copyright William Marion 2008
Black Powder Revolver
The Online Magazine and Resource for Black Powder Revolvers
January 2006 Edition
Does Size Matter?
Well at least for Black Powder shooting it does. You may have noticed that there are more than one size of .36 cal or .44 cal round and mine balls available. Which one should you use? The safest bet is to check with the manufacturer of your gun. If that fails, the chart in the reference section is a general guide ONLY! Use this information at your own risk! Too small a ball and you'll likely end up with just a lot of smoke and flames, too large a ball and you may end up being called "lefty" after a trip to the local hospital. Powder loads are also important and vary if using Black Powder or Pyrodex. Remember, you are using the same technology as a civil war cannon, just on a smaller scale.
The Great Smoke Out
Black Powder shooters may feel either embarrassment or delight when smoking out the Glock shooters at indoor ranges. You can do a few things to minimize the amount of smoke you make. If you are positioned near the ventilation outflow, hopefully most of the smoke will be quickly exhausted. Other options include reducing the powder load, but you must be careful not to go too light and risk a ball sticking in the barrel. One indoor range I went to required Black Powder shooters to use Pyrodex pellets. Suspecting that it was to reduce smoke, I tried a very unscientific test of pellets versus loose powder. In a Remington New Army .44 I loaded 35 grains of loose powder and shot while gauging the amount of smoke produced. Next I loaded a Pyrodex "P" pellet and shot another 6 rounds to compare the two. In my totally unscientific test, the loose powder produced less smoke than the pellets. This may be due to a number of factors. Loose powder being less dense than pellets may have less powder volume and hence less smoke. The other possibility is that the pellets burn more efficiently than the loose powder. I have read that Black Powder (Pyrodex, both are used interchangeably in this discussion) burns very inefficiently. For those of you that aren't aware, Black Powder is a propellant rather than an explosive and propels the bullet due to the burning of the powder. One estimate was that on 50% of the powder charge actually burns. My hypothesis is that the pellet being more like a solid fuel rocket motor may burn longer and more efficiently than the loose powder. While difficult to prove without more testing equipment than I can afford, the pellet by staying together, provides and opportunity for the powder to burn longer and more efficiently than loose powder and hence, it produces more smoke. Any other theories or educated guesses? If so, please e-mail
Pyrodex Pellets - Is it cheating?
Anyone who has tried to hold a black powder revolver in the field while juggling a powder flask and powder measure may be attracted to these pre-measured pellets of Pyrodex. While a bit pricier than loose powder, they do offer a degree of convenience. If you can use one of the standard pellet loads, this may be the thing for you. The constant uniform powder load may help improve your accuracy. But for old times sake and to experience what it was like in the 1800's, load a little powder now and then.
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