Black powder reloading?

When reloading a 45-70 with black powder how do I ensure there is no air gap between the bullet and powder charge?Black powder reloading?
Dropper tubes were used in black powder reloading for this purpose. With the help of a dropper tube, the powder will be stacked on top of each other so there will be little space between each powder grains. Also, all powder inside a black powder cartridge should be compressed. The use of a dropper tube and compressed loads will eliminate any air pockets inside the cartridge.





PS: Long dropper tube work better with bigger cartridges.Black powder reloading?
Hello 310S.





You are needlessly concerned about air pockets with the wrong powder! Generally, your blackpowder charge will fill the case ... especially if you are shooting a ';Duplex'; load! Air space is of greater impact when you are loading smokeless powder, because the powder orientation will not only affect bullect velocity, but also your bullet's accuracy!





Generally, when you drop your powder down a drop tube, the grains will orient and better fill the case. Generally, when you seat the bullet, you will hear a grating crunch ... this is when the bullet compresses the powder.





Do not stress over air space in blackpowder loads!





Good luck and good shooting!
When loading any cartridge with black powder, the case of the cartridge usually holds only that amount of powder when full enough to just let the bullet seat with a slight crushing of powder. I load my .45-120 cartridges with ffG black powder and the cases will hold a maximum of only about 115 grains of powder. It is when you want to load your cartridges with a light load that you will have to worry about airspace between the powder and the bullet. When I make light loads for my .45-120, I put in the amount of powder that I want to use. Then I place a cardboard wad over the powder and press it into place with a dowel. Then I finish filing the cartridge with either coarse ground cornemal or Cream of Wheat leaving just enough room for the bullet to be fully seated. For the overpowder wads, I use posterboard or the cardboard from the back ot writing tablets. I have a punch that will cut .45 caliber wads. If you don't have a punch, you can use wadded paper or do what the old timers did and use pieces of waspnest on top of the powder. Just tamp it solidly in place so that you form a seal between the powder and whatever filler you choose to use on top of the powder.





You can find this technique discussed in further dertail in many blackpowder manuals. You can probably find one at your library or have them get one for you on interlibrary loan.





WARNING!! Never use any kind of filler or wadding when using smokeless powder. You can cause an overpressure that can damage your gun and possibly injure you. This warning does not apply to blackpowder substitutes. You may treat them just as you would real blackpowder. For the most part, they are equil in performance to black powder on a volume basis. However, some, such as Triple 7, will generate more pressure than an equil volume of blackpowder. I have never had any problem when shooting Triple 7 in my .45-120 but I can tell that it has a bit more recoil than when using the same volume of blackpowder. Jusat for safety's sake, if you use Triple 7, reduce you loads slightly. I'd suggest reducing by about 10 grain volume equivalent. That is to say, set your powder measure to 60 grains instead of 70 grains toi start with. You may be able to move it up to 65 grains volume equivalent after trying 60 grains volume equivalent. Stay safe and have fun.
45-70 black powder should be 70 grains of fffg. I have not built a BP load with the new BP subsitutes...those may have a different volume for the charge weight when compared with genuine black powder.





I have seen paper or wadding over powder if the case isnt full on some BP loads.





I'd look up the dimensions for over all length... seat a bullet and check it...you may have to play with the charge or seating depth to get what you want.
The original load for the rifle was 70 grains of FF black powder under a 500 grain lead bullet.





The carbine load was 65 grains of FF under a 405 grain bullet.





For filler I've used cotton balls. Use real cotton, not rayon or any other fake cotton ball. You can also use Walter's Wads. These are fiber wads cut in circles and slightly over bore diameter. The original used paper wads so the Walter's should be the best. Just make sure the powder charge is compressed a bit and put a heavy crimp on the bullet. I buy the Walter's Wads from www.midwayusa.com
If you're loading lighter loads that *really* don't fill the space, get yourself a box of Cream Of Wheat and use that. It's probably used by more reloaders than it is by folks eating it for breakfast.