loading a 1849 Wells Fargo pocket pistol

[Texas Steve]

Howdy,

I was recently given a CVA copy of the 1849 Wells Fargo pocket pistol with a brass frame.  I thought of selling it but decided to keep it in a shoulder holster for side matches.  What I really need to know is what diameter shot it needs and how much powder to use.  I have not had much luck looking online for loads, it seems most people recommend dropping in conversion cylinders.  Since the gun has a brass frame I don't want to try that.  Any information would be most helpful.

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy Steve,

Take a dead soft lead ball and drive it thru the barrel.  Mike it.  That's your bore size.  Then, mike the chamber mouths.  I'm bettn' they are smaller than the bore.  Italians do it that way.  Keeps pressures very low.  Also leads to poor performance and bad accuracy.  Take the gun to your favorite smith and have the chambers reamed to bore size.

Then, buy a round ball mold that drops a ball about 1 or 2 thousandths over chamber size.

Thus armed, yer good to go with great accuracy and performance with safe pressure.

I'd use only Genuine Holy Black in such a pistol.  Probably FFFg granulation.

Good luck and good shootn'.

DD-DLoS

[Frenchie]

Nominally .321 caliber, 47 grain round ball, 12 grains FFFg powder, 750 feet per second velocity, 60 pounds-feet of energy. The Bad Man there has given you first-rate advice. I'll just add to use a good natural bore lube (lots of it on the arbor) and make sure the hammer stops just a hair short of the nipples.

[Texas Steve]

Thanks for the great info.  I am really looking forward to shooting it, just as soon as I can get the supplies.

[Judge Roy Bean]

I wounder if any one can help me find a loading tool for a Uberti baby dragoon, you see them in cased sets they are shaped like a
mushroom with a stem of a bout 4 inch long & what looks like a hinged screwdriver in slot on the side.