Fouling Control?

[bsnjsmith]

Hi , I'm new to this lever gun thing. Picked up a couple Ubertis, 1873,1876.
What do y'all do for fouling control when shooting blackpowder in a lever gun?
Shoot dirty and clean every 10-15 rounds, duplex or what? 40-60 round.

[Don McDowell]

Use a good bullet copied from the original designs, coupled with a quality bpcr bullet lube, loaded over the top of a good powder such as Olde Eynsford or Swiss with a thin card wad between the bullet and the powder. Clean after every 10-15 rounds.
In the wcf cartridges I can generally go more than 10 rounds without the need to clean, I also use a thin card wad under the bullet in those.

[bsnjsmith]

Thanks Don! That'll get me going.

[Don McDowell]

Have fun with it. Let us know how it works out for you.

[mherth]

Google John Kort 44-40 and you’ll be taken to an extensive discussion on Cast Boolets forum that addresses black powder, bullets, lube, etc. very informative. I shoot 2 Uberti 1873’s with BP only in 44WCF and love them. You’ll be surprised at the ease of reloading, fouling control, and accuracy.

[Gunlaker]

I pretty much do the same as Don. My Marlin in .45 Colt has a sloppy chamber which probably helps. I can easily run 20-30 rounds without a hitch.

Last time out I cheated a bit and had a few rounds loaded with 7gr of Unique and shot one of those every 10 rounds or so :-) :-).

[bsnjsmith]

Thanks gunlaker, that's interesting about how many shots you can go between cleanings and the comment about the smokeless round every once in while.
I've got cast bullets that are .001" over groove like with the single shots.
This might be a loaded () question but what are your guys thoughts when switching between cast and jacketed ,factory boxed,bullets?
I'm trying not to relearn what others already have figured out!

[Randy Bohannon]

I have six lever guns all Winchesters , I don’t shoot jacketed bullets in any of them. I use B/P in two Win/Miroku 1873’s in 44-40 WCF I followed Savvy Jack and used John Kort’s bullet design from Accurate 215 gr. and 230 gr. with great success. I have intentionally tried to rapid fire a fully loaded magazine and heat the barrel up. I couldn’t get it to foul out. 2 wet patches of Napa oil water mix and a dry patch allows me to shoot all day. Shiloh solvent on a tight jag cleans residual fouling, then a tight patch of Kroil keeps everything nice. I have never seen a speck of lead on a patch.

[Gunlaker]

Randy I had to do some Google searching to read about that bullet design. It sounds like you've really got that figured out.

I've been using the RCBS 250gr round nosed bullet in my Marlin. The only other lever gun I shot a lot of BP out of was an 1886 Winchester I used to own in .38-56. It could shoot a fair number of rounds without cleaning. I used a Buffalo Arms 260gr bullet in that one.

If I knew now what I didn't know then, I'd have bought a .44-40 rather than a .45 Colt :-)

Chris.

[Randy Bohannon]

I did’nt figure anything out on my own , others did the hard work and expense. I applied what I knew of B/P loading and applied good technique I’ve learned from others . Certain guns prove themselves with cast bullets and my lever guns have proven far more accurate with cast lead than jacketed. I think pistol cartridges in lever guns do better with cast bullets due to oversized barrels in most, I am shooting .456” bullets in my Win/Miroku 92 45 Colt and tempted to go bigger as it would fit ! Big lube bullets and good lube for smokeless or B/P give me smiles on the target, I cast everything 16:1 it works extremely well for either not wild to mild and flat base bullets.
BTW you would be one of the men I pay attention to,