So thanks to all who commented on this post on my recently acquired Uberti Walker Colt Clone. I’m learning a lot.
Handgun Radio host Ryan frequently shoots his 1851 Navy revolver so I decided to ask him if we could do a show sometime to talk about the ins and outs of shooting cap-and-ball revolvers.
Well that “Sometime” is tonight! You can download the podcast this week on that above link, or watch it live here:
Enjoy!
I have been shooting ML’s since the 70’s. That walker is a cannon if loaded properly. The original load for the Colt Walker was a 230 grain hollow based conical soft lead bullet (.457) over fifty or sixty grains of powder. Your revolver is probably a .451 or .452. Try a 230 grain round nosed lead or semi wad cutter over 45 grains of FFF DuPont black powder with RWS #11 caps. It WILL BARK. And NO it won’t hurt it to load 50 grains of FFF, as that hand gun is safe to shoot with a .45 LC cowboy action cylinder and smokeless .45 LC loads. Just remember PYRODEX and ALL other ” black powder substitutes” ARE NOT BLACK POWDER and they can develop much higher(DANGEROUS) pressures in a C&B revolver than true black powder. You can seal the chambers and nipples the same way the cowboys and the Army did. Melt 50% bees wax with 50% Crisco and use that over the bullet. I then seat the caps and varnish them down with fingernail polish (the cowboys used varnish) . I have used that in the rain without a hitch. Just remember to SEAT THE CAPs all the way or it WILL misfire. Then GO HAVE FUN! —- P.S. There are as many ways to clean a BP revolver as there are guys that shoot them . Find the one that works for you ,clean your revolver EVERY TIME YOU SHOOT IT and you’ll have years of fun. —- P.P.S. The Walker was the first handgun to be designed to shoot conical bullets , but it was made of iron instead of steel and had the bad habit of blowing up with full house loads. It was redesigned as the Dragoon with a reduced cylinder and better grade steel.
The first thing anyone intested in muzzleloading should do is order a catalog from Dixie Gun Works. Instructional articles by the founder, Turner Kirkland are scattered thoughout, and you will know how to stoke any muzzleloader after spending time with your catalog. I have been a customer of DGW for 50 years, and still have the brass cannon that arrived in a burlap bag so many years ago. God Bless Turner Kirkland, and the family and employees who carry on his legacy.
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