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So I have a shiny new Remy 1858 in .44 - I have the maunfacturers recommended load of BP and size of lead ball for best results........ but how much 'stuffing' do i use?
I'm told that tapioca (It's got to be Sainbury's) is a simple and effective material for this. I'm asking for a ball park figure if anyone here uses this method.

I use felt wads sometimes wonder wads and a bit of homemade lube behind each ball, tapioca sounds a bit messy to me.

My top tip is cock the hammer with your non firing hand. I’ve seen more than one person with a slightly oily thumb send a ball over a backstop at 45 degrees!

There is no need for semolina or the like, there is a school of thought that says that for best accuracy the ball should be level with the cylinder mouth so the use a filler with light loads of powder to seat it there. I have never noticed any difference other than the mess.

I put a home made felt wad lubed with my own stiff home made lube over the powder, the purpose of this is to keep the fouling down so the gun doesn't bind at the cylinder forcing cone gap.

Some people slather the loaded cylinders with lube, this is futile unless you use water pump grease as most other stuff just disappears with the first chamber shot and serves no useful purpose after that, water pump grease stays in place, certainly water pump grease keeps the fouling soft but like anything else pushed into the top of the loaded cylinders you will rue it at clean up.

Tight fitting ball over a hard lubed, 1/8" thick, good quality, felt wad, simple neat and clean with minimum clean up afterwards.

If you are of a niggardly persuasion the wads can be reused.

Lol. I can imaging a chap in a cowboy hat sifting through the grass for smoking felt circles.

I always used Ox Yoke Originals Wonder Wads - over the powder charge and under the ball, of course. So much easier than slathering stuff into the cylinder mouth.

http://www.rmcoxyoke.com/inc/sdetail/ox ... /17324/396

I have never heard of anybody using tapioca. What a very odd idea.

I use a mixture of finely chopped coloured tissue paper and ground magnesium*. If you’re going to spray detritus over the range, at least make it colourful, shiny and fireworky.

* clearly I don’t. This is not actual advice.

I must admit I’m only an occasional/novice BP revolver shooter, but the chaps showing me the ropes didn’t use anything as filler or overpowder wad... is this wrong?

Kungfugerbil wrote: I must admit I’m only an occasional/novice BP revolver shooter, but the chaps showing me the ropes didn’t use anything as filler or overpowder wad... is this wrong?

Not at all, that is how they were loaded back in the day and Colts instructions were only for powder and ball, no fouling softener.

However nowadays we shoot them in a way that was never envisaged then, long strings of shots looking for that perfect group or score so we use a form of grease to get the fouling soft and keep the gun operating.

There is also a school of thought that the earlier black powders shot a lot moister than our modern ones and therefore they originals could go for more shots before binding becomes an issue.

Nothing wrong in shooting just powder and tight fitting ball, just the revolver will jam up eventually with e fouling binding at the cylinder/forcing cone gap.

^ Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. You really do learn something new every day.

Simply powder and ball for me. Every three cylinders or so, the revolver gets a wipe over with a baby wipe and carry on. Before leaving the range the revolver will again have a baby wipe in each chamber, then pushed down the bore. Clean up at home is a breeze.

Ball, carbon, wad, grease, and whatever other inert filler shot through the barrel and people wonder why they don’t get minute of door accuracy at 20 yards....

Ball & powder...