Black Powder Pistols: Optimum Load for .44 Walker Colt
Ewaldclark
Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
ball and the powder.
If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
with?
P.C. Young
In article <5jjutk$g...@xring.cs.umd.edu>, ewald...@aol.com (Ewaldclark) wrote:
#Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
#came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
#huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
#ball and the powder.
#If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
#with?
#
40 grains by volume of Pyrodex P should be about right. Walkers,
historically, could take even heftier loads putting them at near magnum
velocities. I'm assuming this is for a reproduction revolver since an
original would be far to valuable to shoot.
--Pedro
John Wilder
# Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
# came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
# huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
# ball and the powder.
# If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
# with?
You don't have to fill the space with anything. It will work fine. I've
shot that exact revolver with up to 55 grains BP. It makes quite a cloud
and the bullet seating rod drops down due to recoil. This was the one
complaint of Col. Walker when he took delivery of the originals, so it
appears that the replica I shot followed the original pretty close.
John Wilder<jwi...@llnl.gov> PGP key on request
Marc Hildebrant
Sam Fadala's book recommends an optimum load of 55 G of FFF or 57 G of
Pyrodex.
That's a BIG boom!
Marc
Dennis L. Mickey
Ewaldclark wrote:
#
# came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
# huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
# ball and the powder.
# If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
# with?
An old trick that I use is to use corn meal to fill the excess space.
Dennis Mickey
Neil Dickey
P.C. Young wrote:
# In article <5jjutk$g...@xring.cs.umd.edu>, ewald...@aol.com (Ewaldclark) wrote:
# #
# # [ ... Snip, query on optimum load ... ]
#
# 40 grains by volume of Pyrodex P should be about right. Walkers,
# historically, could take even heftier loads putting them at near magnum
# velocities. I'm assuming this is for a reproduction revolver since an
# original would be far to valuable to shoot.
I have a question of my own in this regard: I have a friend who tells
me that the original Walker Colts couldn't stand the heavy loads they
were capable of accepting, and frequently blew up under them. There
weren't many of the pistols made in the first place, but this is
apparently an explanation why there are so few remaining today even at
that. Does anyone know if this is true? Did the Walkers have a
tendency to come apart?
Best regards,
Neil Dickey
John Gross
Neil Dickey <ne...@geol.niu.edu> wrote:
#
#I have a question of my own in this regard: I have a friend who tells
#me that the original Walker Colts couldn't stand the heavy loads they
#were capable of accepting, and frequently blew up under them. There
#weren't many of the pistols made in the first place, but this is
#apparently an explanation why there are so few remaining today even at
#that. Does anyone know if this is true? Did the Walkers have a
#tendency to come apart?
#
Yes, several Walkers burst or failed in service. I do not know the exact
number. Might be in some of my books but I've never researched it to any
great degree. Colt did make 300 replacement Dragoon revolvers for the U.S.
Government. These are often refered to as "Fluck" Dragoons, so named after
the collector John Fluck who first discovered this Walker vatiation.
Whether the fact that Colt supplied 300 replacement revolvers means that
300 Walkers failed in service I do not know. It would lead one to assume
so but as I said, I'm not sure how many Walkers failed.
Out of the @1,100 Walkers made, not including the Fluck variation (1,000
military, 100 civilian) I believe about 15% are known to survive.
John Gross
confe...@worldnet.att.net
HOLLIS6475
In some what of a disagreement with John, It is highly recommended that
there is no space between the Ball and Powder. If you use 25gr, than you
can use corn meal to take up space.
Hollis
K and C PC
I appreciate your input. Aldo Uberti (the manufacturer of my replica) has
yet to reply to my e-mail. Many thanks,
Ed Clark
aeat...@flash.net
Yes, the Walkers did blow up occasionally. However, metallurgy has improved
tremendously, even on the low-priced replicas. I have NEVER heard of a
replica Walker blowing up with black powder or Pyrodex, even when bullets
such as the Lyman #454424 250 gr. SWC were used with heavy charges.
Alan E. Atwood
Neil Dickey
aeat...@flash.net wrote:
# Yes, the Walkers did blow up occasionally. However, metallurgy has improved
# tremendously, even on the low-priced replicas. I have NEVER heard of a
# replica Walker blowing up with black powder or Pyrodex, even when bullets
# such as the Lyman #454424 250 gr. SWC were used with heavy charges.
Yes, I wasn't implying that the reproductions shouldn't be fired with
full charges, only that anyone with an original shouldn't even
consider it. That may not have been clear.
Best regards,
Neil Dickey
Charles Winters
aeat...@flash.net wrote:
#
# tremendously, even on the low-priced replicas. I have NEVER heard of a
# replica Walker blowing up with black powder or Pyrodex, even when bullets
# such as the Lyman #454424 250 gr. SWC were used with heavy charges.
# Alan E. Atwood
Dear Alan: I would add that the whole idea Col. Colt had for the Walker
was to make room for more powder to propel the heavier .44 cal ball.
