Colt Country | Home of The Almighty Colt

So, bumping this with an update...

The smith I took it to earlier this year...did nothing. He said all the measurements on the chambers were correct to the originals, and refused to do anything about the loading window because he wasn't comfortable with it. I'm not pleased about that.

So I tried shooting with 25 grain cartridges, not long after, and THOSE wouldn't seat all the way, either! However those were being just as big of a pain to fit into the loading window as the 30 grain, so I figured that was likely the problem because I couldn't get them to start straight.

After some searching once I had time I took my gun in to a different smith last month to have both issues looked at. Although they were able to enlarge the loading window so now the 25 grain cartridges fit properly under the lever, they weren't able to do anything about the chamber itself because of the grooves for the ratchet/lock mechanism, (drilling out the back of the chambers would make the metal too thin) so they couldn't make it take the 30 grain cartridges.

Whatever, I still had plenty of 25 grain made up, so today I went back to the range...

...and even though I can now start them level, the damn gun STILL won't seat the 25 grain cartridges all the way.

I honestly don't know what to do anymore. My powder charge is already lighter than what the original cartridges were, and the damn things still won't fit.

I'm using the nitrated paper from Buffalo Arms. Could it be that the paper is too thick? I had flash paper, which is much thinner, however it doesn't keep safely, and I just had to dispose of a whole package that was going bad. Is there anyone else who makes nitrated paper with thinner sheets?

Or do I have to reduce my powder load even FURTHER, even though it's already well below historical loads? Could there be a difference between modern black powder and what was available then that could account for this (I'm using Goex 3F)? Like maybe the older powder compressed more readily?

I also noticed the paper isn't burning up completely like it's supposed to, but leaving rings in the chambers, which obviously doesn't help loading subsequent rounds (the ones I tested at home this morning to test the fit of the window ALMOST seated completely). I'm currently using silicone silicate to hold everything together as on the historical cartridges, but should I be using something else?

I'm just about at the end of my rope with trying to get this to work.

Well, I did find a place that was able to sell the blocks in closer to the historical size. Unfortunately the holes are just a little too snug so it's hard to get the cartridges in and out (I really had to pop it against my hand to jar them loose). I'd also need to sand down the ends to actually fit them in my pouch as they're just a hair too long to close the flap.

I could probably use my Dremel to resolve both issues, but what I may end up doing is use the blocks to hold the finished cartridges for the glue to dry and wax to cool after dipping, and then just use soft packets to actually carry them to the range. I'll be able to fit more in the pouch that way, too (maybe at least six loads altogether, possibly more.

So I think I'm going to need to take the Colt in to a smith. Even with a cartridge former specifically designed for 30 grain (shorter but wider cartridge than the Cap and Ball one), and taking the cylinder off to start it to make sure the cartridge is going in straight, it still won't seat quite enough to load paper cartridges with that charge. So maybe the chambers just aren't quite or deep enough or are just a little too small diameter (didn't the original Colts have a slightly larger chamber?). Also, the loading window probably needs to be enlarged (I could swear I read the 2nd Gens had the correct size window, but I guess not).

Can't find what you want then make your own. I made this one for my Sharps out of a 2X4.

Unfortunately making your own also requires the proper equipment and skill set to do so. I've certainly taught myself a few things (I made my own pair of fencing boots last year based on a 15th century style) so I'm sure I have the ability. It's the means that are my biggest limitation.

So I live in St. Peters, MO, and I'm having a small problem with finding a good place to shoot.

In the past I would just go to Busch Wildlife, but unfortunately the range there isn't great for black powder. The 15-minute shooting intervals don't give you much time for loading, (particularly with cap and ball) ESPECIALLY if you run into any sort of mechanical problem. I will also be teaching my nephew to shoot beginning this spring, which makes Busch's rigid timetable even less ideal because there's not a great deal of time for both instruction AND shooting. Even if I start him on my old CVA muzzleloader carbine (which would also give me a chance to shoot my dad's Hawken rifle).

Last weekened I checked out the unstaffed range at Reifsnider State Forest to give that a try. I arrived around 9:30 in the morning. At that time, it was just me and two other stations active. I certainly liked the freedom of being able to just set up and shoot at my leisure without having to worry about getting interrupted unless we all agreed to cease-fire. However with it being first-come first-served, you're at the mercy of the crowd. There's simply not a lot of stations, and the downside of no time limit is that you could be waiting forever for a turn at the bench (by the time I left, the line was queued all the way up the hill. And no social distancing, either :-P ).

There's also another big problem with ranges like these:

@$$HOLES WHO CAN'T FOLLOW THE RANGE RULES.

Despite the posted rules at the range being the same as any of the MDC staff ranges (limits to the number of people at the bench, no automatics, no rapid fire, magazine size limits, etc.) it was pretty much the Wild West while I was there:

The group next to me had a good half dozen or more people crowded into the bench. One of them was teaching his girlfriend or whoever, which ok, that's fine. But you don't need all ten of your other friends piled in there with you.

One guy came in (with his five year old kid!!!) and had something like a 50-round drum magazine. And he emptied the ENTIRE THING in about 20 seconds. Many other shooters were also ripping off as many shots as they could as fast as they could. I don't know if any of these were automatics, but they were sure shooting like they did (my guess: bump stocks). It's not just that rapid fire like that frankly just isn't safe. It's ANNOYING AS HELL to be trying to do my thing, when from the next stall over is Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow-Pow! It's a distraction, and makes it hard to get the rest of the range's attention in an emergency.

It's especially important to me that my nephew learn both proper gun safety and handling, AND good shooter etiquette. But I don't feel safe taking him to an unstaffed range with that kind of nonsense going on. And while I COULD use it as a teaching moment, ("See what they're doing? Don't do that.") personally I'd rather not have to deal with it in the first place as it's a needless distraction from keeping track of what he's doing. Especially since he has never fired ANY sort of gun, much less black powder.

I was wondering if any of you are in the St. Louis/St. Charles area and might know of a range nearby that might be a better choice. Somewhere that facilitates the slow loading times of muzzleloaders and cap and ball better than Busch or Henges, and where I'd be able to take the time to teach my nephew without having to worry about running out of our allotted time. But at the same time, somewhere I don't have to worry about idiots pretending they're Rambo and who act like the rules of the range don't apply to them.

I don't have a particular desire to join a club; I don't know if I'd be out there often enough for the yearly dues to make it worthwhile, or that my schedule would allow any sort of mandatory meeting/work/competition days.

That was my initial thought. Is it throwing 30 grains?

Well, like I said it was MEASURING 30 grains with the spout. The problem was that it may have been leaking when I actually filled the chamber, so ended up with more than was measured.

I'm thinking of taking it in to a smith to have them give it a look over, as maybe there's something that someone just needs to have it in their hands to see.