Conical Lube
 

I bought most of the stuff to make the lube Gatofeo mentions (2 parts paraffin, 2 parts mutton tallow, and 1 part beeswax) that I'll be using for the felt wads I'll be making.

Should I change up the ratios for lubing conicals? I live in Texas where it's hot all the way through fall. I'm not sure if it should be thicker.

I don't have a lube sizer setup.

I figured I would do as I've seen others do in which they stand the projectiles up in a small bowl/cup and allow them to cool in a pool of lube. Not sure how to get the excess off or if it's even a big deal.

i personally prefer lee liquid alox and just tumble them around in it. I was testing alox vs some other lube and neither cut through fouling any better. Fouling just gets to thick and needs to be cleaned. Alox for me is what i will use.

I've found the best container to stand them in is the screw lid from a wide mouth jar - something like mayonnaise, mustard, or pickles.

I have ~2 lbs Pyro P and ~1 lb of RS, but will be buying 3F 777. I was told that lubed wads weren't necessary when using 777 as it doesn't produce fouling. I'll try it w/o, but it just seems right placing a wad between the powder and projectile. Time shall tell I suppose.

I still want to try some actual BP too... I'd probably try to find 4F. This is for an Old Army...

T7 produces hard crud fouling. Its black powder, sometimes when the loading gets tough, its just time to clean the bore.

Wads are meant to help conicals shoot tighter groups. Some times they are not needed, but other times they actually do help.

An Old Army.. as in old Army cap and ball revolver? 777 3f will work, but keep an eye on the amount of powder. I personally think I hit max charge when I was shooting 777 out of mine. I personally like Jim Shockey Gold 3f. And since I am not hunting with the revolver, why beat the gun and me up. I shoot 20-25 grains of powder and a .451 ball. For the conicals you want to shoot I would think that would be plenty of powder. Are they 200 grain bullets?

cayugad: Indeed, a Ruger.
What made you feel you hit it's max load?
Why do you like Jim Shockey? I've read nothing but bad things about that powder.
I plan to try it hunting.
A .451" ball?!?! It should be .457" according to Ruger. That's what I'm using and I often get a half moon of lead shaved. It's not much. Once in a while it'll be a circle.
The conicals I have on hand are some ~190 grn, but I shall be ordering some of Kaido's 240 grn custom bullets.

cayugad: Indeed, a Ruger. Mine is a Piatta 1858 New Army target model. But it is the same model as the Old Army and is often called that. It is an Italian made revolver and no where near the quality of your Ruger Old Army. So there is no comparison for my loads to what yours will do.
What made you feel you hit it's max load? When I would shoot the revolver, the loading lever would shake loose and come down. Also just the recoil of the charge. Mine lists a max load of 35 grains. I am sure your Ruger can take a much stronger charge.
Why do you like Jim Shockey? I've read nothing but bad things about that powder.I have had excellent luck with the powder. But I do not hunt with the revolver. Not only are they under powered IMO but its illegal because they do not make certain velocity requirements. When shooting JSG there is no swabbing. You never have to break the revolver down to wipe it out. The velocity is very good for the size of the charge. And I have never had a misfire shooting it. Also at the end of the day, I pull the grips off the revolver and can make up some dishwater and clean that revolver very quickly.
I plan to try it hunting. Good luck, get close, and make your shot in the boiler room. Also be a good tracker. I have hunted deer with a center fire .44 mag and even with the power of that revolver, it never dropped deer in there tracks other then one doe I shot between the eyes at point blank range.
A .451" ball?!?! It should be .457" according to Ruger. That's what I'm using and I often get a half moon of lead shaved. It's not much. Once in a while it'll be a circle.That is the differnce between the two manufacturers. Some people do use a .454 ball in the Pietta but I tried them and they are too large for my comfort. With a simple .451 I get a full circle of lead shaved, when loading. I have shot some 200 grain .451 bullets and they did real well.
The conicals I have on hand are some ~190 grn, but I shall be ordering some of Kaido's 240 grn custom bullets.that should work well. I liked the 200 grain because it was heavy, and would have had a lot of smack. I did have to be careful to seat them good and hard.

A lee sizer to match your bore and a cheap press is a minimal investment you might want to consider when preparing conicals.

DON'T DO THAT Rod. Four F black powder is used strictly for priming the pan of a flintlock. It should never be used as a main charge. FFFg BP is the correct granulation for a pistol.

Semisane: This is from the Old Army manual:

"Black Powder is usually classified by powder grain size, with “Fg” being the largest granulation and “FFFFg” being the smallest granulation normally available. Any granulation within these gradations could be used in the “Old Army”; normally, however, “FFFg” is the preferred grain size."

From what I've read they have used worse in it without catastrophe. Not that I would do that, but from what I understand, it can handle anything BP related w/o worry. Like full loads of 777.

flounder: I want to get a sizer setup. I was told that a guy will take .454 bullets and resize them backwards so as to only size the base so that it drops into the chambers straight. But I figure it could open doors to lighter .458 rifle bullets too.

Wow! Thanks for the education Rod. I stand corrected.

I knew Rugers were brute strong. But I never would have thought they would OK FFFFg.

I hunt with a Ruger Old Army, I use 40 grains of Pyrodex P and a .457 round ball with a drop of olive oil on top of each ball after its loaded. I have Taken deer coyote and feral hog with it. They say the conicals are better and they shoot well in my gun but I have to reduce the load since I do not take shots over 35 yards the round ball suits me.

lemoyne: You are the kinda guy I need to be talking to! I've read many conflicting reports on how well an Old Army (or any other cap n ball pistol) works on game. I've heard of people using RB and getting passthroughs on deer, and others claiming it's not a humane weapon to use, that it's more inline with a 38 Spl. What has been your experience? What kind of groups do you get? Any idea as to the velocity?

I intend on using 3F 777 with a projectile of 200+ grns on the chance I run into a hog. From what other posters have claimed I should be able to achieve ~500 ft/lbs and that makes me feel comfortable using such. I'd be OK with 450 ft/lbs. First I need to find out just how accurate it can be.

semisane: I've heard that Ruger even loaded it up with smokeless to see where it's failure point was, and could not find it. I certainly wouldn't do such a thing, but it makes me comfortable using any sort of substitute at max volume.