Thread: Reloading for black powder

I was thinking nail polish/shellac or waterglass (sodium silicate) from somewhere like this.

cowboy action loads with trail boss should be piece of wees to make up..... you want ????oz of 7s??? old rule was same VOLUME of shot as black powder..... strangely enough the starting point for trail boss in centrefire is 80% of volume of smokeless...... PERSONALLY I would run with load of same volume and see how it feels.... you shooting break open gun with no chokes...wads are surplus to requirements,circle of felt/cork is perfect,card over top of shot and nail polish it in place......it wont matter if case is only 3/4s full UNLIKE plastic hulls,you wont have wad pressure to worry about,just make sure no airspace around BP..... but you using TB so not so much of an issue.sounds like you have primers sorted.... have a look at Wingmans thread on everlasting .410 shells.....that will answer some questions and give you ideas.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

cowboy action loads with trail boss should be piece of wees to make up..... you want ????oz of 7s??? old rule was same VOLUME of shot as black powder..... strangely enough the starting point for trail boss in centrefire is 80% of volume of smokeless...... PERSONALLY I would run with load of same volume and see how it feels.... you shooting break open gun with no chokes...wads are surplus to requirements,circle of felt/cork is perfect,card over top of shot and nail polish it in place......it wont matter if case is only 3/4s full UNLIKE plastic hulls,you wont have wad pressure to worry about,just make sure no airspace around BP..... but you using TB so not so much of an issue.sounds like you have primers sorted.... have a look at Wingmans thread on everlasting .410 shells.....that will answer some questions and give you ideas.

Appreciate the tips. Much of what I read on T.B. used in shot shells is it's mass is bulkier but I think I'll load a few at different weights and try through a chrono. My shotgun is like an anvil so if I blow a hull it's no great loss though Cowboy loads are usually pretty weak. Now to get a cartful of #7

Originally Posted by yosamitesam

Appreciate the tips. Much of what I read on T.B. used in shot shells is it's mass is bulkier but I think I'll load a few at different weights and try through a chrono. My shotgun is like an anvil so if I blow a hull it's no great loss though Cowboy loads are usually pretty weak. Now to get a cartful of #7

if you down this way I could chuck a pound or three at you no worries at all......stop me kicking it every time I go to use vice on bench.

You can use plastic cases for bp ( I do) but don't expect too many reloads from them, if you have one a roll crimper works well simply cut the petals off put a card over your shot and crimp away.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

You can use plastic cases for bp ( I do) but don't expect too many reloads from them, if you have one a roll crimper works well simply cut the petals off put a card over your shot and crimp away.

If you use a plastic wad, you can line the barrel with plastic, I used plastic once and a full length condom was the result when cleaning. Never used plastic again?

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

You can use plastic cases for bp ( I do) but don't expect too many reloads from them, if you have one a roll crimper works well simply cut the petals off put a card over your shot and crimp away.

You can also just not crimp. Instead, put a bead of hot melt glue around the edge of the card covering the shot.

Don't worry @Maca49 I only use greased pinex ones. Made that mistake about 30 years ago and won't be doing that again!

steel shot wads seem to handle it ok..the plastic hulls dont like crude BP very much,the wee lumps of sulphur stick to inside case walls and burn their way out LOL.

Use a better class of bp then, or is that being elitist?

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Use a better class of bp then, or is that being elitist?

"Elitist?"...The Jury is still out on that, but definitely illogical in view of the current powder range shortage worsening.

that would also entail forking out $$$$$$$ to purchase commercial BP.
That would spoil the appeal for me.
cheap cheap cheap goes the sparrow.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

that would also entail forking out $$$$$$$ to purchase commercial BP. That would spoil the appeal for me.
cheap cheap cheap goes the sparrow.

Should "Push come to shove" and you need to look for new employment, you will have experience for this........