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I love to shoot old guns, especially those from the black powder era, and I'll tell you how I make the ammo for my Alexander Henry Double Rifle made in the 1870s. This rifle was made for Sir Seymore Blaine, an English Baron who had seen considerable military service in India and was present during The Siege and Storming of Delhi in 1857. He also served at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 where The Charge of the Light Brigade occurred.
The rifle has several unique features. It has a Jones Underlever which is rotated to open and close the action. Two lugs on the lever engage matching recesses on the barrel lugs to lock the gun closed. It has back action locks, which means the mainspring is behind the hammer rather than in front of it, like the locks on an English-made William Cashmore Double. Another unique feature on this Alexander Henry rifle are the safeties or bolting slides. The safety can only be engaged when the hammer is at half-cock, and when engaged, it prevents the hammer from moving in either direction. The barrels are made of Damascus, which is common on shotguns but not often encountered on rifles. This gun doesn't have a buttplate or recoil pad. Interestingly, recoil pads were not invented until 1874. However, the butt of this gun is checkered.
Earlier, I cast the chambers to verify the caliber, which is 450 3 1/4" black powder express. By pushing a tight-fitting cleaning patch down the bores, I can measure the rate of twist. The twist in this rifle is very slow so I don't get a full revolution with the length of the barrel. Not a problem: I note the distance it takes for half a revolution and multiply by two to get the twist, which is about 1 turn in 38 inches. Alexander Henry had his own style of rifling commonly referred to as Henry Rifling. It consists of seven flats with a raised ridge of metal formed in the corner of each pair of flats.
The 450 3 1/4" cartridge was originally loaded with about 110 grains of black powder and a bullet that ranged from 270 to 360 grains. Commercial ammunition isn't readily available, so I'm going to make my own ammo. Brass is still available, and it's the same as the 450 3 1/4" Nitro Express. Commercial lead bullets are available also, but for this project I'm going to cast my own.
I have a bullet mold that will cast a 300-grain, .458 diameter bullet, which will work great for the 1 in 38 twist, and I'm casting them from 20 to 1 lead alloy. I slide the mold in on the rails and raise the handle on the casting furnace to allow the molten lead to flow out and fill the mold. It takes a few seconds for the lead to harden. Then I use a mallet to knock over the sprue plate, which cuts off the excess lead even with the base.
The next step is to lubricate the bullets. Lubricant on a bullet fired in a cartridge loaded with black powder must do two things: first, it reduces leading, and second, it keeps the powder residue, or fouling, soft to aid in the chambering of additional rounds and to improve accuracy. A soft beeswax-based lubricant like the one from SPG is a good choice for black powder cartridge rifles.
A convenient way to lubricate these bullets is to use a technique known as pan lubing, which will fill the bullet grooves, commonly known as grease grooves. The lubricant is melted in a double boiler. The water in the lower pan is heated and melts the lube in the upper pan without any danger of scorching it. Scorched or overheated lube will not work properly, so never melt it directly over a burner. Once the lube is melted, the bullets are place base-down in the pan with some space between each. When the lube cools, the bullets are stuck in the solid lubricant. Not a problem: I use a pair of pliers to gently pick them out.
Next, I need to prep the cases. The first step is to bell the case mouths. The expander plug puts a tiny flare into the case and allows the bullet to start easily without damage to the bullet or the case. Next, I prime the cases using large rifle magnum primers. I'm using the priming arm on the press, as the correct shell holder is too large in diameter for my hand priming tool. I make sure each primer is fully seated. With the cases primed, they are ready for powder.
The original cases were loaded with black powder, and I'm going to do the same. I like to use a drop tube when loading black powder as it increases the density of the powder in the case. For these cases, I'm using 120 grains of FFg black powder, which fills the case and leaves just enough room for the wad and the bullet. Using a drop tube settles the powder further down in the case as compared to just pouring it in. On top of the powder, I place a thin fiber wad to protect the base of the bullet from hot gases and keep the lubricant from contaminating the powder.
The bullet is next. It should be seated right at the crimp groove. Since this is a double rifle, I crimp each case mouth to hold the bullet securely.
I now have plenty of ammo, but I need to make one repair before heading to the range. The rear sight originally had a small ivory insert dovetailed in place. I have some pieces of ivory that were salvaged from old piano keys. The thin ivory will be perfect for installing into this rear sight. Ivory was used on piano keys from about 1700 to 1950. I begin by removing the rear site using a brass punch to drift it out left to right. 
Shooting old guns is a lot of fun, especially when you reload for them.
--Larry Potterfield
