cyclinder champering

[kurt250]

need to slightly open up cyclinder ends for several colt 2nd gen. c/b pistols. have a little problem getting some of my conical bullets into my 1860 armys. resize bullts to .457 as instructed in colt instruction book that comes with pistol.load with cumbustable paper cartridge . have some troble getting bullet to go down strate. have resized to .454 and still a problem. .457 ball with cartridge works fine. need to slightly champer cyclinder ends so bullet won't keep getying stuck. any ideas where i could find a good gunsmith that could handle this? thanks, kurt250

[Hoof Hearted]

Kurt

I sent your MO today in the mail!

I could ream the chambers to a larger diameter for you with a chucking reamer. I'm not sure this is the Cap and Ball way to fix your problem, but I'm sure it would work
We could also use a carburundum "ball" to chamfer them slightly. I would advise that we also check the forcing cones and make sure they are adequate.

You have my number, call me!
HH

[Pettifogger]

Do your bullets have a rebated base?  If not, you are using the wrong bullets.

[Fox Creek Kid]

Do your bullets have a rebated base?  If not, you are using the wrong bullets.

Absolutely correct. Without a bevel base you are pounding sand. Unless you have some religious connection to conicals I'd switch to round balls as they shoot better IMO and also shoot closer to POA as well.

[kurt250]

yes they have a rebated base. i aquired the unfired bullets at a shop at the fredricksburg battlefield park. they are just like the colt 2nd gen moulds that i have for 36 and 44. sent them to custom mould maker. told him the dementions that are called for 36cal.-378" and 44cal. -457" he made them and they mic out to that. am trying to replcate coubustable cartridges that were used in those pistols, also making the wooden boxes that they were shipped in including all the correct package markings. i'm retired and have nothing but time on my hands. kurt250

[Hoof Hearted]

yes they have a rebated base. i aquired the unfired bullets at a shop at the fredricksburg battlefield park. they are just like the colt 2nd gen moulds that i have for 36 and 44. sent them to custom mould maker. told him the dementions that are called for 36cal.-378" and 44cal. -457" he made them and they mic out to that. am trying to replcate coubustable cartridges that were used in those pistols, also making the wooden boxes that they were shipped in including all the correct package markings. i'm retired and have nothing but time on my hands. kurt250

Kurt

What are you using for an alloy? Shoul be pretty soft. If it's too hard that may be causing your grief!

[Pettifogger]

Bullets should be pure lead.  If they are alloyed at all they ain't gonna seat.  Is the rebate small enough so that it actually enters the cylinder chamber mouth?  .457 actually sounds a little large.  I don't ever use anything larger than .454 in a Colt.  Also, some Ubertis (the 2nd Gen Colts used Uberti parts) have tapered chambers and don't work for beans with a conical.

[Montana Slim]

None of my repro 1860s (Pietta, ASM and Uberti) have enough clearance (loading port on barrel) to allow loading paper cartridges. I modified one of my revolvers to accept them and it works well. My paper cartridges have been loaded with RB only. Many revolvers also do not have enough clearance to load a correct (original-type) conical. Again, there is not enough clearance between the seated bullet and barrel to allow it to get under the rammer. A dremmel tool can solve these problems.

Regards,
Slim

[Long Johns Wolf]

This pic might help: left is barrel c&b barrel, right modified to load cartridges with conicals from the front.
Long Johns Wolf

[kurt250]

thanks wolf, see what you mean. kurt250