I recently purchased a New to me rifle with a brass reciever .
It's an Uberti 1860 "Henry" that was produced in 2002. It  has the long octo. barrel, and is chambered in .45 Colt.
Being one from the dark side, I'd like to feed it black powder, but the gun doesn't seem to like it too much........yet.
At this time I'm running 35 gr./weight Goex FFFG under a LEE 452-252-SWC, lubed with SPG. CCI lrg. pistol primers out of WRA brass.
I don't believe the lube is being dragged to the end of the barrel, and the gun does not group well at this point. No key holing, but pretty much uses a paper plate.  ( Thought; I shoot Cap guns quite often and use SPG on top of the ball. Wonder if lube disc placed on top of boolit would give adequate lube boost?)
Have not used any APP at this point for powder but it could be an option. Lube problem solved.
Since this gun has a lot longer barrel than my Marlin '94, would like to use it for long range side matches, and just goofin' around.
Have a Pedersoli mid-range tang sight, but won't be drillin' no hole unless gun straightens out.
Kinda new to this long range stuff, any advise would be of great value.

Thanks,
Knarley

Have you slugged the bore yet?  You might need original sized bullets versus the 45 ACP sized bullets you have.

The Henry's in 44-40 seam to seal better when using black powder and they also tend to be more accurate shooting.  Just my 2 cents.

That is not a bullet I would choose for black powder especially in a rifle. Your gun will like black powder just fine once you get the right bullet.

Get yourself a good RNFP bullet designed for black powder that hauls plenty of lube.

Quote from: Cliff Fendley on February 10, 2015, 12:37:02 PM
That is not a bullet I would choose for black powder especially in a rifle. Your gun will like black powder just fine once you get the right bullet.

Get yourself a good RNFP bullet designed for black powder that hauls plenty of lube.

+1 here.  Go to one of Dick Dastardly's Big Lube bullets - they carry A LOT more lube than the LSWC you are using.  I have been using the 200s & 250s in my 45s with Goex for almost 2 years with great results in both rifles & revolvers.

Holler

An option to try that worked for me-  I bought some different types of B.P. bullets from Buffalo Arms to find what mine liked before I bought the mold.

Quote from: major on February 10, 2015, 12:03:44 PM
The Henry's in 44-40 seam to seal better when using black powder and they also tend to be more accurate shooting.  Just my 2 cents.

If I had it to do all over again, my Pistols & rifles would ALL be in .44-40. But seeing as how I already dug a hole, what do ya do?
What about a grease cookie on top of the boolit like in C&B pistols?

Knarley

Quote from: Knarley Bob on February 10, 2015, 04:23:50 PM
What about a grease cookie on top of the boolit like in C&B pistols?

As mentioned above, get the correct bullet. Problem solved.

Quote from: Knarley Bob on February 10, 2015, 04:23:50 PM
If I had it to do all over again, my Pistols & rifles would ALL be in .44-40. But seeing as how I already dug a hole, what do ya do?
What about a grease cookie on top of the boolit like in C&B pistols?

Knarley

How would you put a grease cookie on top of the bullet?  You are shooting cartridges.  Use Dastardlee's big lube bullets.  Or, shoot APP and you can use regular hard lube smokeless bullets.

Just put a grease cookie disc on the flat of the boolit, then slide 'er into the chamber. Most long rang matches, you only shoot one at a time, it wouldn't work for a regular stage.

Any way: The best I could figure, this gun has a 1 in 17" twist, .451 groove & .443 lands with 6.
Have looked at "Black Powder" boolit moulds........... one company lists the one I listed here as one.
The others, holy cow they are proud of them babies!!!
Am concerned with the lack of weight, to get room for lube , of course I won't be shooting at the Taliban from 3-4 miles either.
But at range, I'd like to be able to deliver some "Whop"

Knarley

You may want to try the PRS 250 grain Big Lube bullet. You can buy the mold from Dick Dastardly or get bullets from Whyte leather works. I think he offers them sized in 452 or 454. You'll love shooting black powder with those bullets.

There may be other bullets with a more suitable nose profile for long range but I have had good results with Big Lube bullets out to over 200 yards.

Howdy

That bullet you listed, the Lee 452-252-SWC, despite what some catalog may say, will not perform well in a rifle barrel with Black Powder. It simply does not carry enough lube. It does not matter if you are shooting 44-40 or 45 Colt, if you use a bullet that does not carry enough lube, the bullet will be starved for lube by the time it reaches the muzzle and the powder fouling will build up in the rifling, ruining accuracy.

There is Black Powder and there is Black Powder. Goex tends to be pretty dirty burning stuff. While we all enjoy all the smoke and flame our BP guns produced, the simple fact is the more smoke you get, the more unburned exhaust particles you are generating. More smoke also means more crud deposited in the barrel. You might do better with that bullet using Swiss, which burns considerably cleaner than Goex, but do you want to pay the higher price for Swiss? You pays your money, you takes your choice. If you want to shoot Goex, you will do better with a bullet that carries a lot of lube. When you have enough lube in your bullets, the lube will leave a greasy 'star' at the muzzle indicating that there was still lube in the groove when the bullet left the barrel. The best bullet you can use for 45 Colt in your 24" Henry with Goex is the PRS Big Lube bullet. It will leave plenty of soft lube in the rifling grooves the entire length of the barrel to keep the fouling soft and keep accuracy from deteriorating.

Regarding your idea of putting a separate grease cookie in the chamber ahead of the cartridge, there really isn't anything to keep it lined up with the bullet once you chamber a bullet. Chances are it will tilt out of kilter and not be very effective. You are really better off using a bullet specifically designed for the purpose.

Another option if you don't want to pay for the Swiss is to try the Shutzen B.P.- but Driftwood is right; the Swiss is the best.