Smith Carbine question

[Griebz]

Hey all

This might be a question for you cavalry fellas out there. I'm picking up a smith carbine for plinking and I wanted to know what some tips might be for loading the cartridges. What kind of bullet lube etc.. I also saw reference to guys putting a small piece of newspaper in the bottom of the case to keep the powder from spilling out.
Anyways any advice will be great. This carbine looks like a blast to shoot.

Peter Griebel

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Lads tend to use a .515 or sometimes a .520 bullet.

Smith cartridge tubes are NUG plastic or nylon, and are of two versions, a slightly more expensive version with brass grommet liners in the touch-hole, or a slightly cheap version with just a hole. (I have not seen any in a while, but they used to be brass Smith cartridge tubes.

Some lads experimented with soft vinyl tubes, but I tried them and did not like them (extraction issues and seating the bullet issues for me).

If not enlarged by burn-out, the grommet lined versions will not dribble FFF, but the unlined ones can dribble out FFF as well as FF powder.

Lads have their ways, but here are three common ones for dealing with the exposed touch-hole (one issue having once led to a Smith barrel bursting)

1. Using a punch, some lads punch out circular disks from newspaper. And place the disk at the bototm of the cartridge, followed by the powder charge, and where the charge is less than the capacity of the cartridge, added filler in the form of say cream-of-wheat- or corn meal (blackpowder abhors empty space in cartridges and can lead to chamber bursting with "live cartridges").

2. Using scissors, some lads simply cut small squares of toilet or tissue paper. And place a square at the bototm of the cartridge, followed by the powder charge, and where the charge is less than the capacity of the cartridge, added filler in the form of say cream-of-wheat- or corn meal (blackpowder abhors empty space in cartridges and can lead to chamber bursting with "live cartridges").

3. Some lads use the self-adhesive "sticky" inventory dots from an office supply store to cover the touch hole. Some lad scrape them off with their finger nails, or just shoot through them with higher quality caps. And place a sticky dot at the outsdie bottom of the cartridge, followed by the powder charge, and where the charge is less than the capacity of the cartridge, added filler in the form of say cream-of-wheat- or corn meal (blackpowder abhors empty space in cartridges and can lead to chamber bursting with "live cartridges").

Curt

[Griebz]

Wow.. Thank you Curt. This is great information. I really appreciate it. And the percussion cap will go through the toilet tissue and ignite the powder without delay? Awesome

Thanks

Pete Griebel