Yesterday's Weapons Forums

I finally reloaded some ammo for my Dutch Beaumont today.
This rifle made a long trip over the pond (thanks NebrHogger ) a couple of months ago and besides collecting dust it hasn't done much.

I used two type of "boolits" this time.
The first one is 250 gn in cal .455.
It is a bit to small for the rifle, but one of the members of the gunclub had good results with these, despite the fact that they are to small.

The other one is from a LEE bullet mold and is exactly right for this rifle.
It is a 340 gn in cal .457.
Behind both bullets I use 40 gn of Wano PP ( German BP )
As a filler I used Couscous and on top of that a small cardboard wad.
Lube is Lee Alox.

I hope to get good results, but the main reason is checking the rifle.
Not this weekend though.
Got a meeting of the Dutch Firearms Collectors Association.
I'll try to take some pictures at the meeting and post them tomorrow.

I will keep you all posted.


Ready to go to the range.





Top: 340 gn .457
Bottom: 250 gn .455




Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

Military ammo put a 345 lead pill in front of 60gr. of BP (1476 fps)
Also have data for a 400 gr in front of 55gr. for 1360 fps velocity
And same 400 gr (lyman # 457124) in front of 31 gr. IMR 4198 @ 1430 fps

Let us know your results..... and what powder smoked couscous smells like

_________________

It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

wonderfull , let us know how it goes

It isn't really worth it, Pyrodex is just as corrosive as BP. Maybe try the 4198 load or even 5744 loads (I would load as a 45-70)

Here is a link to load data for trapdoors using 5744

_________________

It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

I haven't tried the cartridge grade pyrodex but the regular pyrodex can rust a gun solid days after you've throughly cleaned and oiled it. The corrosive gases penetrate the microfizzures in the bore metal a work on the steel under the oil.

I had to clean my guns at least twice, once about 12-24 hours after the first cleaning, and even then had occasional rusting, something I've never been bothered with using BP and cleaning once with hot soapy water.

I have a couple pounds of Pyrodex P, and it's a very accurate powder. As mentioned, I really don't see the advantage of it over real black powder - it stinks as bad at clean up & fouls the bore almost as badly.

But I got exceptional groups from it in my 10.4x47R Italian Vetterli. I use 777 as it doesn't smell the kitchen up when I clean cases. No sulfur.

I also have Beaumont ammo loaded & will post pics & results if I can ever get out to the range. It's insanely busy at work these days. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

Thanks for all your replies.
I think I'll just stick to the stinking, bore fouling, gun rusting FANTASTIC black powder.

Hogger.....got some range time coming up tomorrow morning.
Let's see how the Beaumont performs at a Dutch range.
I'll get back to you tomorrow evening......if possible with some pictures and results..

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

I took the Beaumont to the range today.
I didn't take much ammo with me.
Just enough to check if everything worked as it should.

There was this other club member who brought his Beaumont along.
He didn't use BP though.
He loaded his cases with 18gn of VihtaVuori N110( that's a reduced load)
Not me....I'll stick to BP in this rifle.

All matches with these rifles are on a 50 meter range, so I put my target at 50 meters.
First shot was gone before I knew it, BUT WHAT A SOUND..........AND WHAT A CLOUD.

It took me a couple of rounds to get her on target.
I had to set the rear sight to just under 300 meters and.....VOILA.
Here are the results.
I know....only three, but it was the first time I used this rifle.
I'll just stick to this load for now.



I promise to take some pictures of the actual shooting next time.


NebrHogger, you sold me one fantastic rifle.


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

that looks good to me - nice round hole and grouped well for fiddleing with the sights

Thanks Michael, I'm happy with the results too.....but.......I noticed something strange about the cases.
When they came out of the tumbler I saw that they all were somewhat deformed.

What I mean is that around the middle of the case they start to get a bit thicker or maybe the case got a bit thinner just above the bottom…..I don’t know.
It seems like where the powder was in the case it is thinner.

What happened ???????
I do not reload BP that much, but I followed the same procedure as with the Vetterli cases.
Never had any problems reloading these cases.
Can it be that I seated the bullet with too much pressure???
Maybe I had to fire form them first and the 40gn BP were to little to form the entire case
I sure could use some info here.
The cases still fit the chamber and as far as I can see they are not damaged besides the thicker part of the case.

It isn't easy to see, but here's a picture.



Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

When you say 'thicker' are you refering to the outside dimension? If so it may just be a case of the chamber being larger than the brass specifications. When I fireform brass from other cases the area near the rim or 'head' of the case doesn't always fully form outward until a few firings.

Here you can see some formed Werndl brass that I made from 348 Winchester. It's hard to see but the area above the head is slightly narrower than the middle. This case took 2 firings to fully form this much. That was with 10 grains of Unique covered with farina & a beeswax plug



Now if you look at factory ammo, there is a huge difference in the shape of the shoulder.



I don't think the chambers were cut to exacting SAAMI specifications

_________________

It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

_________________

It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

Thanks again Bruce.
I'll give it a try and let you know how things worked out.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin