An Introduction To Black Powder
Pistol Shooting
By Tony Bruce
V3.0 Nov 2013
Part 1 – Basic Skills
Introduction
Welcome to Black Powder Pistol Training. The aim today is to introduce you to the history of muzzle loading firearm
and the technologies over the years and to show you the types of pistols that are shot within Pistol NZ.
Additionally we will look at the loading techniques and technology of the different types of pistols.
Safety
There are four key rules to always be aware of when shooting Black Powder compared to modern guns:
- Always load the ball down onto the powder
ie have no air gap above the powder
- Know how to check that each gun is empty.
For Single Shots – ensure that there is no percussion cap on the nipple or powder in the pan, and
a ramrod can be heard to hit the bottom of the breech when dropped down the barrel.
For revolvers – check that there are no percussion caps in place and that the chambers are empty.
- Have no bulk powder on the bench. (all charges are in individual glass or plastic vials)
except for the 4F priming powder which should be in a small sealable container.
- No smoking, naked flames or sparks around the shooting area.
Additionally there are a few lesser rules to be aware of:
-
Wear Safety Glasses when shooting
No loose powder on shooting bench (except 4F in a priming container)
Don’t shoot over the top of loading vials or the 4F priming container because of the risk of the powder going off
Beware of lead poisoning – you are handling lead balls
Tools Needed:
Alas for all us BP shooters we can’t just grab a pistol and a box of ammo, and rush out the door to go to the range.
For BP it’s a lot more complicated with lots more to organize. Here’s a few thoughts on what to take:
-
Gun/s and Loading stand
Spotting scope or Binoculars
Earmuffs or ear-plugs
BP Charges in plastic vials
Percussion Caps
Filler - for loading the revolvers
Grease - for revolver loading
Balls - enough for the day
Loading Patches
Nipple wrench and a spare nipple
Loading rod
Cleaning rod
Cleaning solution
Oil
Fine needle - for clearing vents or nipple holes
Cleaning cloth
A quality screwdriver
A pair of fine pliers - to pull stuck caps off the nipple
A pocket knife - to cut cleaning cloth etc
A small diary and a pen - to take notes, scores etc.
And lastly a box to carry all the gear in
Also if you are shooting Flintlocks:
A small brass hammer - to knap the flints if they stop sparking.
Priming powder - a small dispenser of 4F powder
Spare flints
You have to be self-sufficient while shooting BP. I would suggest that you load and check all your stuff, and also dry your
barrel and chambers the night before you go. If you rush on the day you are bound to leave something behind.
Types of Black Powder
Unlike Nitro powder, all Black Powder is basically the same mixture.
The difference between the grades is how course the powder grains are
-
1F
2F
3F
4F
very slow burning
medium to slow burning
medium burning
very fast burning
used for big bore muskets and cannons
used for >50 cal muskets and pistols
used for muskets and pistols
used as priming powder for flintlocks
Black Powder is sold in 1lb or 1kg containers depending on which brand you buy
Commonly Seen Brands of Black Powder in New Zealand
-
Holy Smoke
Thunder Shot
Elephant
GOEX
Wano
Curtis and Harvey
Swiss
Currently available, made in New Zealand,
Also known as Chinese
Currently available
Currently available
Not currently sold.
Not currently sold. Also known as C&H
Currently available. Best of the powders available
Note that Black powder will last indefinitely if kept dry.
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Projectiles:
All Black Powder firearms shoot pure lead projectiles.
Good quality ammo is the name of the game for accurate shooting:
Lead balls can be bought at some gun shops.
If you are casting, to get a good bullet you need to:
-
-
Clean your mould well before you start casting, and smoke the mould with a match or candle
before you start.
The bullets will drop out easier after this.
Use the purest lead you can get for round balls.
Don’t use wheel weights or lead containing solder
Flux well and skim off all the rubbish. For Flux you can use candle wax, beeswax,
or Holts Dr-Lube (beeswax) available from Repco.
To really purify the lead it is advised to melt the lead, flux it, and then pour it into ingots.
Then clean the pot and melt the lead again before you mould the bullets.
