GUNS Magazine

Matthew Holden woke up screaming and sweating, his body racked by cold chills. This had happened to him often ever since the terrible time the Yanks called the Civil War, while the Johnny Rebs referred to it as the War of Northern Aggression. Whatever one chose to call it, Matt knew it was the most tragic thing that had ever happened to our country, causing the slaughter of thousands of good men on both sides.

Young men, many of them just boys — men who would never grow up, who would never have families, who would never have accomplished who knows what — and now they were all dead. Matt simply could not get the horrible picture of war out of his mind, his turmoil made all the worse by the fact this war had split his family right down the middle. While he joined the Northern Army, his brother went south to join General Lee. His brother never made it back.

Matt could only think of two things that came out of the War. He himself had made it out alive, and when he mustered out he took with him his personal rifle, his Model 1860 Henry. Other soldiers often gambled away or drank up their pay, however Matt saved his to purchase his Henry. Matt had always been a shooter and as such realized the value of the new repeating rifles.

Matt felt totally lost after the war. He spent some time wandering around the West finding himself awed by the vastness of this new land. Unlike many, he also gained an appreciation and respect for the many Indian tribes even though he often found himself having to fight to survive.

He was one man who would not take part in the slaughter of the buffalo. The indiscriminate killing of the shaggy beasts sickened him almost as much as the war, but more importantly he could see what the removal of the buffalo would do to the Plains Indians. He didn’t want to hunt buffalo, he didn’t see any future in following a dusty trail behind a bunch of stubborn cattle, and he certainly didn’t want to mine for gold. In his mind that left him with one choice. He knew the West well, the Army needed scouts, and perhaps in that position he could help save lives.

Matt’s saddle scabbard continued to hold his Henry instead of the issue single-shot Trapdoor as the troopers called them. Those Trapdoors were much more powerful than his levergun with its .44 Rimfire ammunition, and certainly it was more expensive to purchase his own rifle loads instead of using the issue .45-70. However that old Henry rifle had saved his life many times and he certainly wasn’t about to abandon it.

On the other hand, he was more than happy to replace his 1860 Colt .44 “ball and cap” pistol with one of the new Colts, the one they called the Single Action Army.

The first week Matt carried that 7 1⁄2-inch .45 Colt he found out how valuable it really was. He was about 300 yards ahead of the column. Turning a bend in the narrow mountain trail he found himself nose to nose with the biggest animal he had ever seen in his life, even bigger than a buffalo. No time to grab his Henry; the .45 Colt came out of his holster and Matt only remembered firing it until it would fire no more.

Through the smoke he saw the magnificent grizzly bear slumped over and breathing his last. Matt would forever appreciate the power of that .45 Colt. The recoil of the new revolver as well as the dead grizzly in front of him was potent testimony to just how much more powerful it was than even his beloved .44 Rimfire Henry. That Colt would always be in reaching distance the rest of his life.

Black Powder Loads Today

The load Matt would have been using in his .45 was the original military issue of a 255-grain bullet over 40 grains of black powder. The weaker “balloon head” construction of those original cartridge cases (used up to the eve of World War II), did not have the strength of today’s solid head cases but did provide more powder capacity. I have been fortunate to come up with, often thanks to some of our readers, balloon head brass in .45 Colt, .44-40, .38-40, .44 Russian and .44 Special. By trimming some of the .45 Colt brass I also made .45 Schofield or .45 S&W cases.

Duplicating the original .45 Colt load with 40-grains of FFg black powder under a 255-grain lead bullet and ignited by a magnum large pistol primer gave some rather surprising results. Using a 7 1⁄2-inch barrelled Colt SAA and shooting over Oehler’s Model 35P chronograph resulted in muzzle velocities of over 1,000 fps.

Realizing that today’s powder may be better, and magnum primers certainly are hotter, it would still not be a stretch to state those original loads were somewhere in the 850 to 950 fps range and probably tilted towards the higher number. Matthew Holden is not the only man to ever kill a grizzly with those old black powder loads.

The same experiment was carried out with the two combination sixgun/levergun cartridges, the .44-40 and .38-40, or as they are also known, the .44 WCF and .38 WCF (Winchester Center Fire). Both of these cartridges also originally carried 40-grain charges of black powder as the “40” in their name designates.

With the .44-40 and a 200-grain bullet, muzzle velocities were in the same range as the .45 Colt, that is, over 1,000 fps, while the .38-40 with its 180-grain bullet was well over 1,100 fps, both loads being shot in 7 1⁄2-inch Single Actions. In lever action rifles both loads are over 1,400 fps. There is no doubt in my mind the originals were well over 900 fps in a 7 1⁄2-inch sixgun.

