Description
Instructions
This is our Basic Kit, meaning that you will have to get your own 1/2" or 5/8" circle cutter online, as well as All Purpose glue sticks (not school glue), rolling papers, and lube. We strongly suggest the rice paper rolling papers offered in our kits. Lube can be made easily with 50/50 beeswax and beef tallow, which are on eBay.
The kit comes with the two-piece knob and block for this specific caliber, calibers, or in some cases a specific gun. It also includes the powder dipper or dippers for the correct height of powder, and one funnel, regardless of how many sets you are purchasing.
All of our kits are engineered to fill the chamber so that the top of a conical bullet reaches the very top of the chamber when compressed with the loading lever. Small variances in height can be obtained by how much you fill or overfill the dipper.
For lower power target loads, you fill the powder first, for how much you want to use, then top it off with Cream of Wheat to about an 8th of an inch below the rim of the paper.
For roundballs, if you want them topped right up, you should fill the dipper to overflowing, with a little on the handle.
Experiment with your gun so you don't run into a situation where the bullet or ball will not compress enough to clear the cylinder. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
If you do get stuck, which most of us have, take your cylinder out and hacksaw the top off of the bullet.
None of our kits come with gunpowder, bullets, caps or of course the guns in the pictures. Our measurements are based on our experience, and you use them at your own risk.
This Old Army kit was engineered for the Ruger Old Army cap & ball pistol. It is slightly different than a standard .44, because the cylinders are about .005 inches wider, allowing slightly more powder.
The tallest, heaviest bullet available that works with this gun is the Walker bullet from Eras Gone Bullet Molds. If you fill the dipper so that no powder overlaps the edges, that bullet will be topped up to the top of the cylinder.
The Johnson & Dow shaves in the ROA, but we have not tested it for accuracy to see if it centers properly. There are several other bullets from Lee that work in the ROA, and we will test them at some point. You will have to experiment with your bullet in your gun to find the correct powder measurement. 