Balls should be shiny and smooth after coming out of the mould.
Wrinkled balls can be caused by a cold mould or oil in the mould.
After you are finished casting, weigh all the bullets into 1gr groups.
If done well, 90% of your balls should be within 3 grains.
If you get a few balls with extreme low weight or high weights, discard them.
Low weight balls may have air holes or voids in them or may have rubbish in the lead.
Extra heavy balls are often caused by the mould not closing properly.
Either extremes of bullet will not shoot to the same point of aim as a good bullet.
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Percussion Caps:
The percussion cap is a small copper cup with an explosive mixture inside. Its purpose is to ignite a charge of black
powder to fire a muzzle-loading gun. The cap fits on the top end of a hollow metal part called a "nipple," which is
connected to the closed breech end of the barrel of a gun. When the shooter pulls the trigger, a striker or hammer
impacts the cap.
All Black Powder Percussion Pistols firearms either use the Number 10 or No.11 percussion Caps.
No. 10 percussion caps are slightly smaller than No. 11 caps, and are the proper size for black powder cap-and-ball
revolvers. The difference in diameter is minimal, and many revolver owners often successfully use No. 11 caps because
of their greater availability. The shooter who has problems with caps falling off the nipples could purchase No. 10 caps,
or replace the nipples with a larger size that will work with the No. 11 caps,
Or ‘Oval’ the No. 11 cap by gently pinching the cap with thin nosed pliers (see also page 14).
The No. 11 percussion cap has an inside diameter of approximately 0.17 inch and fits a greater variety of black powder
guns than any other cap. It is the standard cap for muzzle-loading pistols, rifles and shotguns.
For this reason, ammunition factories produce more No.11s than any other percussion cap.
The Caps must fit all the way onto the nipple or they might not be set off by the hammer falling.
If the cap does not fit onto the nipple then buy larger caps, or carefully file back the shaft of the nipple so that the cap
fits on properly
Flints:
Flints must:
- Be Sharp
- Be held in place with a piece of leather or flattened lead
- be installed so that the edge of the flint is square to the Frizzen
- Be installed so that in the hammer lowered position, the flint points to the middle of the priming pan
The Frizzen (the plate that the flint scrapes against) must be clean of all
oil
Patches
Something that I have noticed that confuses new BP shooters is what sort of bullets and patches to use.
For Single Shots as a general rule of thumb is that the ball will be 1 thou smaller than the bore.
The gap is taken up by the cloth patch which gets compressed when the ball is hammered into the muzzle.
So what is a patch? It is a piece of pure cotton cloth. It has a tight weave and is consistent thickness.
The required thickness of the patch is related to the bore diameter and the diameter of the ball.
The patch must not be a nylon or non-cotton mix as it will melt on firing and potentially coat your bore. This will do nasty
things to your accuracy. Patches can be bought commercially (eg Ox Yoke) or you can make your own. A patch needs to
be lubed, and this can be a grease (like bore butter) or you can use water and detergent.
There are many options for home made lubes so read up on the topic.As an example of a load in my .45 Le Page (which
has shallow rifling). I use a .44 ball and a 10 thou patch.
(I occasionally use a 15 thou patch, but it is a much tighter fit and offers no benefit to the ease of loading or
accuracy).However if I had a .45 Single Shot pistol (or musket) with deep rifling I would need to use the 15 thou patches.
You just need to try different combinations of patches until you find one that gives you good accuracy.
(The exception to this patching rule is if you decide to load a flintlock smoothbore without a patch. In this case you will put
an over powder wad or filler (eg semolina or corn flour) on top of the powder, and use a ball that is bore size or very
slightly larger. When you fire the gun the filler seals the ball to the bore. (Don’t ask me for load data, but there are articles
out there telling you how to do it)
For a Revolver the opposite is true. The ball is larger than the bore or chamber mouth. When you load the ball into the
chamber the ball is squeezed into the hole and on most revolvers a ring of lead is shaved off. In most Italian .44 revolvers
you will use a .454 ball, but for a Ruger .44 Old Army you will use a .458 ball.
