Black Powder Pistols

[Mac_Muz]

CCT that was by mass law..... You could have driven to Kittery trading post just over the NH me border and bought that stuff no questions asked and still can today. By LAW black powder guns are not guns. I know go figure. But they are not guns. So today you can still mail order these in Mass.

Used to be anyone in mass could mail order WW-2 vintage guns right out of Popular Mechanics. IMO we should still be able to do that.

[Happy in Wyoming]

We've lost some great people on this forum, but we have others who are still here as well as some promising new comers. I hope some survival gun people will tell us what they're doing.

I'm a fan of the Ruger Old Army, particularly when I have the R&D cartridge converson cylinder that allows the user to load with .45 Colt, one of the really great black powder cartridges; it's fine with the shorter.45 S&W as well.

Most people here have read of successful experiments loading black into the .30-06. I've loaded it in .223 and .308 as well. Now I must issue a warning; don't load them into gas operated autoloaders. It's really best to avoid any autoloader as shooting one with black requires a heroic cleaning effort. The T/C Contender and Encore are great candidates for experimentation. The .357 magnum is just an extended .38 special case and the .44 magnum just an extended .44 Russian, two fine black powder numbers. It's so easy to handload blackpowder cartridges. There's no reason for scales and measures. Just fill the case and seat the bullet. Please note; black powder cartridge must be full; partially filled cases are dangerous.

I'm currently working on another project. I have a Ruger Blackhawk in .357 magnum which has an extra cylinder for 9mm Luger. I'm going to have it rechambered for .38 Smith & Wesson. That .357 length cylinder with let me use very long bullets. The .38 S&W with a 200 grain round nose is a fine stopper. It was loaded in this country as the Super Police Load; the British called it the .380-200. First introduced about 1870 the .38 S&W will make a fine black powder round, very useful if we need to start making our own black again. The Blackhawk with both cylinders will make a fine survival gun. I will look for another 9mm cylinder so I'll have another choice. The semirimmed .38 Super chambers in the .38 S&W. In fact, the loading dies for the two are identical. We just need a different shellholder. That makes four cartridges in one gun.

When cartridges develop neck splits we can trim them and reuse them with lighter loads. They may require neck turning but that's no big deal.

Using black powder now isn't necessary but it's really good to experiment because we don't know long we have until the balloon goes up. Besides, black powder shooting is fun.

[ScoPro]

Agreed about the Ruger revolvers - my brother has an Old Army (blue) he bought over 40 years ago (never has fired it). The new stainless steel versions with faux ivory grips are good-lookin' guns. We both have Blackhawks inn .357, and he also has a Super BH "knuckle-buster" .44 Magnum from the 1960s.

I bought this Colt "2nd Generation" 1851 Navy new in 1975. Never have shot the pistol - just like it because it is a beautiful work of craftsmanship.

[dober1]

^ Nice pistol!

[GnomadAK]

a good while back I went to a yard sale where a guy was selling off some old BP pieces, in rather rough shape. One was a bag full of original Colt 1860 Army, frame, barrel, grip frame from a Colt SAA, and some parts from Dixie Gun Works. The original cylinder was too worn to use, and the internals are all repro but most of this piece is original. The serial number places it at 1862.



I repaired this one from "relic" to "shooter" It took a while, using all hand tools, and an electric drill. It has some traces of rifling and it's not very accurate but being able to actually shoot a civil war pistol is pretty cool.

BTW, I paid $35 for the bag of parts and maybe $50 on the cylinder and a small piece of walnut.