Some uninformed individuals may think the sixgunners of the late 1800s were somewhat at a disadvantage compared to the choice of defensive loads offered today. I submit there are not very many current loads that even come close to the originals. How many .45 loads carry a 255-grain bullet at more than 1,000 fps? The thoroughly modern .40 S&W uses the same diameter bullet as the .38-40 and in fact the original loads for the .40 were assembled with 180-grain bullets at the same muzzle velocity as the original .38-40 WCF. Such is progress.

Excercise Due Care

Shooting the old classic sixguns requires knowledge of their age. All original S&W top-break single action sixguns, the New Model Russian, the Schofield, and the New Model No. 3, should only be used with black powder. This is also true of the early double action S&W, the Double Action Frontier Model. Colt’s first large frame double action, the Model of 1878 also belongs on this list.

The Colt Single Action Army began as a black powder sixgun in 1873, made the transition from black powder to smokeless powder, and still survives today as a Custom Shop offering from Colt. The problem is found in discerning which Colts are black powder guns and which are smokeless.

All original first-generation Colts with the screw in the front of the frame retaining the base pin are black powder arms, however all Colts with the spring loaded base pin catch are not smokeless powder arms. First-generation Colts were manufactured from 1873 to 1941 and are easily distinguished from second and third-generation Colts by the fact that their serial numbers are just that, all numbers, with no “SA” found as part of the identification.

“A 165,000 range has been considered by most Single Action collectors and writers, to be the beginning of Colts’ smokeless powder SA production. However, the company did not guarantee their revolvers for use with smokeless powder cartridges in catalogs and other forms of advertising until 1898. A notation in Colts’ shipping record specifically states that Single Actions serial numbered between #175,000 and #180,000 are NOT guaranteed for smokeless powder use.” A Study Of The Colt Single Action Army Revolver, by Graham, Kopec, and Moore, 1976.

We could possibly conclude from this the number 180,000 of 1898 began the smokeless powder sixguns. However, for my peace of mind, and safe use of early Colt Single Actions, I prefer a little more leeway, sticking with 20th-century sixguns for smokeless powder use. These began at serial number 203,000.

One might consider me as being too careful, however these old sixguns are too valuable not to be treated with due care. For my use with these old Colt and S&W single action and double action sixguns,
this means only black powder or black powder substitutes.

A valuable source of information when it comes to black powder substitutes is offered by Hodgdon in their Cowboy Action Data pamphlet which is free for the asking. Not only does this little booklet give loading data for most of the frontier cartridges, it also provides pressure information for bot Pyrodex P and Triple Seven.

Volumetric Measure

It’s important to note that all black powder cartridges are assembled by using a volume powder measure not by weighing charges. For example, when the chart calls for “30 grains,” that means the use of a volume measure set at 30 grains, not weighing out a 30-grain charge on a powder scale.

Looking at the Hodgdon’s data we find a standard loaded .45 Colt with a 250-grain bullet over a measured 30 grains of FFg Triple Seven results in a muzzle velocity of 840 fps and 9,500 CUPs. Switching to Pyrodex P and 37 grains results in 955 fps and 13,500 CUPs. Using the same volume, 37 grains, Of Pyrodex Select lowers the muzzle velocity and pressure to a duplication of the 30-grain load of Triple Seven.

There are two major and important differences with these two black powder substitutes. Triple Seven should never be compressed, while Pyrodex is compressed 1/16 to 1/8 inch normally with a card or vegetable wad placed between the bullet and the powder. For best results all black powder should also be slightly compressed. At no time should any loads assembled with black powder or black powder substitutes allow any air space between powder and bullet.

The lightest load used is one that can be compressed with the bullet and wad. Wads perform two functions, protecting the bullet base and helping to minimize barrel fouling.

Factory BP Loads And Components

A few years ago it was virtually impossible to find factory-loaded black powder cartridges. However today we have black powder cartridges from Black Dawge and Wind River Trading Co., as well as cartridges assembled with black powder substitutes from Cor-Bon and Ten-X.

Shooters have a choice of all the big bore cartridges, .45 Colt, .44-40, .38-40, .44 Russian and .45 Schofield. We also have the loads for the .44 Colt and .38 Long Colt, however these are for current replicas and not the original Cartridge Conversions which have different barrel dimensions. For those shooters who would like to use black powder in their more modern sixguns, black powder or black powder substitute loads are also offered in .38 Special, .44 Special, .357 Magnum, and .44 Magnum.

