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Noodly wrote:Am I making the mistake of not using a filler therefore the ball is seated quite deep into the cylinder?

Would that adversely affect accuracy?

I don't use filler in my .36 and am only using 25 grns of substitute - the ball seats quite deep but I've been getting good results. I don't use lube on top of the ball - just a lubed wonderwad on top of the powder.

I might try filler and see if it makes any odds - I see it as a bit of a faff though.

Dark Skies wrote:

Noodly wrote:Am I making the mistake of not using a filler therefore the ball is seated quite deep into the cylinder?

Would that adversely affect accuracy?

I don't use filler in my .36 and am only using 25 grns of substitute - the ball seats quite deep but I've been getting good results. I don't use lube on top of the ball - just a lubed wonderwad on top of the powder.

I might try filler and see if it makes any odds - I see it as a bit of a faff though.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just a cack revolver shooter

Noodly wrote:

Dark Skies wrote:

Noodly wrote:Am I making the mistake of not using a filler therefore the ball is seated quite deep into the cylinder?

Would that adversely affect accuracy?

I don't use filler in my .36 and am only using 25 grns of substitute - the ball seats quite deep but I've been getting good results. I don't use lube on top of the ball - just a lubed wonderwad on top of the powder.

I might try filler and see if it makes any odds - I see it as a bit of a faff though.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just a cack revolver shooter

Most interested people can learn to shoot a rifle fairly well quite quickly but shooting a pistol, even when you know exactly how to do it, takes more practice, shooting well with one hand and iron sights takes a lot more practice. Shooting a revolver well with one hand takes even more practice..

If you want cheap regular practice, buy yourself a target air pistol. You can buy official 6 yard and 10m targets and if you shoot them at that distance you will have something to gauge your progress with. First mission is to get 10 shots on the card, then 10 in the scoring rings, then all 10 in the black - that when the real hard work starts.

I'm not such a bad shot with either my LBP or my LBR, just the BP revolver that gives me a hard time.

Noodly wrote:Am I making the mistake of not using a filler therefore the ball is seated quite deep into the cylinder?

Would that adversely affect accuracy?

I did a fair bit of "research" into this and I've drawn the conclusion that no, seating the ball as close to the chamber mouth as possible using all manner of fillers and the like is probably more inaccurate that seating the ball into the chamber straight on top of the powder charge. Fillers just allow you to use lighter loads of powder and still get the ball on top of the powder tower.

Chucking a load of gloop and other stuff in front of and behind the ball, now that's what affects accuracy! I sh1t you not, I once saw a bloke in the club load his chamber with a small charge of powder, then a lubed wad, on top of which he added a measure of semolina, then the ball, finally smearing the chamber mouth with a dollop of grease..... then wondered why he could barely get all shots on the target, never mind a scoring group!

Sim G wrote:I did a fair bit of "research" into this and I've drawn the conclusion that no, seating the ball as close to the chamber mouth as possible using all manner of fillers and the like is probably more inaccurate that seating the ball into the chamber straight on top of the powder charge. etc

Not disputing your own findings Sim G, but we have two recently-retired members of the national squad in the club who swear the opposite is the case! Having said that, I've never seen any great results using wads but Sainsbury's semolina is a different matter... :)

Sim G wrote: ...
Chucking a load of gloop and other stuff in front of and behind the ball, now that's what affects accuracy! I sh1t you not, I once saw a bloke in the club load his chamber with a small charge of powder, then a lubed wad, on top of which he added a measure of semolina, then the ball, finally smearing the chamber mouth with a dollop of grease..... then wondered why he could barely get all shots on the target, never mind a scoring group!

Do you consider the lubed wad superfluous? I use it because that's what I've been told by everybody - to prevent a chainfire. I reckon the ball ought to be sufficient to prevent that so long as you're getting a decently tight fit with a shaved ring of lead.

Controversial stuff I know but most chainfires appear to happen from the cap/nipple end. Having had one myself once due to caps falling off undersize nipples on a repro Colt I can confirm it's not something to be recommended.

I reckon the ball ought to be sufficient to prevent that so long as you're getting a decently tight fit with a shaved ring of lead.

Personally I'd agree with you wholeheartedly!

Doz wrote:Controversial stuff I know but most chainfires appear to happen from the cap/nipple end. Having had one myself once due to caps falling off undersize nipples on a repro Colt I can confirm it's not something to be recommended.

I've always thought that too - especially if using after-market nipples with larger flash holes - that allow powder to trickle back.

Doz wrote: Not disputing your own findings Sim G, but we have two recently-retired members of the national squad in the club who swear the opposite is the case! Having said that, I've never seen any great results using wads but Sainsbury's semolina is a different matter... :)

Likewise, not disputing that. But there's two things that really don't make sense with seating the ball close to the chamber mouth in a B/P revolver.

Firstly, the cylinder gap. Whether the ball is way back, or wa forward in the chamber, it still has to "jump" over the cylinder gap. The ball will be in mid air, unguided and unobstructed for a nano second whilst this gap is crossed before reaching the forcing cone. Also, the cylinder rotates and regardless of how tight that revolver is, the cylinder will not stop in exactly the same position it did on the previous advancement....

Secondly, some of the most accurate caretridge revolvers involve shooting a .38 special wadcutter seated all the way back in the case chambered in a .357 cylinder.....

And what I did find is that balls started closer to the chamber mouth didn't have as much velocity as those seated further back!