Pedersoli does not only manufacture muzzle loading guns that are among the best in the world, used in international competitions, in hunting, appreciated by collectors and enthusiasts and as prop guns for the most important films and television series. It also makes – or distributes – all the accessories and consumables required for maintenance, loading and field use of black powder firearms; a truly extensive catalog that includes very technical and modern accessories, and products for sportsmen and hunters, together with other items that faithfully replicate vintage items. Some of these might be considered merely "decorative", but one might be surprised at how useful they can be. Such is the case with loading accessories, such as powder flasks, funnels, grease dispensers, or rods. And it is precisely in muzzle-loading revolver loading that I have chosen two specific accessories, which I want to tell you about, dating far back in time but still quite useful even for those who, like me, are simple enthusiasts.
Loading a muzzle-loading revolver
Reloading a black powder revolver is rather laborious. Essentially, the cylinder must be loaded chamber by chamber, first pouring in a precise dose of black powder, followed by an equally precise quantity of inert material (such as semolina) and then the bullet, pressing it into the chamber with the rammer lever placed beneath the barrel. Finally, the cylinder chamber is sealed with "grease", actually wax or vaseline nowadays. You must then continue with the next chamber. Only at the end each nipple is primed with a cap. In the photos you see a rather unusual gun, a .36 Colt Police Pocket Model of 1862 replica. As an enthusiast, I chose it because it is among the very first mass-produced revolvers to feature a fluted cylinder; the first hundred Colt 1860s also had a fluted cylinder but then it was only produced with a smooth cylinder and the famous "naval battle" rolled on it.
Apart from the consumables, black powder, bullets, sealant and caps, and the classic powder flask – which should NEVER be used to load directly into a revolver chamber or single-shot gun barrel – I needed a powder measurer and a capper to load my revolver. I chose at the time two accessories from Davide Pedersoli: modern reproductions that are extremely faithful, even in the materials, to period originals. These are the powder measurer, and the Colt Pattern straight line capper.
Why "Colt Pattern"? Well, compared to the Remington Pattern and the Zouave (for musket caps) cappers, there is only one leaf spring that holds the caps in place in the priming process instead of two. Today, you can find slightly different versions on the market, for example the measurer also incorporates a prick, which is useful for removing carbon deposits from the nipple hole, and the Colt Pattern straight line capper has a capacity of twenty #10 and #11 caps instead of just ten. The fact that after more than twenty years I still use the same Pedersoli accessories attests to their quality.
The powder measurer is made entirely of brass, and measures the black powder volume by means of an engraved ruler with the corresponding grains, which can be locked by means of a screw to the desired load. The capper is loaded from a hole with the same diameter as the caps, which is normally covered by a slider pushed by a weak spring; the slider is used to push the cap into the loading slot, where it is locked on the side by a steel leaf spring, allowing the cap to be easily positioned on the nipple.
In the field, pouring the powder directly from the measurer is quite simple thanks to its size.
The Colt Pattern straight line capper, model 036U060000, from Davide Pedersoli costs 28 euro, while the volume powder measurer with prick, model 036U189000, is priced at 32.60 euro.
For more information please visit the Pedersoli website.
