1861 Navy by Uberti

[RWK]

1861 Navy by Uberti

I have a 1861 Navy Question

The load rod only goes into the cylinder .250 so with a 375 round ball it will go in about .625 or 5/8.

The cylinder is about 1.225.

That leaves .600 for powder

Does all this sound correct because on my 1851 navy the rod goes .500

If I don't want to use a wad what load do I use?

[Coffinmaker]

I don't want to be too insulting, but using a micrometer to measure a chainsaw cut is ...... Well, never mind.  It is actually simple.  You need just enough powder to get light compression when the ball is seated.  So long as the ball is below the cylinder face, just how deep is academic.  There is no correlation of chamber size between the 1851 and 1861.  Different guns, different machine settings.  Just adapt to the 1861.

Coffinmaker

[rifle]

The 36's usually like 20-23gr. FFFg powder. It takes a certain amount of powder to send a certain ball out a certain rifling and have it stabilize ,or whatever you want to call it with a ball,to shoot well. Too little powder and you may not get real good accuracy. Too much powder and you may not get good accuracy.
Anywhoooooo...wad or not a 36cal. ball seems to like 20-23gr. FFFg powder. The 44/45cal. balls seem to like 25-28gr. FFFg powder.
If ya push the balls too fast I suspect they could act like golf balls that do the slice or cut and golike curve balls after going a certain distance.
The imprint of the rifling lands on the balls seem to act like the threads on a baseball that can be made to curve.
I think the anomaly that is there in time and space between 20 yards and 25 yards has a little to do with the balls starting to act like a golf ball that does the slice or cut or like a baseball that can be a curve ball.
The balls from a cap&baller spin pretty danged fast (figure the spin using the rate of twist to  the rifling in the barrel and the velosity of the balls)and the air resistance coupled with the imprint the rifling puts to the balls can affect things. I thunk.

[Raven]

Uberti 1851and 1861cylinders are EXACTLY the same and interchangeable!

Any differrence in how far the plunger goes into chamber is due to the differrences in design of the barrels and the loading levers.

Raven

[Coffinmaker]

That's what I tried to say, durn it.

Coffinmaker

[Blair]

Raven,

Good reply!
I very much agree!

Bullet depth in the cylinder chamber should only be deep enough to clear the breech end of the barrel.
Not based on or by how deep the loading leaver plunger can bush the bullet into the cylinder chamber.

[pony express]

Raven beat me to it! It's just the difference between different loading lever designs. It can vary even with the same design, I have a pair of replica Colt's Pocket Police, one Uberti and an older one from Navy Arms, Slightly different dimesions of the loading levers means one will seat a ball just barely below the face of the cylinder, the other will put it 1/4 or more deep.

[Hoof Hearted]

I would assume that RWK's concern here might have been about airspace more than loading lever differences or cylinder lengths.

As Coffinmaker pointed out, it is imperative that you seat the ball firmly against the powder charge hence his steatement regarding wads.

It could very well be that he is fairly new to blackpowder and is asking if anyone here shoots an 1861 that might tell him how many cc's of their choice of powder granulation works well in their pistol??

HH

[Fingers McGee]

I use 22 gr fffg, lubed wad and .380 roundball in my Uberti '61 Navies.  When loading, I ram the load to the end of the rammers stroke.  Most people think the load is stouter than it actually is, more than likely due to the compression. Both pistols will shoot one ragged hole at 10 yards offhand, and cut 5 out of 5 playing cards at 7 yards.

[RWK]

Yes the air space, because the 61 loading lever is so much shorter.
Yes I am new to blackpowder

I would assume that RWK's concern here might have been about airspace more than loading lever differences or cylinder lengths.

As Coffinmaker pointed out, it is imperative that you seat the ball firmly against the powder charge hence his steatement regarding wads.

It could very well be that he is fairly new to blackpowder and is asking if anyone here shoots an 1861 that might tell him how many cc's of their choice of powder granulation works well in their pistol??

HH