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loading colt walker

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  • speedracer

    Member
    Jan 13, 2013
    99
    1
    houston
    Is anybody shooting the colt walker?the loading data I have seen list 3 different size balls.Are you using 2FFor3FFF?Are you using a felt wad over the powder?Thanks:50cal:
    Texas SOT
     

    Moonpie

    Omnipotent Potentate for hire.
    Lifetime Member
    Oct 4, 2013
    24,101
    96
    Gunz are icky.
    Shoot a pair of Walker-Colt's.
    Mine are Uberti made.

    I use a home cast SOFT LEAD .454 roundball. Ball needs to be dead soft lead.
    Wheelweight metal is too hard to adhere to rifling.

    Powder charge is anywhere from 40-60 grains depending on what I'm doing.
    Most accurate load is 47grs 2Fg.
    2Fg is normally recommended but 3Fg works fine. Just cut back a bit on the charge.
    I use GOEX mostly as it is the easiest for me to get. SWISS is excellent but more $$$.

    Home made punched felt wad soaked in a mix of beeswax/paraffin wax/mutton tallow lube.

    Lubed wad between powder and ball.
    I've tried the soft lube over the ball.It works but good lawd does it make a mess. Lube gets splattered everywhere on firing. All over the bench, your hair, your equipment, the poor slob shooting next to you. :green:

    Mine will shoot a 2-3" group at 50ft. using a soft lead ball.
    A harder metal ball of wheel weight type metal will open the group up to about 6-8".

    A .451 ball will work but you may get back out during recoil of the ball in the unfired chambers. Seat the balls very firmly.
    A .457 ball is also usable. You'll just have to apply a lot more force on ramming the ball to shave off the outer rim of the ball.
    There are a couple of pointed/flat base bullets available but I can not comment on them as I have not used any.
     
    Last edited:

    robocop10mm

    Active Member
    Jan 9, 2009
    996
    21
    Round Rock
    For soft lead you can use roofing pipe jackets, the kind that slip over the vent pipes. You can use plumbing lead or most fishing weights are pure lead. Pure lead should easily scratch with your thumb nail.

    For applications like this, I like to add a small amount of tin. Tin will have a marginal effect on hardness but will greatly improve the casting characteristics. 1-2% tin will give a nicer, well filled out bullet w/o significantly raising the hardness.

    Tin can be obtained in the form of solder. 50-50 bar solder is the most common. 1/2 a bar in a 20 lb pot of lead will give you an 80-1 alloy or about 1.5 % Tin.
     

    speedracer

    Member
    Jan 13, 2013
    99
    1
    houston
    Hey thanks for the info.I have some round ball labeled .451for 44 revolver,but they mike .444I think I will buy a box of .454.I have some 44 wads but they are dry.I have probably 50# of lead,some pure&some with tin.I used the tined when I was loading 45/70 in a sharps and the pure when I was shooting a front loader.I think I will use 2FF.Thanks
     

    itchin

    TGT Addict
    BANNED!!!
    Jul 15, 2011
    7,071
    31
    Corpus Christi, Texas
    Cool. I still do not have a dragoon but I'm very interested. I planned on buying balls. I know of a plumbing house that sells roof jacks and lead ingots.
     

    Paul5388

    Active Member
    Feb 17, 2013
    460
    1
    Rusk County
    I read somewhere the Walker was the most powerful handgun until the .357 Mag appeared in 1935. Of course, the original .357 load produced 1500 fps with a 158 gr bullet.
     

    SIG_Fiend

    TGT Addict
    TGT Supporter
    Admin
    Feb 21, 2008
    7,218
    66
    Austin, TX
    I believe RetArmySgt has or at least had a Colt Walker or reproduction of one. He might be able to give you more info.
     

    Moonpie

    Omnipotent Potentate for hire.
    Lifetime Member
    Oct 4, 2013
    24,101
    96
    Gunz are icky.
    Great. Now who makes the best replica?

    Uberti if you're actually gonna shoot it.
    The late generation Colt's are very nice but parts are not the same as Uberti.
    Avoid ASM(Armi San Marco).
    As far as I know, at this time Uberti is the only company currently making Walkers and Dragoons.
     

    Moonpie

    Omnipotent Potentate for hire.
    Lifetime Member
    Oct 4, 2013
    24,101
    96
    Gunz are icky.
    I read somewhere the Walker was the most powerful handgun until the .357 Mag appeared in 1935. Of course, the original .357 load produced 1500 fps with a 158 gr bullet.

    This is true.
    At full load(60grns of BP) and a 45cal Pitchard type bullet(weighs about 230grns) smoking along at almost 1000fps it ain't no slouch in the energy dept.
    Essentially it was a rifle load in a revolver.
    Capt. Walker wanted it to hit hard enough to disable a horse.
     

    RetArmySgt

    Glad to be back.
    Aug 14, 2009
    4,705
    31
    College Station
    I believe RetArmySgt has or at least had a Colt Walker or reproduction of one. He might be able to give you more info.

    I still have my Walker (an A Company), only fired once (full cylinder) it at the range range outing to make sure it fired. Its sitting in the safe as possibly the only thing of value my heir will ever inherit.
     

    Ole Cowboy

    TGT Addict
    May 23, 2013
    4,061
    96
    17 Oaks Ranch
    I still have my Walker (an A Company), only fired once (full cylinder) it at the range range outing to make sure it fired. Its sitting in the safe as possibly the only thing of value my heir will ever inherit.
    If you have the real deal Co A Walker that has been authenticated by Colt Firearms with the letter, you are sitting on a $500,000 MIN gun, ther are only 39 known in existence at this time. If the gun is in good shape, bluing etc it could climb towards $1million real fast.
     
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