Mad Dog McGee Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I've never shot Real Black Powder in a '73 rifle chambered in .357. . Any blow back , problems with shooting .38 special in it? I shoot 38-40 in my other '73 with no problems. Thought I might try shooting my '73 saddle rifle with .38 special loaded with real BP. I've also got 2 RM Conversions in .38 sp. and think they would be great to shoot BP in them. Thanks in advance !!! MDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I have shot many .357 BP in my '73 carbine. Full load of FFFg and whatever bullet is handy. Have shot some 777 .38's as well, mostly in lost brass matches. No problems. The carrier area does get a lot dirtier than the rifles chambered in the original bottleneck calibers, like all straight wall calibers do, with their thicker brass. I have occasionally on dry days had to spritz the carrier area with a mist of water to keep it moving okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judge'm All Duncan, SASS#67320 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 No problems. Full case or loaded down. Just keep some Winder with vinegar or water handy to spray in the carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 +1 to Abilene. What will help with the blow-by and dirt in the carrier is to use a heavy bullet (158 grains) and a good crimp. I don't have luck with blue lube bullets and real BP in the rifle. Use a bullet with large lube grooves and good BP lube not the crayon stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 +1 to Abilene. What will help with the blow-by and dirt in the carrier is to use a heavy bullet (158 grains) and a good crimp. I don't have luck with blue lube bullets and real BP in the rifle. Use a bullet with large lube grooves and good BP lube not the crayon stuff. +1 I use Springfield Slim's 140gr .38 in my '73. Works great! Whyte Leatherworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I don't have any problem with shooting 38s in my 73. Works really good. If shooting real BP, make sure you have enough lube in your bullets otherwise you need to scrub the barrel just about every stage so crud dont build up. If using substitute then less problem with crud build up in barrel. Use BP lubed bullets for real BP. Smokeless lubed bullets for subs, you are good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I shoot the 38 slim BigLube at 115 gr over all the FFFg I can get in the case. Watch for fouling build up under the extractor. Mine started failing to extract after about 3000 rounds.. Be careful with using any "spray" that has a lube component as that seems to aggravate the issue. Barrel is slick and can be cleaned with a single pull of a boresnake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Fill 'Em 67797 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Another fan of Springfield Slim's Big Lube bullets here. I used another vendor's bullets that were supposed to have BP compatible lube and I had hard, crusty fouling after the match, took forever to get it out. Don't forget to clean your magazine tube every once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefro, SASS#69420 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 No problem at all. I shot a 12 stage state match with mine + 3 stage side match....158gr Big Lubes 3f Schutzen. The only thing I did after day one was to pull a wet patch followed by a Ballistol patch. ...shot of Murphy's in the action, wipe out excess with dry patch, go eat Good Luck Jefro Relax-Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amarillo Rattler Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Just finished cleaning my '73. Placed the stripped bolt in a Harbor Freight sonic cleaner, hot tap water and a dab of Tide. Five 3 minute cycles, then towel dried. The real cleaning happened when I lifted the front of the extractor and blew 100psi air under the extractor. Lots of dissolved BP fouling came out the back 1/3 of the extractor slot in the bolt. Followed up with Eezox under the extractor. Now ready for another 2,000 rounds of 158gr Big Lube bullets cast with 20/1 lead/tin alloy, homemade BP lube, over 3F KIK. Just sayin' AR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I will add that when I said I used whatever bullet is handy, they are lubed with my own lube. I used a bunch of 147gr Black Dawge bullets back when you could buy them as-cast unlubed from Wally (Black Dawge himself). After those ran out, I'm mostly using regular smokeless-type 125gr TC bullets with my lube. Have never had a problem running out of lube in my 19" barrel. I know using the heaviest bullet possible helps cut down on crud in the action (and I do that with 44 Spcl and 45LC rifle rounds), but I really haven't found my action any dirtier using the 125gr TC in this rifle. YMMV of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder SASS #13056 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 That has been used to win the World Championship well over 10 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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