Blackpowder hiking handguns?

[CountryGent]

Well, I know I've learned a ton about the topic by reading your posts over the years @Andy54Hawken. And for that I am most certainly thankful.

 

[lucusloc]

I too am noob enough with BP that I waded everything. Now for the next question; how does one apply wax? is this like wax stamps where you lite a candle and drip it in, or is this more like shoving a wax wad on top of the ball?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I too am noob enough with BP that I waded everything. Now for the next question; how does one apply wax? is this like wax stamps where you lite a candle and drip it in, or is this more like shoving a wax wad on top of the ball?

I don't use wax....Although I suppose you could.

I use grease....
Ifin' store bought....it is Thompson Center "Bore Butter"....RIG gun grease...or Hubbard's Shoe Grease.
Homemade...a mixture of deer tallow and bear grease.

Load the chambers....powder and ball / bullet....smear a little of the lube / grease over the cylinder face / on top of the bullets / round balls.
That's it.....easy....

Andy

Edit to add...
Let's be careful with a lit candle around a loaded cylinder of black powder....

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Well, I know I've learned a ton about the topic by reading your posts over the years @Andy54Hawken. And for that I am most certainly thankful.

You are very welcome.

Knowledge hoarded....is knowledge lost.....
Andy

 

[crstrode]

I don't use wax....Although I suppose you could.

I use grease....
Ifin' store bought....it is Thompson Center "Bore Butter"....RIG gun grease...or Hubbard's Shoe Grease.
Homemade...a mixture of deer tallow and bear grease.

Load the chambers....powder and ball / bullet....smear a little of the lube / grease over the cylinder face / on top of the bullets / round balls.
That's it.....easy....

Andy

Edit to add...
Let's be careful with a lit candle around a loaded cylinder of black powder....

My homebrew lube is a combination of beeswax, paraffin, and Crisco solid shortening. I make it in a double boiler pot on the stove. I cannot recall the specific proportions of each, however it is stiff enough not to melt on a hot day, and soft enough to use in the winter. A little jar (such as Vicks VapoRub) goes a long way. A small stick (like a Popsicle handle) works great for scooping it out and smearing it on.

 

[lucusloc]

Let's be careful with a lit candle around a loaded cylinder of black powder....

Yeah, I was a bit skeptical of how that worked, but seal wax is the only stuff I am familiar with. If you are using more of a wax based grease that makes way more sense as you can just schmoo it all in, no heat required. Will any kind of water displacing grease work, or does it really need to be something with specific properties to not mess things up?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Will any kind of water displacing grease work, or does it really need to be something with specific properties to not mess things up?

Any old grease will do....I'd stay away from petroleum based ones.
T/C Bore butter is easy to get...along with RIG gun grease and Hubbard's Shoe Grease.
Some folks use Crisco.
Deer tallow / bear grease.
Don't need much of it either.
Don't need to over think it either.
Andy

 

[Mark W.]

The first handgun I owned was a Lyman 1858 Remington New Model Army .44cal. 8" barrel. I bought from a Gun Smith in Gresham in 1980. I have owned one or more of these pistols ever since the current one is a Navy Arms. I tend to load a 220gr conical over 30gr of 3f. And a #11 RWS cap. If I load a round ball then up to 35gr. I have always put a little wipe of Lubriplate over the ball the conicals are lubed with cast bullet lube.

As to the original question of this thread. I had a guy named Jerry who worked with the gunsmith make a very very nice old school Western drop holster rig for that first Remington it has served all the ones after. Not really a hiking rig but its done some tag along on hunts.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Just bought this yesterday...
A Uberti 1860 Army copy.
Looking forward to shooting it...and carrying it.
The Colt 1860 Army is my favorite percussion revovler.
Andy

Uberti 1860 Army Replica

• Andy54Hawken
• Sep 6, 2025

 

[CountryGent]

Very nice on the new wheelgun. There is just something about the lines of an 1860. And, yah, that would make a neat hiking piece too.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Very nice on the new wheelgun. There is just something about the lines of an 1860. And, yah, that would make a neat hiking piece too.

Thank you....