By the way, black powder is not all alike. It’s graded by the size of the granulations with FFg and FFFg normally being the best choices for sixgun cartridge reloading. Having access to five manufacturers’ powder, Elephant, Goex, Kik, Swiss and Wano, gives me 10 choices, which goes to 11 with the addition of Goex Cartridge. FFFg will normally give higher muzzle velocities than FFg black powder.

Substitutes include Hodgdon’s Pyrodex and Triple Seven, CleanShot, and Goex ClearShot. These are also offered in both FFg and FFFg grade giving black powder sixgun cartridge shooters 19 choices. So it is easy to see loading black powder is not all that simple.

My first black powder reloads were put together in the late 1950s by using a spoon to fill a .45 Colt case nearly full, placing a bullet on top, and then seating and crimping with the Lyman No. 310 Tool. After a single stage reloading press was added to my bench the process was speeded up considerably, and cases were charged using an adjustable hand measure or flask. Today I mostly use the RCBS Pro 2000 Progressive Press with its simplified primer feeding system using plastic strips holding 25 primers.

When using black powder or black powder substitutes, the Pro 2000 is used as a progressive for re-sizing, de-capping, priming, and expanding the case mouth. Bottlenecked cartridges such as the .44-40 and .38-40 are lubed before sizing. After these four operations are completed the cases are ready for charging with powder.

Lyman's Dedicated Measure

Gone are the days when I had to use a powder flask or an adjustable powder measure as the Lyman No. 55 Black Powder Measure greatly simplifies this task. This powder dispenser is designed to prevent the possibility of a spark igniting the black powder in the hopper. Powder measures designed for smokeless use should never be used with black powder or black powder substitutes due to the danger of electric sparking.

Everything about Lyman’s black powder measure — the adjustments and the knocker on the front of the measure to assure uniformity of powder charges — is the same as the standard measure, however it is especially constructed with brass and aluminum to prevent any chance of static electrical ignition.

My cases are placed in a loading block before charging, then a Walters’ wad of the correct size is placed over the powder charge. Now the single stage press takes over as I move to the RCBS RockChucker for bullet seating and crimping.

It is easy to see it takes longer to load black powder cartridges but for use in old sixguns this is the only way to be safe. An extra added benefit is the near spiritual feeling that comes from dropping the hammer on a black powder cartridge, hearing the resulting boom, feeling the gentle recoil, and being enveloped in black powder smoke.

Most of us have often read about smokefilled rooms and battle areas due to black powder cartridge use; this is really true. It only takes a couple of rounds to envelop the shooter in smoke that not only makes seeing difficult, but when shooting indoors in close quarters black powder substitutes are especially troublesome to the nose. After a few rounds, I find myself stepping back so I can breathe freely.

I find magnum pistol primers to provide the best possible ignition, and also for the best possible results bullets need to be of the proper alloy, proper size, and properly lubricated. This means the use of relatively soft bullets, no harder than 1:20 tin to lead alloy with the bullet sized to match the cylinder chamber mouths and lubricated with a special black powder lube such as Lyman’s Black Powder Gold, SPG, or Reliable No. 12. All of these lubes are softer than those normally used with smokeless powder to keep the black powder fouling relatively soft.

Suitable Commercial Bullets

Most black powder cartridge shooters are bullet casters as correct bullets for black powder sixguns loads were difficult to find commercially. This is no longer true thanks to Stewart Dawge & Asscociates which, under the Black Dawge label, offers a complete line of black powder cartridges, black powder bullets, and an excellent black powder cleaner known as Dawge Whizz.

All Black Dawge bullets are properly alloyed, have two lube grooves instead of one, are lubed with SPG lube, and are currently available in a 145-grain .38, 180-grain .38-40, 205-grain .44-40 and a 235-grain .45 Colt. All of these bullets are of the RNFP style making them safe for use in leverguns.

Commercial hard-cast bullets intended for smokeless powder loads will also work for black powder cartridges to a point. These bullets are normally too hard, carry too little lube that is not soft enough, and also have a bevel base — three things not desirable for black powder loads. They will foul the barrel faster, probably not give the best accuracy, and will also probably necessitate swabbing out the barrel after every full cylinder is fired.

Fouling around the front of the cylinder will also probably occur much faster. When shooting BP loads assembled with commercial cast bullets, I have found a spray bottle of Windex is valuable for soaking patches and running down the barrel with a cleaning rod, and also for spraying around the front and back to the cylinder to keep it operating freely.

Maybe I just have an over active imagination, however every time I shoot the old classic sixguns with the original style loads, I can time travel back in history and join the likes of Matthew Holden, Buffalo Bill, Bill Tilghman, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James and a whole host of larger-than-life characters. It sure beats watching television. Why not try it yourself?