The Shootin Iron

Dec. 01, 2005 By Steve Osborn

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The Blackpowder Cowboy Part2
A Method for Loading

Written by: Steve Osborn

If you have been reading my columns, you know that Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) and in particular the black powder category, is about the most fun a cowboy can have. Over the next couple of issues of The Shootin Iron, I will describe how I load. Seasoned black powder cartridge shooters and tenderfoot alike will find the information of interest. In my experience, almost every black powder cowboy does things just a little bit different. I will describe my method for loading, how I choose powders, the special techniques required in using a progressive press with black powder, and how I make black powder shotshells. When the Oregon rain permits, I will include some tests from the range. My focus will always be on safety. As my partner Tioga has mentioned before, nothing we write about is EVER to be considered a recommendation for handloading. Since I have no control over what anyone does with this information, the skill or knowledge about black powder and loading they have, or the quality of the components and equipment they use, I can make no recommendations. So, I will tell you what I do, why I do it, where I received my information, and how I stay safe. Any time you handload, you should verify the information you use with at least one other source, preferably two. You cannot be too safe. There ain't many 'secrets' to black powder loading, but we like to make smokeless shooters think there is. The safe loading of black powder cartridges is not terribly difficult. With a little study, some practice, and careful attention to detail, I found that I could make black powder and Pyrodex loads that rivaled anything in smokeless....only funner! And fun is what CAS is all about. What follows are some of the things I learned along the way. First thing I do before I get ready to load is put on some good eye protection. Everyone should protect their eyes when loading, same as shooting. Now, let's begin at the beginning. Black powder and black powder substitutes are NOT the same as smokeless. They do not load the same, burn the same, shoot the same, or clean the same. Loading is relatively simple, but there are enough variables involved to keep even the most inquisitive cowboy busy for years. I have decided to stay with calibers that were designed for black powder like the 44-40,45 Colt,45-70,etc.,and have found that the method of loading has served me for a wide variety of rifles and pistols. I am cautious when I receive new black powder data. Especially if a writer tells me that I should do this or that when it comes to a particular load. Always verify what others say. No one can tell you that a particular weighed charge of black powder is best in any caliber. That's why loading with black powder is 'method' and not necessarily duplication like you find in a smokeless loading manual. When I use the correct method to load, I know that I have ended up with the proper load for that cartridge. After all, there is only one correct load for any black powder metallic cartridge; the correct one. Powder type, bullet, and brass may change, but the method remains the same. Black powder is loaded by grains-volume. That means if you take a volumetric black powder measure that reads '60 grains' for example, it is 60 grains volume, not necessarily 60 grains weight. Thinking volume instead of weight took me a little getting used to. With black powder and Pyrodex. I had to switch my focus to proper volume or black powder 'grains'. This is not the same as weight in grains of powder that you would weigh on your scales. When loading black or Pyrodex, the only proper measuring device is a black powder measure. If for example, I find a load that asks for 35 grains of Pyrodex, I can set my black powder measure to 35, and what I will get is 35 grains volume. It may or may not actually weigh 35 grains if weighed. What I am after is the proper volume. The folks at Pyrodex are emphatic about using the correct volume. They state that black powder or Pyrodex should never be weighed, but always measured with a black powder measure. Good advice. I always pay attention to what manufacturers recommend, and observe carefully what is going on when I load. I bought an 1860 Army cap 'n ball reproduction a few years back. The loading guide that came with it suggested an load of 35 grains volume of black powder. After two rounds, the barrel was coming loose from the frame. Time to stop! I backed off on the powder (more than 10 grains volume), added a felt lube wad between ball and powder to take up some of the space created, and now I have a pistol that will shoot into a silver dollar at 25 paces all day long. I refer to two sources to best explain this method. Frank C. Barnes excellent book, Cartridges of the World, states, "In