Hand loading black powder rounds.

[kdklvr]

Hello,

Wondering if anyone on here does this? I would like to learn. If anyone is willing to teach or has some other web sights or books to recommend please let me know.

[Lead Waster]

You mean cartridges filled with black powder, I assume.

Well if it's for a converted percussion gun, I'm WILDLY GUESSING that you'd use about the same amount of powder as you would if you were just ball and capping it. ie; if you loaded a 150 gn ball on top of say, 20 gn bp, then you'd do the same in a cartridge for the same gun.

I'M TOTALLY GUESSING. But really, you'd look up a reloading manual and treat the BP as any other smokeless powder, just follow the load manuals.

[Lead Waster]

Here, google ".45 colt black powder cartridge load" and you get good stuff, for example;

http://www.shootersforum.com/blackpowder-cartridge-shooting-loading/41188-45-colt-blackpowder-loads-info.html

[jlmurphy]

It is not like smokeless powder. Volume is not that important, but you can't have any air space in the cartridge. The pressure is considerably less, but it detonates more than burns and the shock wave traveling through the air pocket will hit the bullet and can rupture the firearm. Most loadings call for compression of the powder, you've seen shooters packing the ball tightly down a muzzleloaders barrel on top of the powder with a RAMrod. Black powder is a lot of fun, but nothing like smokeless reloading.

[prob]

I'M TOTALLY GUESSING. But really, you'd look up a reloading manual and treat the BP as any other smokeless powder, just follow the load manuals.

Terrible advice.

[CSACANNONEER]

It's the one area of reloading that I have zero experience in. But, a 30-30 was designed to hold 30 grain, a 25-20 was designed to hold 20 grains, a 45-70 holds 70 grains, a 32-20 holds 20 grains, etc.

[cruddymutt]

You can fill the air space with cream of wheat or corn meal I have read. I looked into it for my 45 Colt Henry Big Boy but decided the after clean up might be more than I wanted to do. I have considered loading it for a future 45 Colt Ruger Vaquero and possibly for an 1891 Mosin Nagant.

[6mmintl]

I hand load 45-70, 40-65, 11mm danish, 8x58RD swede/danish, 40-72 (405 win w/BP), 41 swiss.

Where are you located and what cartridge were you going to load?

[Bigyates]

Powder, card over powder, wadding to take up airspace if any then the bullet and crimp. Compressing the load and a good crimp produces the most consistent results. You have to know or research the powder charge and bullet weight combo for your particular cartridge/ firearm.

[Lead Waster]

Terrible advice.

Meh, my advice was to follow a loading manual not "treat is like a smokeless powder". Sounds bad, sorry!

I just went and picked up some "trail boss" to load .45 colt, rather than trying BP in the .45 colt case.

[Alan Block]

.45 Colt brass originally took 40 grains of powder but the new cases take less. I fill the case to 3/8 inches from the top and compress the powder down with the bullet. No cards or wads. Just use a bp style grease.

[smle-man]

I use a puff of carded wool to take up the empty volume in my 577/450 loads with Pyrodex RS powder. Works great!