pyrodex pellets in 45-70

Wolfcamp Hill · March 13, 2006, 06:48:49 PM

howdy,

i recently acquired a bunch of pyrodex pellets (the 45 caliber 30 grain pistol type) at a bargain price and am thinking about how to utilize the little rascals. i have read that the make for a pretty stout pistol load when used in a 45 colt caliber revolver and this makes me think maybe they would give satisfaction used as a light 45-70 load, under a 405 grain lead bullet. i suppose it would be wise to use a card over powder wad to keep the charge pushed back to the base of the case. Has anyone heard of these pellets being used in this way? I may try them out in the 45 colt too, just for grins. Thanks,

wolfcamp

Steel Horse Bailey · March 14, 2006, 03:05:01 AM

I've heard of one pellet being used for 45 Colt or 44-40; I don't see why you couldn't use 2 for 45-70 as long as you used some kind of wadding to insure there was NO free air space and the bullet and powder/wad formed a "solid" column. I WOULD use magnum primers, tho.

As to 1 pellet producing a stout load, well that's pretty subjective. Don't forget that a FULL original load of BP in a 45 Colt was 40 gr. 'Course the Army knocked that down 'cause of recoil as well as in the 45-70 cartridges to be used in their carbines!

BlaiseNSaddles · March 14, 2006, 06:23:16 PM

Never tried them in the 45-70 but the manufacturers loading manual says two 45 cal 30gr in a 45-70.

Ol Gabe · March 15, 2006, 07:55:28 AM

Mike Venturino, the BPCR Guru, did a test on them and wrote an article on the results, you can access it with a 'Google search' by typing in: venturino, pyrodex pellets, 45-70
Best regards and good loading!
'Ol Gabe

Dakota Widowmaker · March 19, 2006, 10:34:37 PM

Mike V. did like them and uses them for pistol caliber work.

They are not cheaper than loose powder, though...

Max Morgan · March 22, 2006, 02:05:16 PM

don't those bp pellets have a hollow center ?

i am sure i saw some a long time ago. sort of puts the "NO AIR SPACE" rule to question....

max

sundance44`s · March 23, 2006, 08:20:28 AM

The ones i`ve seen had a hole in the middle ya could run a string through and wear`em around yer neck , they`d make a real flashy necklace ..

Arcey · March 23, 2006, 09:09:10 AM

Tell ya I do know 'bout them thingys. They'll give ya a big surprize if ya stick 'em under 240 gn. conicals when yer used ta 18 or 19 gn. of 2f under a 140 gn. round ball loaded in an ROA. Dropped the hammer on that thing 'n the recoil put my skinny rear end back in the parkin' lot. Next time I did it I knew what was comin' 'n managed ta stay on the line.

Somewhere in Hodgdon's info pages, it says they're 'precompressed' makin' the airspace issue a non-issue.

BlaiseNSaddles · March 23, 2006, 02:43:26 PM

Hodgon manual I have says 2 45 cal 30gr pistol pellets for 45-70.
I have tried only 1 in a 45 Colt case and OUCH!!!!!!!! the recol was something. Sure did not feel like 30gr of loose powder.

Max Morgan · March 24, 2006, 08:28:37 AM

so, it seems as though another bp old wives tale has bit the dust !

seriously though, has there been any real testing on the theory that air space in the bp cartridge loadings will cause the end of the world? or similar for the shooter?

so far, every old cautionary advisory about black powder has proved bogus.

like the old saying goes, if something is repeated enough lots of folks get to believe it.

something akin to the global warming caused by man propaganda spewed by fear mongers...?

Steel Horse Bailey · March 24, 2006, 08:44:08 AM

I'm not so sure about the airspace thing, but I DO know that I'm not gonna volunteer my guns for proper testing !!!

It's kinda like the mag primer thing I mentioned. I haven't tried all the BPs and subs, but I have gotten better, more consistant results from Pyrodex using mag primers. The rest of the powders/subs don't seem to care what I used.

Don't forget: most myths are based on fact.

BlaiseNSaddles · March 24, 2006, 04:01:14 PM

I do not know either, however the pellets are already compressed powder so a little different then putting in loose powder.

The recoil that I got off them even though done strictly to the recommended manufacturers loading data was a lot harder then an equivalent amount of loose powder with a light compression. I trust the manufacturers data but the whallop on the guns concerned me enough not to do it anymore (besides the messy clean up and residue pyrodex leaves anyway). The manufacturer specifically warns against using the 777 pellets in this fashion. Givin the above I would say that the airspace thing is probably a good thing to avoid.