Note that you can safely use a .458 ball in an Italian made revolver, but it will be a lot harder to load, and long term you
risk damaging the loading lever with the extra force you are applying to it each load.
Don’t forget that the ball needs to be flush with the front of the cylinder so you may need to use a filler, and you will need
to apply a seal of grease over the front of each chamber/ball prior to shooting it.
For more information about the loads and patches to use, see the Lyman Black Powder manual.
Filler
Because we cannot have an air gap between the black powder and the projectile we must use a non-burnable filler to
use up any space that may be there. The filler is an inert material such as:
Semolina
Cardboard wads
Felt wads
Cornflour
LPDE wads
Waxed Milk Carton Card wads
DO NOT USE SUGAR ...as it burns onto the barrel !!
Grease
Grease serves two purposes:
- Lubricates the ball
- Lubricates the patch
- Seals the ball in a revolver – and prevents multiple discharges.
For best results use a natural grease, not Alox lube (as this will burn onto the bore).
Greases can be a commercial Black Powder product eg Ox Yoke,, Bore Butter, Vaseline etc
Or you can make your own, and here is one recipe
- 33% Bees Wax
- 33% Lard
- 33% ,olive oil
Clearing a Dry Ball
When shooting BP it is all too easy to get distracted and forget to put the BP load down the barrel. You will then have a
ball stuck in the gun. (This is known as a dry ball). If this happens wait 30 seconds in case you have a hang fire. Then:
For a single shot:
Dribble some more powder into the gun.
In a flintlock get a pin and poke about 5-10 grains of BP into the vent hole.
In a percussion lock, take the nipple out of the barrel and dribble 5-10 grains into the screw hole.
Then check that the nipple has a clear flash-hole, and screw the nipple back into the gun.
In both cases after this, check the ball is pushed all the way to the bottom, and then fire the gun in a safe direction.
Normally the ball will be blown out and you can continue shooting.
However if the ball does not clear the barrel, it may have been moved forward a short distance and you will need to
follow the dribbling process again (using a bit more powder this time).
Remember to ram the patched ball back down onto the powder before firing again
Or Use a CO2 ball discharger (if you have one).
These are loaded with CO2 bulbs (as used in CO2 air pistols). Press the discharger nozzle onto the vent or nipple and a
burst of CO2 will push the ball out of the barrel.
Or Use a ball puller. It’s a screw attachment for a ramrod. Put it down the barrel and push the ball puller point into the
stuck ball. Then twist the ball puller/ramrod round to screw the thread in and get a good grip on the ball. When the puller
is solidly attached in the ball – pull the ramrod and ball out. These actually work well and are easy to use. But (!!), you
must be very careful that the ball puller goes not go into one side of the ball and scrape on the rifling as the ball is pulled
out (the rifling might get damaged).
For a BP ML revolver:
After all the other chambers are fired, take the cylinder out of the gun, and unscrew the nipple on the offending chamber.
You can then either:
-
push the ball out with a brass rod.
or dribble some powder into the nipple screw hole, screw the nipple back in,
check the ball is all the way down, and shoot the ball out
Or you could use a CO2 ball discharger
You see – simple when you know how.
The other aspect of this issue is how to avoid a Dry Ball in the first place. Focus is the key:
-
Don’t talk to anyone or stop to do anything else while you are loading.
At the start of the shoot, lay the exact number of charges, patches and balls on the bench.
Each time you load, count the balls and charges remaining.
If in doubt drop a ramrod down the barrel to feel if there is powder down there before you ram the ball down.
History of Hand Guns
Handgonnes (or Hand Cannons)
Only mentioned here for completeness in the history of pistols.
These are a smooth bore hand weapon that the gun was held by one person and a match applied to the vent.
There are no such guns in New Zealand as far as I know and there are no competitions for them.
Matchlock
These are smooth bore pistols that are ignited by a smouldering rope (match) being pushed onto the priming pan.
This type of pistol is used in the Tanzutsu – Replica Matchlock competition.
Wheel-Lock
These are smooth bore pistols that are ignited by an iron pyrite being lowered onto a spinning wheel and the sparks
being directed down onto the priming pan.
This is a very complicated design, and I am not aware of any such pistols being used in New Zealand.
