'58 Remington question

[Noah Comprende, SASS #71911]

I bought a '58 Remington pistol to play around with. I haven't shot a match with it yet but may be interested. I have been loading it with powder, lubed felt wad, then ball (.454) in that order. After it is loaded and holstered, the balls work their way down the cylinders sometimes to the point that they protrude from the muzzle end of the cylinder and keep the cylinder from rotating.

 

When loading, a nice ring of lead is shaved from the ball and it seems like a tight fit. Should I be putting something over the ball to keep it in place? I am using American Pioneer Powder and was told by Captain Baylor that using lube like crisco is unnecessary but do I need it to keep the ball in place?

 

Thanks for the help managing my balls.

Noah Comprende

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

If they shaved a ring they should be tight. What kind of balls are you using? If they are home cast try some pure lead commercial swaged balls. If you are using pure lead balls measure your chambers and try .457's.

[Doc Fill 'Em 67797]

Have you tried switching to tighty whities?

[Taquila Tab, Sass #25048]

Have you tried switching to tighty whities?

:lol:

[Nichols Creek, SASS #77627]

Balls keep falling down??????Are you bragging or complaining??

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

If you are using APP you do not need the felt wads. You can seat the balls directly on the powder. APP makes it's own lub in the barrel when fired.

[Marshal Max Henry]

Have you tried switching to tighty whities?

 

ROFLMAO

[Dubious Don #56333]

Grease on the top of the ball isn't going to keep it in place. Grease is used to lube the bore and reduce fouling. Get some bigger balls.

If the .454's aren't working, .457 should work. Like Larsen said, if you're using hard cast and not soft lead, that could be the problem too.

[Pee Wee #15785]

There are several reasons that the lead won't stay in place. The balls may be to hard, change to a different brand.(PARSON’S PILLS, Lead Cast Bullets, 84 Stonybrook Trail SE, Bogue Chitto, MS 39629) He is a SASS member. You may need to hone the chambers near the mouth of the cylinder as they could have honed the chambers larger at the back of the chamber. Only seen one 51 Uberti with the hone problem. You may need a larger size ball to get more cylinder length on the ball when you shave the ring off.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

I must admit, this is a new one on me.

 

Just curious, how big a powder charge are you using? With any revolver, the more recoil there is, the more tendency there is for bullets to want to jump forward in recoil. Actually, the bullet stands still and the entire gun, including the shells, jumps backwards.

 

With a cartridge, the crimp mechanically prevents the bullet from moving forward. But with a C&B gun the only thing holding the ball in place is friction across the thin ring where the lead got shaved. Not a whole lot of resistance to the bullet moving. In theory, if you use a bigger ball, you will shave off a wider section when you shove the ball into the chamber. This should create a little bit more friction to hold the ball in place.

 

On the rare occasion that I shoot C&B I use .454 balls over about 30 grains of FFg in my 1860 Colt replicas. I have never seen any indication that the balls are jumping forward. You may have slightly oversized chambers and may need to generate a little bit more friction by using a larger ball. You may also be using slightly more powder than you need.

 

Be aware that you should be using dead soft pure lead balls. Using something harder can make it difficult to shove them into the chambers. It is even possible to damage the gun trying to shove in too hard a ball.

[Guest Cactus Cris SASS#2790]

Agree with Driftwood--I use a 24gr charge of real BP with my 58s-a .454 ball and don't have a problem. If you are hunting bear you would need a 30 gr. load- but for CAS 20-24 gr. is more than enough.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

Grease on the top of the ball isn't going to keep it in place. Grease is used to lube the bore and reduce fouling. Get some bigger balls.

If the .454's aren't working, .457 should work. Like Larsen said, if you're using hard cast and not soft lead, that could be the problem too.

 

 

I agree completely with Dubious Don's assessment. My '58 Remmie shoots fine with .451 balls, but I understand the tolerances on those Italian guns can vary a lot. Is it just one, two, or all the chambers that are creating the problem? Perhaps one or a few were overbored.

[Noah Comprende, SASS #71911]

Thanks for all the replys. I am using a 24 gr load and Hornady round balls that are made for muzzle loaders. I will try bigger balls. First, and hopefully last, time I will ever say those words.

 

Noah

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy Again

 

Hornady makes good quality, swaged lead balls from pure, soft lead. So you're OK on that score. Your powder charge is not excessive either. So try some bigger balls.