Making Blow Tubes

[rbertalotto]

I've been busy making a couple of Blow Tubes to be used in my 45-70 rifles

One for the Rolling Block



And one for the Sharps and 1885 Winchester



I started out with a 45-70 case and a 44Mag case is used to step it down to the plastic tube.



First, drill out the 45-70 case to the outside diameter of your 44mag case



Then drill out the inside of the 44Mag case to the major diameter and grind most of  the rim off the case. Leave a very little lip so it won't pull out of the 45-70 case.



Slide the 44Mag into the 45-70 and super glue the seam (or you could just as easily solder it) It is a very tight fit and Super Glue will hold it fast.



Slip a piece of 3/8ID plastic hose over the 44Mag case and you are done. You might need to heat the tubing up a bit with a low temp heat gun as it is a very tight fit on the 44 Mag case.



For the Remington Rolling Block I had to make a modification because the 45-70 barely fits over the hammer on these rifles with out the extension. So it needed to turn a corner.
A short piece of copper tubing bent 90 degrees and super glued into the 45-70 case solved this issue.



At the other end I built up the diameter of the copper tubing with a 38 Special case and a 41 Magnum case. One inside the other. Super Glued together.

Now to go moisten some black powder fouling!

[Wagon Box Willy]

Roy,

Nice, way more elegant than mine.  I cut off a piece of nylon 3/8" barb and stuck it through a hole I drilled in the 45/70 case.  Then flared the barb end inside the case by banging a large Philips head driver into it.  Oops, guess I need to clean it



All that being said, when I get more range time I'm going to use the damp patch method and see how that works.  Intuitively I seems the patch would provide a more consistent barrel for a longer period of time.

I'm using the Arizona Sharpshooters Delrin wiping rod and paper Arsenal patches soaked and wrung out in a 50/50 mix of Dex-Cool antifreeze and water.

The paper patches separate easily even when wet (one hand) and the flexible delrin rod is machined to give a nice fit with these patches.  The only downside I've found so far is that you need to fold your sight after every shot and on a windy day the patches falling out of the barrel is a bit messy but I can perform the operation with one hand while the rifle is still on the sticks and my shoulder.

Willy

[rbertalotto]

Hi Willy,

Yesterday I used the patch method with some patches moistened with 50/50 Ballistol and water. The guns shot great, but it was difficult to do from the prone position.

I then used my old piece of pipe blow tube and the guns shot exactly the same. I swabbed the bore after ten shots.

My old blow tube put moisture into the chamber area which seasoned BPCR shooters have suggested this is not a good thing. That is the reason I built these this morning.

The BPCR is loads of fun because you never stop learning!

[Wagon Box Willy]

So from what I've read, if you have moisture in the chamber it may cause the shell not to grab the chamber walls and "stick", which if it doesn't it may cause the case length to increase.  I also read that how well your brass fits the particular chamber may have an effect too.

Right now I'm just trying to hit the target so I'll worry about that little later on.  Tomorrow morning I'm going to set up my backyard 80yd target and try some shots prone.  I'll try wiping and see how awkward that is.

Willy

[Ranch 13]

If you're going to wipe between shots, the best thing is a Delrin rod for the wiping. Look at the one's offered for sale at Arizona Sharp shooters.
Also when wiping between shots, just a damp patch is all that's necessary. Using to much slickem of some sort (ballistol, water soluable oil etc) when wiping between shots with greasers can cause more problems than it solves. That sort of stuff in the mix is best left for paper patched loads. Most serious wipers use a potatoe ricer to squeeze the excess moisture out of the patches before going to the firing line. If I wipe between shots when shooting greasers I generally just put a dry patch in my mouth before the shot and get the patch wet, then push it thru the bore after the shot using a nylon brush on the end of my delrin rod.
If you get to much moisture in the chamber you can get seperated cases due to the case mouths stretching up into the rifling and getting stuck.
A shotgun boremop on a short rod is handy for swabbing the chamber.

[Ranch 13]

 Also when you go from shooting sitting or off the bench into the prone it's not unreasonable to find your poi is several minutes, if not feet higher than you had in the upright positions.

[rbertalotto]

So from what I've read, if you have moisture in the chamber it may cause the shell not to grab the chamber walls and "stick", which if it doesn't it may cause the case length to increase.

This is one result. The other is that water can not be compressed. If you get water into the chamber, between the brass and chamber wall, it could "ring" the chamber. At least that is the theory.

Fact of the matter is there is no reason to get water in the chamber when a simple device such as this will alleviate the issue.

[fourfingersofdeath]

Great work! Do you have a one way dribble/spit valve on it? lol.

[Dick Dastardly]

To blow, or not to blow.  That is the question.  Certainly guns shooting bullets lacking enough lube to keep the fouling wet can benefit from blowing.  Others, perhaps not.

