden dowel, until the cylinder was almost full.
They had a nice resounding boom, and we couldnt even get a balloon to pop at a few yards, so they are pretty safe for downrange work.  Made it bounce, but no pop.

That might not work for your mounted bit where ut didnt pop balloons, but did have a nice boom if your just training your horse to gunfire.

I have heard that the cream of wheat will sometimes come out as one projectile, but have never witnessed breakfast cereal abuse like that before. DM

[Fingers McGee]

   When doing gunfight reenactments, I load my C&Bs with 15 gr of fffg, then pack as much cream of wheat on top.  Never point at anyone - always to the side; but the CoW dissipates at about 20 ft.    Have heard about corn starch being even safer & will probably give it a try at next gunfight.

Chain fires are not a problem using CoW on top of powder - leastwise I've never had one.  They usually happen from loose/missing caps anyhow.

Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee

[Steel Horse Bailey]

Howdy!

Chainfires have been proven (by high speed photography) to originate from the NIPPLE, not the front - in better than 99.9% of the time.

Think about it: Ya got a loose cap or two.  You fire a cylinder off, and the fire goes where?  #1 - out front and #2 - backwards out the flash hole.  The next cylinder in line - one of them with a loose cap which gets jarred loose from firing (happens ALL the time, with NON-perfectly fitted caps) - gets a bit of that fire perhaps deflected by the hammer and WHOOMP!  The fire (generally) is moving forward too fast to creep its way BACKward  past a shaved lead ball and perhaps grease, too and then into the powder.  But that loaded cylinder with the loose or now missing cap is a straight line into the powder.

I'M not one of those photographers or powder experts, so I won't tell ya that it's NOT possible to get a chainfire from the front ... but the experts probably will.

[Black Powder]

I'll keep these ideas in mind for this year's 4th of July.     Knew I should be able to fire off a few blanks, but didn't know how either.  Thanks!

BP

[Major 2]

Your going to love this..and it's simplicity

After some 28 years in a saddle...From Florida to Penn. to Texas Mounted , CW Texas/Mex.
In th early days we used wonder wads (again we never fired directly at someone or we elevated and we have distance rules)
But we also deemed wonder wads as a bit to much projectial, also early on.

So... here is the simple part... COCOA Puffs the cereal ...Cocoa puffs are perfect for 44 they are somewhat round little balls of cereal meal that crush over the BP and with enough binder to keep it there even in bouncing pommel holsters.

if you use a 36 Cal. then get Cocoa Roo's

Cocoa Puff's = 44 Cal.
Cocoa Roo's =36 cal.

the cool part ( we used to do camapigns I.E. Red River, Raymond, Miss. etc. and some Trek's Ft. Levenworth to Ft. Rielly, The Wilderness & Saylor's Creek, and LaGrange, Tenn to Baton Rouge...
You can snack on your extra carried Cocoa Puffs in a pinch, for a quick sugar pickup me up....

OH ! should you find your needs turn to hollow points... there is Chearios 

[litl rooster]

 

[Capt. Texas Elliot]

Thanks to everyone for the excellent advice.

Our horses are trained to gunfire. Now we are after something that will burst the balloons. I have been using my flintlock and 30.30 with blackpowder blanks.

We have been using starter pistols with a pin in the end, pretty loud but we have to get within arms reach of the balloon. This has been good training but ony having 2 "shots" in each pistol is wearing a bit thin. 


Some training we did a few weeks back.

And my mate Phil at a show we did last weekend.

[Fingers McGee]

Make sure the Cocoa Puffs are fresh.  Had a reenactor get a pretty good sized welt on his chest from an old stale Cocoa Puff fired out of an 1860.  Of course, the shooter violated the first rule about not pointing at anyone.

FM

[Major 2]

is that Napoleonic era ?

at that range and what you doing (running at the heads ) Wonder Wods are safe I'd suppose..
also TP and the unburn BP will blast the balloons.

The Cocoa puffs wll work perfectly...

And yeah, Cocoa Puffs will harden when stale, still I crush them in...
Now as to getting stale...hell, my pard used to eat 70% of mine out of my haversake...
He loved the dang things 
Usually had to buy a new box anyway 

[litl rooster]

Price of lead may want to consider shooting the Coco Puffs at steel

[hellgate]

For popping balloons you may want to use FFg rather than FFFg so the grains will fly farther out to pop the balloon.