BP breach seating

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  • Last Post 20 September 2021
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Ross Smith posted this 14 September 2021

Filler for Black Powder. I have a 32-40 rolling block that is chambered and throated for breach seating a tapered 165 or 185 grain bullet. Pan lubed with SPG. I have been using "flower foam" to hold the powder in the case during loading the cartridge case into the chamber after breach seating the bullet 1/16" ahead of the case mouth. That puts the bullet well into the riflings and seals against gas cutting, no leading with 40:1 alloy. The black powder/flower foam makes for stinky harder than normal bp fowling. Any suggestions on a different filler? The flower foam is just fine when used over R-7 powder. 

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longhunter posted this 15 September 2021

I have a CPA 32-40 that I breach seat.  I used a simple card wad. The wad was thin, 20 thousands thick. I use a Lyman 55 powder measure, Swiss 1 1/2 powder.  Drop powder, tap case a couple of times seat wad on top of load with thumb.  Pretty simple and effective with good accuracy. I would push a wet patch through barrel followed by a dry patch.  Barrell condition was always the same. I shot a 1/20 lead tapered bullet SPG lube.

Jon

Jon Welda CW5 USA Ret.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 15 September 2021

while recently playing with black powder plinking loads in my 45-70, i used

ground corn cobs

to fill up the large empty space between my plinker powder charge and the base of the bullet.  worked fine and besides it is cheap and i had 40 pounds of it left from industrial tumbling. ( too slow for my use ) .  i believe it doesn't clump up as COW tends to do.  maybe.

anybody wanna try it pm me and i will send you a bag of it.  i assume it would work the same behind a card or wax wad.

ken

 

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Keith Hartman posted this 15 September 2021

I read your post and am soon to try BP breech seating for the first time.  Just to be sure in my mind, are you filling the case with BP to the top, then seating the wadd flush with the top of the case mouth and then with a gap of approximately .050" between the top of the wadd and the bottom of the bullet?  I have been shooting BP fixed ammunition for decades and never had the nerve to try breech seating and now I have a gun with a chamber that can handle breech seating for the first time.  Obviously, I am somewhat apprehensive about the gap beneath the bullet.....Keith.

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Ross Smith posted this 16 September 2021

I'll try to address all 3 at once. In my 32-40 I use 40 grains FFFg powder weighed. This settles down into the case a bit. Worrying about ringing the chamber, I opted to use floral foam as it vaporizes instantly as opposed to a card wad that would"slap?" the bullet. All the info on BP and seating the bullet on the powder say that ain't good. My rifle is taper throated so it has to be breach seated. It also has a Douglas barrel and can use smokeless powder. The foam is no problem there. The fouling does clean up easily if I do as Longhunter does. Clean after every shot. With the foam I HAVE to clean after every shot or you won't even be able to seat the third bullet. I think I'll try Ken's wax wad, at least in winter. Where as my 45-70 can go 10 shots before it dies. I'll try using a card wad over packed FFFg That will leave less dead space. The situation with breach seating in my case anyway is the bullet is seated ahead of the case mouth and not 1/4" down inside of the case mouth. So, Is that too much space for using a hard wad? On a good day with peep sights @ 100 yds I can get 2" 5 shot groups with R-7 and 3" with BP. I said on a good day.

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Keith Hartman posted this 16 September 2021

Thanks Ross!  I appreciate your insight.  I too have a chamber throated for a tapered bullet for breach seating and don't want to risk ringing a rare barrel.  I think (when the bullet mould arrives) that I will try black powder flush with the case mouth and then insert a cardboard wadd flush again (compressing the powder slightly in the process) and then spot glue a .060" cork wadd on the top of the card wadd to ever so slightly compress against the base of the bullet when the case is inserted in the chamber.  I just don't want any airspace between the card wadd and the base of the bullet......Keith.

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.22-10-45 posted this 16 September 2021

In my .32-40 Stevens-Pope Ballard, I tried everything from veg. fiber wads to wax wads and combinations of each.  No consistancy until I read about Steve Garby using Wonder wads B.S. behind bullet....It works!  can feel wonder wad compressing as case is fully seated.  case is filled with Swiss 1 1/2 FG leaving just enough room for a .032" veg. fiber wad.  Bullet B.S. & wonder wad seated behind bullet.   I have only 100yd. range but 3/8" to 7/16" groups were shot.  I did use a du-plex load..4grs. IMR4227 next to primer.  1 barely damp patch thru after each shot leaving bore wet & drying chamber before loading.  12X Lyman TargetSpot.  Best of luck!

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Ross Smith posted this 16 September 2021

Pardon me!   I had loaded 35 gr FFFg and that is where my gap came from. 

 

.22-10-45: how far ahead of the case mouth do you seat the bullet? I'm about a healthy 1/16". I'll try the wonder wads.

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.22-10-45 posted this 20 September 2021

Seating at least 1/16" ahead of case..perhaps .010 or .015" more..i'll have to get out seatwer to be sure.

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