How to Handload Black Powder Cartridges

Reloading spent cartridges is sensible and economical. Black powder cartridges in some calibers are difficult to find. It makes sense for those who love to shoot blackpowder to reload cartridges with it. Most of the following loads were developed using traditional bullet designs in cast lead with large lubricating grooves and with traditional lubricants. There are many formulas for making lubricants for black powder firearms and a large handful of brands on the market. In a separate article I will give formulas for lubricants I make and use, but for now let me recommend Thompson Bore Butter as my preferred lubricant for black powder firearms in general when I must resort to purchasing a commercialproduct. It closely resembles the best of the lubricants made during the late 18th and throughout the 19th

century and used by competition marksmen of that time. I use it interchangably with my homemade product.

Cast bullets like the large Keith style and the round nose flat points are my favorite for most blackpowder cartridge firearms. The purpose of this article is not to explore the extensive lore of loading black powder but to outline the most sensible approach. Recently there has been a great deal ofhoopla made regarding the use of progressive loaders and carefully weighed charges for black powder. This can be done of course but the real key to safe and accurate blackpowder loading is to drop chargesvia a long copper tube into the cartridge case carefully filling each to just the right level so that the bullet can be placed onto the charge with only light compression. This charge can then be measured and used for a charge bar in a progressive loader, but I find the most satisfactory method is to load black powder by volume and cartridges one at a time. I will prime the clean and sized cases using either a progressive loader or a hand tool. I then drop the powder via a long drop tube to the appropriate level placing each charged case aside. The lubed bullet is then placed on top of the charge usually without an over powder wad. The goal is to eliminate any potential airspace by light compression of the charge. This enhances safety and decreases the chances of destructive detonation. This procedure also works well with Pyrodex and other blackpowder substitutes.

With blackpowder all airspace must be eliminated. Failure to do so could lead to ringing of the chamber or other bulging. In some older thin walled cylinders this could actually blow a wall of a chamber out resulting in damage to the firearm and potential injury to the shooter.

I load bigbore rifle cartridges with black powder using the drop tube method which insures the highest density charge and elimination of airspaces. I find this method satisfactory for all cartridges loaded from the 38 special to the 45-70, 45-110 and the 577. A crimped and sealed blackpowder cartridge willremain effective for more than 20 years if kept in a cool dry state. I rarely use an overpowder wad or lubricate the base of a projectile since this will cause a small amount of powder contamination. If you already reload with modern powders try these methods with blackpowder for safe and accurate results! I will continue this series of articles on blackpowder cartridges next time.