Winning the long range match at Fandango and not blowing or wiping between shots worked for me.  Of course, I was shooting Big Lube bullets.  I had no misses and the shortest time.

DD-MDA

[Ranch 13]

Winning the long range match at Fandango and not blowing or wiping between shots worked for me.  Of course, I was shooting Big Lube bullets.  I had no misses and the shortest time.

DD-MDA

What was the distance and the size of the target?

[Wagon Box Willy]

Ranch 13,

  I only had a little time this morning but I loaded up 5 each of 65 and 70gr Saeco 645's and adjusted my vernier to my 80 yd reading.  First off, I need to loose some weight.  Sitting on the ground was too uncomfortable.  I took 2 shots and hit the target a bit high.  In the past I had been sitting on a stool which is what I will do in the future.

Then I laid prone.  That was pretty comfortable but it took some to get used to the recoil pad I bought.  Anyway had to bring the sight down 2 moa and was hitting where I wanted though not as consistent as I was off the bench.  This was my first time shooting prone since basic training 40yrs and 50lbs ago

I used my blow tube.

Willy

[Ranch 13]

Wllly the important thing to remember about using the blowtube, is you must remain very well hydrated, and your breathes need to come from deep in your lungs. If you're not getting condensation in your blowtube,and if the lube star on the crown isn't moist, the thing is more of a passifier for the shooter than doing any thing to help control the fouling.

[Short Knife Johnson]

I have another sure fire way to make unbeatable blow tubes.

1. I go to work for a few hours. 

2. Scrape together the requiste amount after Income Tax and other deductions.     

3. Order a Montana Vintage Arms blow tube from Shiloh or MVA for 10 dollars.   

     

[john boy]

What was the distance and the size of the target?

Don, read this thread.  It was like trying to pull out a headless nail to get an answer from Dick.  But we all ganged up on him and he hollered - Uncle!
And remember, this is SASS 'Long Distance' - not the real deal
http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,40175.0.html

Here's a thread stretching it out a tad to 500m - shooting 10 over the chronograph and then 40 at the silhouettes with no patching or tubing with no degradation in accuracy.  Of course, I too was shooting my favorite 38-55 bullet, the Ideal 375166.  And was taking my time and did miss a few!

http://www.schuetzenpowder.com/forum/index.php?topic=107.0

[Ranch 13]

  Offhand distance with 350  yd targets, gotta love it... 
Good shootin with the weenie gun there John.

A hearty second for MVA's blowtubes, machined out of aluminum like they are they don't get crunched, and that rubber o'ring helps to seal the chamber off.
Bad part is they don't make one for 44-77.

[Dick Dastardly]

Now, don't go throwin' buffler poop at the 38-55 caliber.  This is one of the great SASS long range chamberings.  Also, it's not easy to use a blow tube in a Winchester 94 that's fully stoked with cartridges.  That's one reason Big Lube bullets shoot so well in them.  There's no advantage to blowin', swabbin' or wipin'.  Just run the gun and keep yer eye on the target, when you can see it thru the smoke. . .

DD-MDA

[Ranch 13]

There's no question why the 38-55 was a popular cartridge for the 200 +- yard target games. But when you get to 600 and beyond it's a real problem spotting hits on steel from the peeshooter, and trying to find pinpoint a miss at 1000 is reeally hard.

[rbertalotto]

Hey Dick,

I just bought a used Big Lube mold from a fellow on this board. I think it's a very early one of yours. 250g RNFP.

Casts beautiful bullets!  Along with my 170G BL I'm a non-leaded happy camper!

[Wagon Box Willy]

So this is going to turn this thread into a totally different direction

A few questions for you casters.

1. Do you buy or scrounge lead?
2. When do you find time to either scrounge or cast? Are you retired?

Maybe it's me who's the odd ball here.  I have a job which takes me out of town about 40+ weeks a year, getting home for the weekends.  I cant fathom spending the time I think it takes to cast though I'd love to do it.   I have considered buying all the stuff and then buying the lead and alloy but it seems to me that unless you scrounge for your lead it's actually more expensive to cast.  Is that an accurate assessment?

For my cowboy rounds it costs me about $88 delivered for 750 bullets which is very reasonable but for the 45-70 bullets it's more like $125 for 200.

Assuming I could find the time (ie, take a day off) would it be worth the investment including buying the lead?

Thanks
  Willy

[Ranch 13]

It takes about an hour to cast 150 or so 45-70's, and you'll get about 14 bullets to the pound. Figure about  2.50 lb for certified alloy. So if you don't figure the cost of your casting equipment. It'll cost you an hour-hour and a half plus 50$ for alloy to cast around 150 bullets.
Of course it gets cheaper, by scrounging lead, ie wheelweights, or buying recycyled range scrap off of Ebay etc..