There is no competition for a wheel-lock pistol
Flintlock
These are smooth bore pistols that are ignited by a flint being struck against a frizzen (steel plate) to produce sparks
that get thrown down onto the priming pan.
This type of pistol is used in the Comminazo – Replica Flintlock competition.
Note that there is no competition in Pistol New Zealand for a rifled Flintlock pistol, although such pistols are available
overseas.
Percussion Single Shot (original sights)
These are rifled barrel pistols that are ignited by a percussion cap being struck by a hammer
throwing a flame down the nipple onto the main charge.
This type of pistol is used in the Kuchenreuter – Replica Percussion Single Shot competition.
These can also be used in the: Modern Single Shot Competition and 50m Precision event.
A modern Single shot has modern sights or may have a non original shaped stock.
These can be used in the Modern Single Shot and 50m precision events.
Muzzle Loading Revolver (Original and modern sights)
Muzzle Loading evolvers were first used in the 1830’s, and were made up until 1873ish.
Open frame design revolver(eg Colt 1860)
Top strap design revolver (eg Remington 1858)
An original style replica muzzle loading revolver has original styled sights and grips as per the original pistol
A Replica muzzle loading revolver can be used in the Mariette – Replica Muzzle Loading Revolver,
Modern revolver, 25m Aggregate and 50m precision events.
Modern design revolver (eg Ruger Old Army)
A modern muzzle loading revolver has modern sights or may have non original shaped grips.
This Ruger Old Army has modern target sights and is not a Black Powder era design.
These can be used in the Modern revolver, 25m Aggregate and 50m Precision events.
Black Powder Cartridge Revolver
A Cartridge loading revolver has original style sights and is a replica of a pre 1890 revolver
These can be used in the Black Powder 13 Shot Cartridge Match and the 25m Cartridge Aggregate events.
Overview of Pistols to use in Pistol New Zealand Black Powder Competitions
TYPES OF BLACK POWDER PISTOLS
YES
Yes
Kuchenreuter
Replica Single Shot
Percussion
Yes
Modern Single Shot
Yes
Yes
Mariette –
Replica ML Revolver
YES
Modern ML Revolver
YES
YES
25m ML Aggregate
YES
YES
YES
YES
50m Precision
Replica BP Cartridge
Revolver
Modern Muzzle
Loading Revolver
Replica Muzzle
Loading
Revolver
Comminazo
Replica Smoothbore
Flintlock
Modern Percussion
Single Shot
Tanzutsu Matchlock Pistol
Replica Percussion
Single Shot
Flintlock- Smoothbore
Matchlock pistol
MATCH
Yes
YES
BP Replica Cartridge
Revolver – 13 shot
YES
BP Replica Cartridge
Revolver –
Aggregate
YES
Loading Technique: Matchlock
Light Rope (match)
Put rope on nail away from pistol (rope is smouldering )
Pour powder down barrel
Put patch over muzzle
Ball in place
Start ball into muzzle
Ram ball to bottom of barrel
Prime Pan
Swing or Pivot the priming pan cover over the priming powder
Attach smouldering rope to match holder. (blow on match to keep it live)
A sharp pin goes through the rope in the holder
Swing or Pivot the priming pan cover away from the priming pan when you are
ready to shoot
When trigger is pulled the holder of the rope match is pushed into pan
and priming powder ignites.
Take rope (match) out of pistol holder and hang in a safe place (ie a can)
Loading Technique: Flintlocks
Pour powder down barrel, then
Either:
Put patch over muzzle
Ball in place
Start ball into muzzle
Or
Pour filler down the bore
Put a larger ball down (using a almost bore size ball)
And Ram ball to bottom of barrel
Pour a small amount of 4F Priming Powder into the Priming Pan.
Note that not much powder is needed for priming, and the vent hole should not
be covered. Otherwise the 4F has to burn down to the vent hole like a fuse before
the main charge goes off.
When trigger is pulled the Hammer or Cock (holding flint) strikes the Frizzen (steel
plate) and sparks fall into and ignite the priming powder which ignites.
