reloading with blackpowder

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  • ashby koss

    Shooter
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    18   0   0
    Jan 24, 2013
    1,168
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    Connersville
    I have seen some research and youtube videos of people loading 45acp with blackpowder. Yes, its slower and not as good, but it is still functional...and dirty.

    Question: can you reload (at lower power) 357 magnum? The reason I ask is that in the complete SHTF scenario, best setup for having to source and run your own ammo, if 357 magnum can be reloaded with blackpowder and carried in a carbine with a side of wheelie, it may be another point in its corner as an all around cartridge.

    Is there some old survivaly books that cover all the old world tricks? like cut shells / Hobo slug, or alternate cartridge loadings, or obscure survival tactics and tricks?
     

    Clay Pigeon

    Shooter
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    6   0   0
    Aug 3, 2016
    2,740
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    Summitville
    Sure you can reload with 357 with BP, when loading cartridges with black powder the biggest No-No is having a air space between the powder charge and the projectile.
    You cant overcharge a cartridge with Black Powder, grab a pound of FF, some wadds and load away, normal dies, I would use cast lead bullets and you should use a black powder measure so you dont get any sparkies... I load lots of 40-65.45-70 and 45-90

    Its not hard, and when you are done shooting dump your brass in a jug with soapy water and clean and rinse a few times and aggressively clean your revolver with a water based cleaner or hot soapy water and the next day check your brass and your firearm to make sure its clean and not growing green.
    And be careful where you store black powder, its not a propellant like smokeless, its an explosive.
     

    NKBJ

    at the ark
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    Apr 21, 2010
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    Too bad no one makes a 460S&W rifle worth buying.
    That cartridge begs to be loaded with black powder and hand gun molds.
     

    Jaybird1980

    Grandmaster
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    5   0   0
    Jan 22, 2016
    11,929
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    North Central
    I have seen some research and youtube videos of people loading 45acp with blackpowder. Yes, its slower and not as good, but it is still functional...and dirty.

    Question: can you reload (at lower power) 357 magnum? The reason I ask is that in the complete SHTF scenario, best setup for having to source and run your own ammo, if 357 magnum can be reloaded with blackpowder and carried in a carbine with a side of wheelie, it may be another point in its corner as an all around cartridge.

    Is there some old survivaly books that cover all the old world tricks? like cut shells / Hobo slug, or alternate cartridge loadings, or obscure survival tactics and tricks?

    They have been doing this with revolvers and rifles in CASS for quite some time, they even use cream of wheat as a filler in some cases. Pretty creative, and works good.
     

    shibumiseeker

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    49   0   0
    Nov 11, 2009
    10,703
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Good advice above.

    I know it should go without saying, but for the anonymous readers out there, DO NOT GO THE OTHER WAY. Do not load smokeless powder in a BP firearm unless you know for SURE that the gun is rated for it.

    I've loaded some really mild .44 rounds with BP but the need for cleaning thoroughly (REALLY thoroughly) sorta turned me off to it.
     

    Jaybird1980

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    5   0   0
    Jan 22, 2016
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    North Central
    I just looked and it is even included in the sliding scale that comes with the Lee powder dippers that I started with, and these were purchased probably mid to late 90s.
    IMG-20200805-093126884.jpg
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
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    Btown Rural
    I have very limited experience with this, but have owned a Mossberg shotgun ML conversion barrel along with a stainless Encore ML barrel.

    I can say to not take the BP cleaning aspect lightly. Especially in an action that wasn't necessarily designed for BP.

    Burnt black powder gets everywhere and starts rusting almost before you pull the trigger.
     

    NKBJ

    at the ark
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    Apr 21, 2010
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    About loading a .357 with black powder, if you were doing that in a make do type situation, the bullets can be seated out as far as the cylinder will allow in order to maximize the amount of powder you can get it the case. And, dipping the loaded round in melted lube (think beeswax mixtures with lard or whatever) to create an outside lubed bullet such as was frequently used in the days of converting percussion revolvers to cartridges. Yeah, that all sounds really icky but remember that all you need to clean a gun after shooting black powder is water to wash away the salts followed by thorough wiping, drying and oiling. A stainless steel large caliber snub nose would work just the same as a "Webley Manstopper" of the Victorian Era. And for that matter, so will a short barreled percussion revolver if you load it right. Sizing soft lead castings from heavy .45 hand gun molds to fit a percussion revolver is easily accomplished and the resulting bullets can be made to provide acceptable service.


    Another tangent...
    Webley briefly produced .577 caliber five shot percussion revolvers for officers of the British Empire who felt the need to put a little more whomp on the fuzzy-wuzzies. If someone did reproductions of those I'd be waiting in line!
     

    DadSmith

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    Oct 21, 2018
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    Ripley County
    I've loaded 45lc with 30gr fffg for fun in the past. Lots of smoke lol. I've also loaded 44mag with 35gr fffg its about like a 44 special load. I use to get 1lb black powder for around $12. Not sure how much it is today.
     

    NKBJ

    at the ark
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    Apr 21, 2010
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    And some people use Triple 7 in cartridges because of getting a little more power from the available volume.
    Reckon that could make sense in a percussion revolver where you cannot use "smokeless".
    And then again some use it because regional access to black has been restricted due to HAZMAT fees and onerous storage requirements placed upon retailers.
     

    Hkindiana

    Master
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    8   0   0
    Sep 19, 2010
    3,175
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    Southern Hills
    A buddy of mine loaded up some black powder rounds for his PPSH sub machine gun. It was HILARIOUS watching him shoot it. He called it his “nebelwerfer”. You couldn’t see anything, after the first burst, due to the smoke.
     

    jamesb

    Plinker
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    6   0   0
    Jun 5, 2013
    138
    18
    Indianapolis
    I load 38 special, 45 schofield, 45 colt, 40-65, and 45-110. The holy black is great for reloading and is a blast to shoot. Encore and Contenders are great for trying out BP in all kinds of loads. I used to have a 460 S&W mag encore barrel that I paired up with a S&W 460 revolver. Any straight walled cartridge begs to be filled with BP and played with. I load 12 ga brass shotshells with bp for CASS, every so often I will throw some in when I am on the clays course just to see the reactions I get.
     

    NKBJ

    at the ark
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    Apr 21, 2010
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    Yeah, black lets you do fun stuff like bore diameter bullets.

    Back loaded.


    Or front loaded.
     
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