homemade black powder in 45-75 1876 winchester

[daxbax]

Hi,
I want to try to make loadings for this rifle, with homemade black powder wich is composed by proportions 75 15 10 in potassium nitrate, col, sulfur.

There is anybody who had tried making loads with any kind of homemade black powder?

thank you

best regards

[Grizzly Adams]

Hi,
I want to try to make loadings for this rifle, with homemade black powder wich is composed by proportions 75 15 10 in potassium nitrate, col, sulfur.

There is anybody who had tried making loads with any kind of homemade black powder?

thank you

best regards

No, and I don't think I would want to get into that personally   However, a fella wrote an article on making your own BP for the SASS Cowboy Chronicle - January 2009 copy.  You might check that out.

And Welcome to the fire.

[daxbax]

Thank you for your reply,

the rifle is an original '76 that pratically as never shoot.
In my town (a little town of italy) is hard to find black powder.
I herd that is dengerous to load catriges with modern smokeless powder for this old rifles (even if this one is pratically like brand new), and I reed there is in the marcket, powder like IMR4198 that are used in the modern copy like uberti or Chaparral (bolt Italian it seems to me), but I don't know if the original winchester is much stronger or less than the modern copyes so it can support this powder .


Anyway after a lot of ballistic studies and cranium breacks, I decided to try make some shot in different configuration by use of Vithavouri N160, a slow powder used in caliber like 30-06 (the only one that I have).

After much sounds like "pif" "puf" "puuf" "Poof" "Bim" "Bam"... and so on, and some bullet blocked inside the barrel, I start to herd a sound much interesting and the first "BOOM" cames out with this configuration:

300 grains bulletts, magnum CCI primers, and 40 grains of Vithavouri N160.

The shot was not too much strong but passable. But there is a lot of  powder that not burns and by increasing the amount of powder take no effects, because  only grows the amount of unburned powder.

I know this is not the good "give and take", so I want to try BP.

An old gunsmith near me sad to me that I can use any kind of black powder without problem because the strength of these, is much lower (1/3 sless) than the modern nitrocellulose powders, (yes but I think this is true if I use BP in one of the modern rifle, progected for the modern smokeless powders and the resulted hig pressures), the only thing is to fill the brass.

Anyway, if there is anyone that had experience in omemade BP I'm shure it can help me.


I'm sorry for my English that in not too much correct I know

[MannitheGerman]

Ciao daxbax,
please please please don´t use N 160 in that gun again!!! Molto periculoso, if my five words of Italian language are right. It will give much too much preasure. If you want to use smokeless powder, use N 110, with 20 to 25 grains weight, this will dublicate blackpowder spead and presure.
As for homemade powder, I made such as 16-year old boy and used it in a percussion Kentucky pistol from Pedersoli. It worked fine with one disadvantage. I grinded it fine as meal for better ignition so it was difficult to load. This should be a much lesser problem when you fill cartridges with it. Take care not to take too much weight, as your powder is finer than comercial blackpowder and has lesser volume. I guess you will have to use some kind of filler to slightly compress you load.
Good luck and keep us informed.

[Grizzly Adams]

Good morning daxbax. 

Sorry I was no help to you.  I did not see that you where in Italy!

The only contact I have for the SASS organization in Italy is "Alchimista," 39-0303737100.  He may be of some assistance to you.

Black Powder must be available somewhere in Italy, because these SASS shooters are in Italy, and he is shooting Black Powder.



It sounds like you have a very nice original Winchester 1876.  My advice is to purchase black Powder for in your fine old Winchester.   The new replicas produced in Italy are made of modern materials, and are proofed for smokeless powder.

However, if you must use smokeless, this website has some recommended loads for the Chaparral replica.  The loading data here for IMR 4198 is a published  load that has also been recommended for use in the original rifle.

http://www.chaparralarms.com/specs/calibers.htm

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[daxbax]

Thankyou all for yours reply,

My general thought is to use smokeless powder (if i will find good one that not destruct the gun and myself too!) for one simple reason: the black powder residuals are very aggressives and I dont want put water inside the barrel every time after I shoot's in one gun that have about six time my age, even if it's in optimal conditions.

Smokeless residuals are mutch less aggressives in a front of BP.

 

[daxbax]

I tryed the Powder that I build up!

I made a shot with the homemade BP in the proportion mencioned above,

I filledl the brass with the powder and I used large rifle CCI primer. But, please dont laugh, I put tree little discs of orange peel as bullet (we have a lot of orange in italy!), then I try the shot

was very impressive shot and an ultrasount piece of fruit was proyected in the wall of my backyard tool's house form 10 meters, and the flames goes forward for about 4 meters (I made the first "centennial flamethrower")

I know... I must use metal bullet if I want to make a real test
and no fruit bullets, but, before I want to take more information about homemade BP.

Anyone as never try HBP ?

[Grizzly Adams]

I tryed the Powder that I build up!

I made a shot with the homemade BP in the proportion mencioned above,

I filledl the brass with the powder and I used large rifle CCI primer. But, please dont laugh, I put tree little discs of orange peel as bullet (we have a lot of orange in italy!), then I try the shot

was very impressive shot and an ultrasount piece of fruit was proyected in the wall of my backyard tool's house form 10 meters, and the flames goes forward for about 4 meters (I made the first "centennial flamethrower")

I know... I must use metal bullet if I want to make a real test
and no fruit bullets, but, before I want to take more information about homemade BP.

Anyone as never try HBP ?

I love it!

[MannitheGerman]

ciao daxbax,
sounds great! No smokeless load will give you a picture like this. Smokeless loads popp, blackpowder loads roar! And don´t be afraid of water. I found best for cleaning lever guns is a cleaning cord which is a piece of strong cord, longer than the barrel, with a loop at one end. In this loop you put a moist, not dropping wet, patch, put the cord through the barrel and so pull the moist patch through the barrel. Do this 3 or 4 times and the barrel should be clean. Repeat it with 2 dry and one oily patches and you are done. The acids in your orange bullets are much more agressive!
Manni

[Rancid Roy]

daxbax,

You have me laughing right now! You might try some Hollow Point Orange Peels....I hear they can stop a charging house-cat!

[john boy]

Daxbax, contact this distributor of Swiss black powder in Italy:

T.F.C. S.r.l. - The Four Company
Via G. Marconi, 118/b
I-25069 VILLA CARCINA (BS)

Mr Silvio REGGIANI

Tel. +39 030 898 3872
Fax +39 030 898 0357
E-mail: info@tfc.it
Website: www.tfc.it