Bullet seating
12-15-2007, 01:55 PM
#1
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: masontown pa USA
Posts: 851
Bullet seating
Ok, this may sound dumb, but I'm an amateur at this black powder stuff, and I have to ask. I have a Thompson firestorm, flintlock version. I've been using black powder in it for the past couple hunting seasons, and this year I may try Pyrodex pellets. I havea friend that is having very good results with these in his Firestorm, so I thought I'd try it. My question deals with the seating of a projectile on top of the pellets. He told me he smashes the rod down on top of bullet till the rod bounces up out of the barrel. Is it me, or does this do 2 bad things: 1. deform the bullet tip; and 2. break up the pellets, basically defeating the purpose of the way this gun is built to use pellets. I don't know, so I thought I'd ask some of you fellas on here. How do you seat a bullet on top of pellets? I've never used them in anything, so any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike
Thanks
Mike
12-15-2007, 02:21 PM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: Bullet seating
The only premeasured powder pellet/sticks that you smash are the American Pioneer or the Shockey Gold. If you look, the pyrodex and Triple Se7en have a hole through the center of them. That hole allows the initial ignition flame to explode up through the pellet which causes a more constant burn. The other two mentioned come in stick form. There is no hole through them. And they do not conform to the shape of the breech. Hence, they have to be smashed.
Pounding the ramrod down onto the projectile serves little use. If you are shooting Pyrodex pellets, just push the projectile down onto them in a firm solid manner without crushing the pellet. Also you might find even better ignition if you duplex 10 grains or so of black powder down the barrel first and then seat the pellet on top of that. If gives the pan spark something to hit, flash and explode though the pellet...
Good luck.
Pounding the ramrod down onto the projectile serves little use. If you are shooting Pyrodex pellets, just push the projectile down onto them in a firm solid manner without crushing the pellet. Also you might find even better ignition if you duplex 10 grains or so of black powder down the barrel first and then seat the pellet on top of that. If gives the pan spark something to hit, flash and explode though the pellet...
Good luck.
12-15-2007, 03:03 PM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,585
RE: Bullet seating
As usually cayugadhas said it well, I have experimented with crushing pellets and with pyrodex they are more accurate and velocity is more consistant if you dont crush them. I also use a duplex load with black at the botton covering the touch hole with pyrodex since my gun was home built I just poured enough black in so that when I put my bore lite down the barrel in a dark room it did not show out the touch hole. I also found that by using floured blasting powder in the pan and as prime I got a little faster ignition,an other thing is put your powder on the outer end of the pan if you put it against the touch hole it has to burn down to it through the powder and acts like a fuse. If you are interested the reason floured blasting powder works so good is because it is made with out any graphite in it and the granulation is a step finer than 4 F. Lee
12-15-2007, 03:10 PM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Idaho
Posts: 11,703
RE: Bullet seating
Mikey S.
you know I have seen a few people do what you describe and for the life of me I have never understood why?
It is my belief that you should seat the bullet firmly on top of the powder by applying pressure to the ram rod (not compressing the powder just sitting on top with the same amount of pressure each load). Try to apply the same amount of pressure each time you seat a bullet. I know, and I am shooting loose powder, I can feel and actually hear in the rod when I contact the powder. For yourself anf for now I would mark the rod with a circle around the rod at the point you have the projectile seated. Then you can use this mark each time you load...
The only reason I can think of for bouncing the rod off the projectile is that some projectiles are really tight in the barrel and somebody my have wanted to make sure that the bullet was seated on the powder, to assure themselves that there was not an air gap between the powder and the bottom of the bullet - that can cause some problems.
you know I have seen a few people do what you describe and for the life of me I have never understood why?
It is my belief that you should seat the bullet firmly on top of the powder by applying pressure to the ram rod (not compressing the powder just sitting on top with the same amount of pressure each load). Try to apply the same amount of pressure each time you seat a bullet. I know, and I am shooting loose powder, I can feel and actually hear in the rod when I contact the powder. For yourself anf for now I would mark the rod with a circle around the rod at the point you have the projectile seated. Then you can use this mark each time you load...
The only reason I can think of for bouncing the rod off the projectile is that some projectiles are really tight in the barrel and somebody my have wanted to make sure that the bullet was seated on the powder, to assure themselves that there was not an air gap between the powder and the bottom of the bullet - that can cause some problems.
12-15-2007, 05:32 PM
#6
Typical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: masontown pa USA
Posts: 851
RE: Bullet seating
ORIGINAL: sabotloader
Mikey S.
you know I have seen a few people do what you describe and for the life of me I have never understood why?
It is my belief that you should seat the bullet firmly on top of the powder by applying pressure to the ram rod (not compressing the powder just sitting on top with the same amount of pressure each load). Try to apply the same amount of pressure each time you seat a bullet. I know, and I am shooting loose powder, I can feel and actually hear in the rod when I contact the powder. For yourself anf for now I would mark the rod with a circle around the rod at the point you have the projectile seated. Then you can use this mark each time you load...
The only reason I can think of for bouncing the rod off the projectile is that some projectiles are really tight in the barrel and somebody my have wanted to make sure that the bullet was seated on the powder, to assure themselves that there was not an air gap between the powder and the bottom of the bullet - that can cause some problems.
Mikey S.
you know I have seen a few people do what you describe and for the life of me I have never understood why?
It is my belief that you should seat the bullet firmly on top of the powder by applying pressure to the ram rod (not compressing the powder just sitting on top with the same amount of pressure each load). Try to apply the same amount of pressure each time you seat a bullet. I know, and I am shooting loose powder, I can feel and actually hear in the rod when I contact the powder. For yourself anf for now I would mark the rod with a circle around the rod at the point you have the projectile seated. Then you can use this mark each time you load...
The only reason I can think of for bouncing the rod off the projectile is that some projectiles are really tight in the barrel and somebody my have wanted to make sure that the bullet was seated on the powder, to assure themselves that there was not an air gap between the powder and the bottom of the bullet - that can cause some problems.
12-15-2007, 05:33 PM
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location:
Posts: 492
RE: Bullet seating
When I got my first Hawken in the mid-'70's, I was instructed by the gun shop owner to bounce the rod on top of the ball until it bounced back. He said it was to make sure the powder was firmly compressed. OK - that's what I did for a lot of years.
I now know it isn't necessary, and might even deform the ball and affect accuracy. I would agree that firm pressure is all that's needed - and pellets definitely should not be broken or crushed.
I now know it isn't necessary, and might even deform the ball and affect accuracy. I would agree that firm pressure is all that's needed - and pellets definitely should not be broken or crushed.