Therefore, the correct thing to do is fill the chamber with black and
top it off with a lead ball and grease. - CW
Bob Ervin
Ditto....although I have never tried to blow up a blackpowder weapon with
airspace in a chamber, it is considered a basic mistake to tempt fate by
doing so! The methods and materials used in the construction of todays
firearms is far superior to those of the 1800's, and ergo, one could assume
that a Replica Walker would withstand more pressure than the original. The
original Walker was designed to be a more potent firearm than its brethren,
and was most likely the first magnum handgun. History showed that it did
indeed have a predisposition to blow-up , whether this flaw was due to
mechanical failure or lack of knowledge of the loader will probably never
be known. Given the role the gun was placed in, and the small numbers of
production, my guess is that it's shortcomings were unfounded. In 1846
when the war with Mexico began, Sam Walker contacted Colt for help in
designing a handgun that would give the Texas troops an edge over their
Mexican counterparts, of which the 1847 Walker was born. Of the 1100 guns
produced, 239 failed during service, most of ruptured cylinders. How many
failed due to the shooters unfamilarity with the weapon during the stress
of war, my guess is plenty. Which brings us back to the first question,
airspace in a blackpowder chamber, I think not. But I don't bungee jump
either......
Regards, Bob....
HOLLIS6475 <holli...@aol.com> wrote in article
<5jop97$t...@xring.cs.umd.edu>...
# In some what of a disagreement with John, It is highly recommended that
# there is no space between the Ball and Powder. If you use 25gr, than you
# can use corn meal to take up space.
#
# Hollis
#
#
wmg...@gmail.com
# Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
# came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
# huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
# ball and the powder.
# If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
# with?
cylinder to maintain equal powder compression
Ralph Mowery
#
# On Tuesday, April 22, 1997 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, Ewaldclark wrote:
# # Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
# # came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
# # huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
# # ball and the powder.
# # If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
# # with?
#
# The best thing to use is corn meal . Make sure you use the same volume in each
# cylinder to maintain equal powder compression
#
#
#
Been a long time for me and the black powder guns.
I am thinking that Pyrodex is suppose to be loaded by volume and not
weighed grains. That is weigh out 25 grains of black powder, then put
it in something you can see or measure the level, dump it out and put in
the Pyrodex for the same volume . Are you doing that ?
Roy
<rmower...@earthlink.net> wrote:
#In article <q8r8m3$jh$1...@news.albasani.net>, wmg...@gmail.com says...
##
## On Tuesday, April 22, 1997 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, Ewaldclark wrote:
## # Anybody know the optimum Pyrodex load for the Walker Colt? Literature that
## # came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
## # huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
## # ball and the powder.
## # If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
## # with?
##
## The best thing to use is corn meal . Make sure you use the same volume in each
## cylinder to maintain equal powder compression
##
##
##
#
#Been a long time for me and the black powder guns.
#
#I am thinking that Pyrodex is suppose to be loaded by volume and not
#weighed grains. That is weigh out 25 grains of black powder, then put
#it in something you can see or measure the level, dump it out and put in
#the Pyrodex for the same volume . Are you doing that ?
Yes, Pyrodex is loaded by volume. Worthless stuff if you shoot flintlocks. I
have shot nothing but real black powder for almost four decades. I used to use
filler loads in my Ruger Old Army. It wasn't worth the hassle. Fill the
cylinder with 3f Goex, about 32 grains IIRC I have a spout cut to the right
charge on a flask, seat the ball, swab with white wheel bearing grease and have
at it with CCI #11 caps (I changed out nipples to Uncle Mike's years ago). My
ROA loves the load and is the hit of the public range when I bring it out.
Shoot 50-55gr 3f in that Walker. That's what the real Colts were designed for.
Frank
# On Sun, 14 Apr 2019 17:00:15 +0000 (UTC), Ralph Mowery
# <rmower...@earthlink.net> wrote:
#
# #In article <q8r8m3$jh$1...@news.albasani.net>, wmg...@gmail.com says...
# ## On Tuesday, April 22, 1997 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, Ewaldclark wrote:
# ## # came with it just had info for regular .44 load. The Walker's cylinder is
# ## # huge & a regular load of 25 grains will leave a lot of space between the
# ## # ball and the powder.
# ## # If the recommended load is the same, what do you fill up the excess space
# ## # with?
# ##
# ##
# ##
# ##
# #
# #
# #I am thinking that Pyrodex is suppose to be loaded by volume and not
# #it in something you can see or measure the level, dump it out and put in
# #the Pyrodex for the same volume . Are you doing that ?
#
#
# Yes, Pyrodex is loaded by volume. Worthless stuff if you shoot flintlocks. I
# have shot nothing but real black powder for almost four decades. I used to use
# filler loads in my Ruger Old Army. It wasn't worth the hassle. Fill the
# cylinder with 3f Goex, about 32 grains IIRC I have a spout cut to the right
# charge on a flask, seat the ball, swab with white wheel bearing grease and have
# at it with CCI #11 caps (I changed out nipples to Uncle Mike's years ago). My
# ROA loves the load and is the hit of the public range when I bring it out.
# Shoot 50-55gr 3f in that Walker. That's what the real Colts were designed for.
#
I tend to agree. Pyrodex is OK in my Army 44 but iffy with cap
discharge in my percussion Hawken rifle. I would fill the cylinder the
way you suggest with grease over the bullet.
Have not shot BP for a while but when I first started I found it was
practically impossible to overload. I hear the only trouble you might
get in is that if bullet is not seated on the powder and there is a lot
of space you may have an over pressure problem.