The 1851 Navy and 1860 Army...share the same frame.
So you get a very well balanced...and point able revolver.
You can....swap grip frames on them...
So ifin' you like the Navy grip ....you could put it on a 1860 ....or vise versa.
Also ....
The Colt SAA used the same grip and frame of the Navy....

The Colt 1860 Army has a excellent , streamlined design , along with the capability of shooting a stout load , accurately.
Andy

 

[Craig Lister]

Thank you....

The 1851 Navy and 1860 Army...share the same frame.
So you get a very well balanced...and point able revolver.
You can....swap grip frames on them...
So ifin' you like the Navy grip ....you could put it on a 1860 ....or vise versa.
Also ....
The Colt SAA used the same grip and frame of the Navy....

The Colt 1860 Army has a excellent , streamlined design , along with the capability of shooting a stout load , accurately.
Andy

As always, I learn from you and others here so much.

"Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold." – Proverbs 3:13-14

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@Craig Lister
Thank you for the kind words.
Andy

 

[CountryGent]

I realize they aren't made any more, and a historical purist would likely get a case of the vapors by me even mentioning it, but a stainless Ruger Old Army might make a dandy backpacking revolver:

I don't own one at the present, though one of my friends and colleagues does. I know they aren't a recreation of really any one firearm from that period, but they are fun shooters.

A little farther afield (no pun intended), and it would be more befitting to join my "garden gaggle" target guns than hiking piece, but I really like the Pedersoli Mortimer:

 

[Andy54Hawken]

The Ruger Old Army series makes for a very fine shooting revolver.

Not everything needs to be historically correct...GASP....
Hey do I win a prize if I break the internet...?
Andy

 

[Will_White]

I'd like if someone made fowlers and rifles with historically accurate barrel lengths, 42" is on the short side for historic pieces.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I'd like if someone made fowlers and rifles with historically accurate barrel lengths, 42" is on the short side for historic pieces.

That all depends....barrel lengths can be found in all different sizes...and in all different time periods.
Andy

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[Will_White]

That all depends....barrel lengths can be found in all different sizes...and in all different time periods.
Andy

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• Andy54Hawken
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Yeah I should have specified a time period, I'm specifically thinking of early colonial - revolutionary war, although from what I've read (and remember) fowlers remained quite long (compared to modern repros) into the percussion era depending on location. Thinking of some frontier traders ordering smooth bores with 40" barrels for Youths and 48-52" barrels (or longer) as standard.

(Also whoops wrong thread)

 

[thorborg]

Not loaded from the muzzle, but, I've taken hunting a 45 long colt S&W revolver with filled to the top of the cases of 3F BP then compressed using a 250 gr laser cast lead. I don't know the actual measured volume, or ballistics, but it worked for well for me with plenty of power.
Shooting at a familiar distant target it seemed to be not much different than my smokeless powder hand loads as far as hold over and such. Faster reloads than the front end too!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Yeah I should have specified a time period, I'm specifically thinking of early colonial - revolutionary war, although from what I've read (and remember) fowlers remained quite long (compared to modern repros) into the percussion era depending on location. Thinking of some frontier traders ordering smooth bores with 40" barrels for Youths and 48-52" barrels (or longer) as standard.

Well....
Not quite so ..at least from what I read , found , handled , own or owned..

Lets look at the 'Brown Bess"...
The First model used during the French and Indian War..and early in our Revolutionary War...had a barrel of about 48 inches...
The Second model...used in our Revolutionary War...had a barrel about 42 inches....
The Third Model...from around 1800 or so...used a barrel of about 39 inches.

Many Jaeger Rifles from the pre-rev time ...to the Revolutionary War used barrels from about 30 - about 36 inches in length.

Some Long Fowler did have barrels of 48 inches or longer....again..time and place plays a role here.

I have never seen a listing in a ledger , journal or the like of a frontier trader ordering a "youth" rifle or gun.
They bought , sold and traded what was desired by the Tribes in their area...which as a general rule meant a gun with a barrel from about 30 inches to about 48....those two an extreme...the average being about 40 - 42 .
Andy