.36 loads

[Capt. JEB Forrest]

I have been shooting 1860's for 15 years now.

Recently have been experimenting with some 1851's and Leech and Rigdons .36 cal.

I am using lubed felt wads under either round balls or conicals.

What powder charges are you .36 shooters using?

[Jake C]

If I'm shooting round ball, about 36 grains of 2/3F (depends on what I have in my flask at the time, usually 3F). If I'm shooting a conical, it's 15 grains of 3F; thats as much as I can put under the conicals I've been using. Both loads are pleasant to shoot.

[Major 2]

EPP-UG 155 gr  Bullets over 13 grains of 3FFF KIK

DuH ! EPP-UG-36   90 grains ....

Colts & Spillar & Burr

BTW it was Coffinmaker that suggested these EPP-UG-36 to me .... much happiness he did too !   

[Coffinmaker]

Major 2 ..........

Ah .... Um .... ah .... Not to be contrary, but wouldn't that load be for a .... ah .... 44???  An EPP-UG-36 only weighs 90Gr, as cast. 

With the EPP-UG-36 (My bullet of choice for 36) I like 18Gr 3f APP

[Major 2]

AH   whoops   yeah !
EPP-UG-36

teach me to cut & paste

[OklaTom]

I'm still a round ball shooter. My most accurate load in my Pietta made 1851 Navy revolvers is 22 gr FFFg Goex, lubed felt wad, and .375 round ball. So far, the load has proven itself in all of my Pietta Navy revolvers. It shoots high in my Uberti and Lyman Guns. Backing off to 18 gr of FFFg Goex puts the ball back where I want it in Uberti and Lyman.

[Mogorilla]

I too am only round ball.  .375 and 20 grains fffg of Goex.  If I use 777, I back off to 17 grains.    I know heresy using 777, but it was way easier to obtain for me, so I limit my Goex use to when I really want to have fun.

[Lucky R. K.]

I sometimes shoot a pair of long barreled 1851 Navies by Pietta with DD's little EPP-U-G 36 bullet and 20 grains of 3F (usually Goex) powder.  A comfortable load to shoot and very accurate If I do my part.

Lucky

[Coffinmaker]

Yepper Lucky .....

I gave up Round Ball in the .36 for matches.  Nothing but the EPP-UG.  Gives a much nicer "Klank" onna target.  Got real fed up with spotters that are Blind and Deaf.  Dumb comes to mind as well.

[Capt. JEB Forrest]

That is also why I tend to use conicals.

In most SASS matches, my c&b 130 conicals weight more than half the shooters bullets.

[Karl]

I used a 16gr spout on a flask of FFFg for .375 rb over a WonderWad in my 1851 Navies. 

I was using the same for .380 rb in my 1862s here but have upped it to a 20gr spout since the shots seemed to be "duller."  This might be caused by the usual 80-100% humidity here in our RAINforest. 

[dusty texian]

Today in the G&G  it was 16 gr. fff Goex under a .375 rb.  # 10 caps  a real can killer ! ,,,,DT

[Montana Slim]

Uberti 1851's, 17 gr 3F + Lee .380 RB.
If encountering KDs, Texas Star, etc, I load Lee 125 gr. Conicals with same powder charge -takes em all down.

I brought the old timers out last weekend:
Uberti 1860's, 25 gr 3F + Lee .454 RB
The Navies are a bit more accurate & the Army 44s are overkill for today's SASS pistol targets...but both are the most fun for a shoot.

Slim

[Coffinmaker]

HI Slim   

How are Ya!!

After all .... it IS ALL about FUN isn't it!!   

[Major 2]

OOOOOOOOOO the creative juices are churning

A Spiller & Burr  Cartridge conversion ....no way , one might say 

But.... WAY !

.38 RF caliber, 6.875" octagonal barrel, S/N 700. The only markings are on the left side of the frame with C.S. in the bottom left corner.  Brass frame with steel cylinder, barrel and hammer.  Walnut grips. This revolver was converted to rimfire cartridge after the Civil War using an original Spiller & Burr revolver.  The original cylinder had the rear portion sawed off with a collar added and the frame notched so the hammer could strike the back of the cartridge. This specific Spiller & Burr was the subject of the article "A Spiller & Burr Confederate Revolver Conversion", R. Bruce McDowell, The Gun Report, 12/99. 

Estimate: $20000-30000

So now, to the conversion of mine 

[LongWalker]

I tend to use fairly stout charges in my revolvers, had to stop and think about why.  Some of the old folks in my family still had c&b revolvers around for occasional use up into the 1970s, and I just copied their loads.  One of my flasks was given to me by my great-uncle: he had cut the spout down for his Navy load.  That spout throws about 21 grains of FFFg; I've used that load with both round ball and conicals.  He told me once he got his "load data" by copying the load in a paper cartridge loaded with a conical. 

His father-in-law (we called him "Grandpa") was a .44 fan, keeping an 1860 Army and a Dragoon around til he finally kicked the bucket.  His load for both was 36-37 grains of powder with a conical (i know, as I pulled the loads from his pistols after he passed away).  Grandpa never used loose powder, he had a fair quantity of Hazzard Powder Company's paper cartridges around. 

[pony express]

A cartridge Spiller & Burr! Would love to have such a thing. I guess nobody told them way back when, that you couldn't do cartridges in a brass frame.

[OklaTom]

A cartridge Spiller & Burr! Would love to have such a thing. I guess nobody told them way back when, that you couldn't do cartridges in a brass frame.

Of course, back then, folks weren't (couldn't) shooting smokeless ammo. So pressures generated by the cartridge were equivalent.

[greyhawk]

OOOOOOOOOO the creative juices are churning

A Spiller & Burr  Cartridge conversion ....no way , one might say 

But.... WAY !

.38 RF caliber, 6.875" octagonal barrel, S/N 700. The only markings are on the left side of the frame with C.S. in the bottom left corner.  Brass frame with steel cylinder, barrel and hammer.  Walnut grips. This revolver was converted to rimfire cartridge after the Civil War using an original Spiller & Burr revolver.  The original cylinder had the rear portion sawed off with a collar added and the frame notched so the hammer could strike the back of the cartridge. This specific Spiller & Burr was the subject of the article "A Spiller & Burr Confederate Revolver Conversion", R. Bruce McDowell, The Gun Report, 12/99. 

That old gun is a tad dinged up - top strap is caved in and thinned ahead of the hammer - the pivot for the loading lever is skewed down but the major worry is the bend upwards in the platform of the mainframe (just a bit ahead of thelocking bolt notch) - I reckon its been almost blown - then somebody straightened it as best they could - the topstrap was stretched thin at the back (had almost let go) hence the caved in look there when they tried to push it back to shape - be a  pretty interesting story behind all that I bet!!!!