loading black powder, it was difficult to do anything very wrong. The proper charge filled the case to the base of the bullet so there was no problem of working up the right load for each caliber or bullet weight. The only variable was the grain size, and even here there was considerable latitude." Hodgdon, maker of Pyrodex, explains Pyrodex and volumetric loading in a single statement, "Fill the cartridge case with Pyrodex to the level that will provide light compression when the bullet is seated. The base of the bullet must compress the powder 1/16th to 1/8th inch. For reduced loads use card wads between the bullet base and the powder. Do not allow air/space between the powder and bullet as this may cause damage to the firearm or injury or death to the shooter or bystanders." So there it is, the method, volumetric loading, for black powder and Pyrodex. Think about it. What could be simpler. Each case holds the correct volume of powder for itself. That volume is whatever it takes to allow the bullet to compress the powder slightly when seated as just stated. Everyone needs to find their own correct volume for their brand of cases, their bullet design, their type of powder, and their sizing dies. When I load, I know my loads are right and are safe to use, but I would never tell a friend to load just like I did. Find your own 'correct' volume for the caliber, bullet, and cartridge cases you use. I always double check my loads against at least one or two other sources of loading data. I have read of recommended loads for black powder,tried them, only to find that when poured into my case, with my methods, I had either too much or too little volume of powder. I always watch what is going on when I load and look for the proper volume for MY cartridges. Black powder and Pyrodex cartridges are surprisingly consistent and accurate. My tests show the two neck and neck when it comes to consistency within a string of rounds fired. The Pyrodex clearly produces higher velocities for the equivalent load of black powder. One thing that helps me get consistent loads is the use of a drop tube. Every round I shoot, rifle, pistol, or shotshell is poured through a drop tube. The drop tube gives me great uniformity of my loads, similar amounts of compression for each round, and thus great consistency. When I am ready to charge my cases, the black powder or Pyrodex is poured through a 30 inch copper drop tube. But perhaps I'm jumping ahead a step. I've got to charge the case first. My friend Coyote Jim likes to dip his powder. He pours a small amount in a glass salsa jar (he uses glass to minimize static), and dips with a .308 case cut down to the proper volume, to which he has affixed a handle. He scoops, levels the powder in the scoop, and pours the charge down his drop tube with one hand, while holding a case below the tube with the other hand. The method works well. Did it, been there, hate it. Dipping is like fishing. You got to have a lot of time and patience for any results. I have read time and time again that one should never use a smokeless powder measure, or any plastic in loading black or Pyrodex. The powders are sensitive to static electricity, and do not like to be crushed as can happen in a smokeless powder measure. So, I finally settled on an Uncle Mikes brass powder flask. This critter is made for throwing black powder charges cleanly, fast, and accurate. It is a round brass flask into which the powder is stored. It releases powder into a hollow spout which I cover with my thumb when I press the powder release plunger. The spout is available in 50, 75, and 100 grains (volume) sizes, and I trim them with a plumbers pipe cutter to the correct size for each desired load. I must have a 7 or 8 spouts, each custom sized/cut to deliver a specific volume of powder for a specific load/caliber. Once the powder is in the spout, I pour it from spout to the aluminum powder pan that came with my scales. The wide mouth pan allows me to pour the powder easier and at a steady rate into my drop tube. After 50 cases are charged, I inspect them for uniformity, and take them back to my press to seat the bullets. I hope this helps to explain the 'method' of black powder cartridge loading for cowboy action shooting that I use. Learn all that you can about black powder and Pyrodex before you load. If you contact Hodgdon at (913) 362-9455, they will send you one of their Pyrodex loading guides and new Cowboy Loading Guide if you ask them. The Hodgdon Cowboy Action Data guide is the first of its kind, and is complete with smokeless and Pyrodex loads for rifle, pistol, and shotgun. The Gun Digest Black Powder Loading Manual by Sam Fadala is an absolute must for your gun book library. Always double check your loading data and methods. Load safe.....shoot safe. And have fun! Next month, I will discuss the powders I use, black and Pyrodex, what they do, and why I use them. Until then, Hi-yo Silver, away!