ONLY LOAD ROUND BALLS IN FLINTLOCKS,
DO NOT LOAD LONG BULLETS OR YOU WILL RISK BURNING OUT VENT HOLE!
Loading Technique: Percussion Single Shot
Pour powder down barrel
Put patch over muzzle
Ball in place
Start ball into muzzle
Ram ball to bottom of barrel
Place percussion Cap on nipple
When trigger is pulled the hammer hits percussion cap and charge is ignited.
Loading Technique: Muzzle Loading Revolver
Note that you must always start with an empty chamber.
i.e. only load 5 of the six chambers are actually loaded in a six-shooter.
(Or 4 of five chambers in a five shot revolver.)
This is to ensure that the shooter starts with a safe empty chamber at the start
of the shoot.
Load each chamber in the cylinder one at a time:
- Pour in powder
- Pour in the filler
- Put a ball into the mouth of the chamber
- Ram ball into chamber – ball must be level with top of cylinder
- Place grease over ball
Put percussion caps on all nipples once all 5 chambers are loaded.
Note that the percussion caps on revolvers often fall of when the pistol fires.
The fix for this is to slightly squeeze the caps and make them oval as you place
them on the nipples.
After each shot check that the next nipple to be fired still has the percussion cap
attached to it. If not spin the cylinder round and attach a new cap onto it.
Loading Technique: BP Cartridge Revolver
There must be no air-gap between the powder and projectile!
Put grease on top of bullet once loaded into cylinder
Note that you must always start with an empty chamber.
i.e. only load 5 of the six chambers are actually loaded in a six-shooter.
(Or 4 of 5 chambers in a five shot revolver.)
Hint:
Set your loading press bullet seating die to give a slight crimp to the cartridge
neck when reloading, otherwise the cartridge may stick half way into the
cylinder chamber as you load the revolver.
Cleaning
Question - what’s the best way to clean your BP Pistol after use? A few years ago I was part of an internet group
submitting BP cleaning tips to an author in the States. I would make the point that there is no one single way to clean a
BP gun. There were lots of ideas from around the globe. These ideas were then summarized and printed in GUN WEEK
in 2009.
In cleaning the PB pistol you will need to strip the gun down a certain amount. Cylinder out, barrel off, nipple/s out etc in
order to get the BP crud out of all the nooks and crannies.
Anyway, the concepts you need to know in cleaning your gun:
BP residue is water soluble!
You are removing the BP residue which is hydroscopic (absorbs water from the air) and which forms an acidic
compound. If the crud is allowed to remain on the gun parts too long it will eat into any steel surface that the residue
builds up on…you often see bore pitting and bluing worn on BP guns that have been neglected.
You must then dry and oil the parts to protect them from rust.
So here’s some ideas to try:
Cold Water.
Actually works well, but you must work hard to get the parts fully dry after using it.
You will need to use lots of dry patches to fully get the metal dry before you oil it.
Hot water.
Works well, heat of water heats metal parts and water evaporates.
You will still need to use drying patches, but I find there is less work in drying the pistol after cleaning.
Water plus detergent.
Works well and dissolves / cleans metal well.
I prefer cleaning with hot water as it dries better and faster.
Ballistol mixtures
This is a water soluble oil and the mixture is known as Moose Milk.
It is mixed 1 part Ballistol to 7 – 10 parts water.
Commercial BP cleaner.
There are several varieties of these out there. I tend to use these for on the range cleaning, and for dampening my
cleaning patch between shots. But these liquids can also be used for end of day cleaning.
Try some and see.
Use a dishwasher.
Strip down the revolver and put the frame and cylinder into a dishwasher.
I’ve not dared to try this at home but have heard that it works well.
Then after cleaning the gun, dry it well and apply a coat of oil.
A Final Hint:
A book I have from 1865 recommended cleaning and re-oiling the bore 24 hours after cleaning; as moisture from the
cleaning water might have gotten into the oil and rust may form (even though the bore was oiled).
Suggested Further Reading:
Lyman Black Powder Handbook
Lyman Black Powder Handbook and Loading Manual
Gun Digest Black Powder Handbook
And that’s it from me – Safe shooting.
TonyB