Pour the powder and shots down the muzzle?

[derringeer]

Hello. I want to be able to load my muzzleloader fast so I don’t want to use my ramrod. Can I use something for sealing instead of wad, that don’t need to be rammed down but just poured? Like sand or very small birdshots or something?

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Hard no! Better off using powerbelts imo.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

Interesting question. I've never used a muzzleloader without a ramrod. What load do you want to use and what are you shooting at?

 

[knightnut2000]

Hmm so you want to make a pipe bomb and blow your face off right?
If you don't use your ram rod to seat a single projectile tight against your powder one of 2 things could happen #1 gun doesn't go off or #2 there is an air pocket between your powder and bullet , then you could blow your gun up and blow your face off.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

See, i assumed he was gonna ramrod the bullet, just not a wad. In which case a PB or saboted bullet is the way to go. If shooting coni's then you don't HAVE TO use them at all if you have good accuracy that way. But i dont think think sand in the barrel is a good idea. Unless you hate the gun and want to ruin it in which case there are better ways to git er dun.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Now im wondering if sand and steel shot would be a fast way to fire lap a barrel... no, probly a bad idea.

 

[CatamountRob]

The title of the thread is “pour the powder and shots... “
I don’t think he’s talking about loading a rifle.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Sorry, i total misunderstood that. Disregard everything i said. Except about pouring sand down the barrel. I still believe that could be bad.

 

[Renegadehunter]

I've read of folks using cornmeal as a buffer between powder and projectile.

 

[derringeer]

Interesting question. I've never used a muzzleloader without a ramrod. What load do you want to use and what are you shooting at?

My idea is to make a muzzleloaded gun that can be reloaded very fast, even faster than cartridge guns. Which load I’ll use depends on which load that will work best for the concept, and my initially though was that shots should be a better option than a bullet, because then maybe they can be poured down the barrel, using the force of gravity instead of the force of a ramrod.

The title of the thread is “pour the powder and shots... “
I don’t think he’s talking about loading a rifle.

No, this gun will be more like a blunderbuss style short barell pistol. And instead of caplock I’ll use a permanent electrical igniter.

To reload the gun you only need to tilt the gun upwards and just throw the powder and shots (which are prepared in a case) down the muzzle, (which is very easy with a blunderbuss muzzle) and the next step is to make a holder for those rounds like a magazine so you don’t need to handle them separately.

 

[dbowling]

you can use cream of wheat or cornmeal, but it wouldn't be any faster then using a wad.

 

[45-70]

Hello. I want to be able to load my muzzleloader fast so I don’t want to use my ramrod. Can I use something for sealing instead of wad, that don’t need to be rammed down but just poured? Like sand or very small birdshots or something?

no

 

[Idaholewis]

no

Short, Sweet, and to the Point!!

 

[derringeer]

Isn’t the Minié bullet undersized, but has a skirt that expands when it’s fired making a sealed fit in the barrel? Maybe something like that can be a solution?

Edit I think it could be dangerous if the minié bullet doesn’t chamber properly against the powder but are stuck a bit up the barrel, and then the powder are ignited. However, that problem could be solved by making a papercartridge that holds everything together, and such a cartridge allows for faster reload anyway.

 

[toytruck]

Isn’t the Minié bullet undersized, but has a skirt that expands when it’s fired making a sealed fit in the barrel? Maybe something like that can be a solution?

Edit I think it could be dangerous if the minié bullet doesn’t chamber properly against the powder but are stuck a bit up the barrel, and then the powder are ignited. However, that problem could be solved by making a papercartridge that holds everything together, and such a cartridge allows for faster reload anyway.

You still will have to use a ramrod to load any projectile on the powder! It IS dangerous NOT could be, to have any space between the powder an projectile! No bullet with powder will just drop down the bore unless it is way under bore size, you then will either have the projectile off the powder or it will fall out of the barrel when tipped down. NOT SAFE anyway you look at it!!

 

[Sideshow]

That whole thing sounds dangerous....

 

[NatureNick]

Derringeer, can I recommend a good read? "The Gun and Its Development," W.W. Greener, can be had in various versions (Kindle, paperback, leather-bound reprint) from $9.00-up. Besides details in historical attempts to build the better projectile-firing mousetrap, many B&W photos, sketches, and engravings show engineering details of things previously tried. The text explains well why many things did or didn't work or become popular. Reid Coffield & Larry Potterfield's "Building Your Gunsmithing Library" also serves well as a bibliography from which to start shopping for both historical and technical references.

Looking at your other posts on this forum, I remember my own enthusiasm about inventing or refining ideas for things to generally advance the art and science of shooting, or at least experiment to satisfy my own curiosity. I don't regret that the first thing I spent a lot of money on was books, nor that I spent more time reading than tinkering in the first few years. I found that many of my own "original" ideas actually duplicated earlier concepts, as well as why some of such designs (even those patented) should stay in the "Historical/Academic Reference Only" and "Kids, Don't Try This At Home" categories.