Your best bet is to get with a N-SSA member for some hands-on demo, as this is one of those things easier to see in person than to try and describe in text.
But, here goes:
So, N-SSA rules require bullets to be lubricated. If you use a round ball, lubricant must be applied on top of the bullet. Normally, shooters will use a small knife to smear lubricant from a container over each chamber mouth, packing each mouth with lube. In practice, only the first shot goes downrange with a full amount of lubricant because the side blast tends to clear out the neighboring chambers of much of the lube. But, enough remains to help keep the fouling soft in the barrel.
If you use conical bullets, the bullets themselves can be lubricated, and over-the-bullet lube is optional.
You said you have round balls, so we will go with that.
At a minimum, you will want the following:
- A cleaning rod with bristle brush that fits your caliber
- Bullets
- A container of lube (50/50 beeswax/crisco works fine)
- Percussion caps (most reproduction revolvers seem to prefer #10s. #11s are generally too loose but you can buy replacement nipples designed for them.
- Black Powder (3F is most commonly used with revolvers)
- An inert filler like Cream of Wheat
Many people will snap caps on all 6 chambers prior to loading to make sure the nipples are free of oil. I generally do not do this - as long as I can see daylight through the cones things are good enough, and I have never had a misfire on a revolver that I can remember. But, you are allowed to snap caps if you wish.
The simplest way to load a percussion revolver is to use the loading lever built into it. If you choose to do this, you would be well-served to have a loading stand that holds the revolver muzzle-up while loading. Not only does it make it much easier when trying to juggle powder, balls, filler, etc., but it is safer than trying to hold the revolver and keep it pointed in a safe direction while trying to load it. I will discuss that way first.
Loading on the gun
- Set the hammer to half-cock.
- Pour a pre-measured amount powder into the chamber.
- Pour a pre-measured amount of filler into the chamber.
- Place the ball on the chamber mouth.
- Rotate the cylinder until the ball is under the loading ram.
- Use the loading lever to make the loading ram force the ball into the chamber.
It is essential that you have a ball that is slightly larger than the chamber, so that it is forced in with an interference fit. This minimizes the chance of blow-by getting around the ball and into the charge, setting off neighboring chambers (called a chain fire). On most revolvers, driving the ball home will result in a small ring of lead being shaved from the bullet. This is what you are looking for. On some revolvers, if the chambers have been chamfered, they might not shave lead as the bullet is instead "swaged" into the chamber. Either way, it should take some moderate force to drive the ball into the chamber.
It is also essential that the ball be pressed into the chamber so that none of it protrudes above the cylinder face. If it does, it will jam the revolver as you try to rotate it. If this happens, try to ram it a little deeper. Worst case, the cylinder can be removed from the gun and the excess lead sheared away with a pocket knife, enabling the chamber to be fired.
- After all chambers are loaded, smear lubricant over every ball.
- Go to the firing line. Or, if shooting from a bench, place your ammo under the bench. This is to prevent a spark from setting off a box of ammo on the bench.
- Cap the revolver.
- Fire your shots. Remember for individuals you still only get 5 shots on the target even though the revolver may hold 6. I always keep the spare in case I miss the paper entirely as a backup.
Loading off the gun
Many competition shooters prefer to remove the cylinder from the gun and load it in a special loading stand. These stands speed up the loading process and make it easier to dump the powder and filler and ball into each chamber, reducing the risk of spillage. It also takes the wear and tear off of the loading lever and frame of the gun, and eliminates the risk of bending the loading lever on the gun.
In that case:
- Remove the cylinder from the gun and place into loading stand.
- Dump a pre-measured charge of black powder into a chamber. I then set the bullet on that chamber so I know it has powder in it and I don't double-charge a chamber. Repeat for all chambers.
- Remove balls.
- Dump a pre-measured charge of filler into each chamber.
- Place a ball on each chamber.
- Use the loading stand to drive each ball home.
- Smear lube over every bullet.
- Insert the cylinder back into the gun.
The rest is as above for loading on the gun.
After every 6 shots I use the cleaning rod with bristle brush to brush the barrel a few swipes.
In the N-SSA, we are required to shoot the revolver one-handed. If you ever shoot 2-handed, be aware that as with all revolvers you must make sure no part of your hands extends beyond the cylinder face. The side-blast from revolvers is considerable and can seriously injure you. Chain fires can remove fingers.
For the 1858 Uberti, you will probably find maximum accuracy to happen around 18 grains of 3F powder. In my Pietta 1858, I use 18 grains 3F Goex and 11 grains of Cream of Wheat filler. You will want to experiment with the correct amount of filler. Especially with a non-compressible filler like Cream of Wheat, because if you put in too much you won't be able to seat the bullet under-flush with the cylinder face and then you have a problem. Some people use compressible fillers to avoid this problem. I have only ever used Cream of Wheat so I have no experience with anything else.
The real problem you are going to have today is that revolver percussion caps are extremely hard to find. There were a couple of places listed online on the Muzzleloading Forum that had them. You have to be careful as there are a lot of scam web sites that look like legitimate online stores that are claiming to have things like Goex powder and endless percussion caps. If they don't take credit cards it is almost certainly a scam. If they require PayPal Friends and Family, or Zelle, or Venmo, or any other payment option that leaves you no recourse, it's almost certainly a scam.
Commander
4th Louisiana Delta Rifles
NRA Certified Muzzleloading Instructor
Bookmarks