Suggestions on a COTS BP cartridge? Or a smokeless equivalent?
I have some Horndadys right now I think made for Marlin levers, that I do NOT think I’ll be firing out of the 1873.
You may already know this but REALLY bad idea. LOL.
Suggestions on a COTS BP cartridge? Or a smokeless equivalent?
I have some Horndadys right now I think made for Marlin levers, that I do NOT think I’ll be firing out of the 1873.
Suggestions on a COTS BP cartridge? Or a smokeless equivalent?
I have some Horndadys right now I think made for Marlin levers, that I do NOT think I’ll be firing out of the 1873.
You may already know this but REALLY bad idea. LOL.
Teratos nailed it. Please DO NOT fire commercial ammo built for modern rifles in vintage firearms! The steel technology of today is far different than that of 100+ years ago.
Personally I load my own BP ammo for these relics. If you are an experienced reloader - it's "different" than smokeless powder, but not hard to learn to do. There are reloading recipes using smokeless powder out there to mimic low pressure BP rounds. A big concern is, with the size of 45-70 cases, a mistake like double charging a case with smokeless powder could cost you your rifle - and maybe your face.
Again, these rifles were built to shoot period correct BP ammo. I'll stay true to that...
There really aren’t any commercial vendors out there that make these rounds either in classic BP or a smokeless mix? Seems like a pretty sizable market based on this thread alone.
Some general comments.
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A smokeless load that mimics the original BP load will have more and sharper recoil than a real BP load.
This is absolutely correct. It's not necessarily the overall pressure that will kill your weapon; it's the near vertical pressure spike that destroys the chamber. And your body bits.
swamplynx, as 4570inMD points out BACO sells BP ammo. I'm sure there are other sources. I'd explore those options. If you relegate your rifle to being a Safe Queen you'll miss out on a lot of fun...
Thanks all. Going to order some BP rounds from Buffalo and hopefully convince them to ship to DC or will send them to the in-laws. No safe queens in this house. You have to earn your keep.
So,
Question on the trapdoor shooting. I notice you guys are shooting with the rear sight sticking up.
Are you raising up and using the peep hole?
I thought I recall trying this and that with the peep hole, the POI was even higher than with the sight down.
I was having to post 2 targets and aim at the lower but hit the upper.