Republic Metallic Cartridge Blackpowder Factory Loads
Photos & Story
by Mike Nesbitt
Contributing Editor
Republic Metallic Cartridge Company is now producing new old-time ammo that is loaded with blackpowder. That’s real good news to a lot of shooters who have wanted to try blackpowder cartridge and shotshell loads but perhaps didn’t want to get into reloading just to do it. For others, such as myself, getting new blackpowder loads simply means they are loaded the way I like ’em, and they also allow me to try some loads or bullet weights that I haven’t tried before. A lot of Cowboy shooters and blackpowder hunters should feel the same way I do, and there certainly is a market for good blackpowder ammo.
Their website for on-line shooters and shoppers is found at: www.republic-metallic.com. A visit there can tell you quite a bit about their offerings, and I urge blackpowder hunters to visit that site just to take a good look at the big bull Wyoming elk that was taken with one shot from a .45/70 Model 1886 Winchester with one of Republic Metallic’s 405-grain blackpowder loads. That elk is quite a trophy and getting a good look at it is worth the visit to the website.
Now, a rundown on their line-up of blackpowder ammo will follow. First, they have a good variety of shot loads for 10- and 12-gauge scatterguns. In 12 gauge their Cowboy Action Shooting load features new high brass paper hulls loaded with 3 drams Schuetzen blackpowder and 1-1/8-ounce lead shot, biodegradable wad and a roll crimp. Those 12-gauge loads are available in both 2˚-inch and 2∫-inch cases. Field loads are also available for the 12 gauge and those are loaded with 3˚ drams of powder.
For 10-gauge shooters, Republic Metallic Cartridge Co. offers the hard-to-find 2-7/8-inch shotshells featuring new high brass Federal plastic hulls, traditional biodegradable wad columns, 4˘ drams Swiss blackpowder, and 1˘ ounces of chilled lead shot, with a roll crimp. Actually, the variety of shot loads Republic Metallic Cartridge Co. makes available is too great to list them all. And they do have waterfowl loads in both 10 and 12 gauges that feature non-toxic Bismuth shot. I’ve personally seen some of Republic Metallic’s shot loads, and they do look good, but the chance to do some shooting with them has not come my way, not just yet.
What I have shot are some of the rifle and pistol loads which are loaded with blackpowder and lead bullets. There’s an awful lot of variety in that department as well, and let me give you a good overall look at the loads they offer before telling you about the few that were shot from my guns. This rundown of their offerings will begin with just a few general statements; the cases they use are new Starline brass, and Federal primers provide the ignition. Two different brands of blackpowder are used: in standard loads Schuetzen powder is selected, and in the Match Grade ammo they use the highly acclaimed Swiss blackpowder. Their Match Grade loads are available in all of the calibers offered.
For the .45-caliber handguns they do offer both the .45 Colt and the .45 Schofield. The .45 Colt is loaded with a 250-grain lead bullet and the .45 Schofield handles a 230-grain hollow-based bullet. In the .44/40 WCF, they offer a couple of different loadings, some with a .427-inch bullet and others with a .429-inch bullet. Both diameters use 200-grain bullets. They also produce .44 Russian ammo with either a 250-grain round-nosed bullet or a 200-grain flat point. These revolver-sized cartridges are sold in boxes of 50 rounds.
Standard .44/40
Of those revolver cartridges offered by Republic Metallic Cartridge, the only one I have any first-hand experience with is their standard .44/40 load. I am assuming those were loaded with a full charge, 40 grains of Schuetzen powder, and they did shoot very well. Across the screens of my chronograph those 200-grain lead bullets averaged a velocity of 798 feet-per-second (fps). At first that surprised me, I had expected a speed over 900 fps. Then I remembered that the 900 fps speeds could be expected from a 7˚-inch barrel, and the Colt SA used with the new blackpowder ammo had only a 4-3/4 inch barrel.
The accuracy of those .44/40 loads was pretty good too. I hadn’t shot my .44/40 sixgun in quite a while, so I wasn’t prepared to give the blackpowder loads a real accuracy test. I can say that my target was posted at 25 yards and out of 10 shots, only 3 of them missed the black. The only thing more I’ll say about that is to remind you that I am out of practice with that sixgun.
Next, some of the .44/40s from that same box were tried in my old Winchester Model 1892 carbine which is equipped with a Marble’s flexible tang sight. Now I won’t try to claim being out of practice with this gun, and there is certainly no need to make any excuses. That blackpowder ammo in the Winchester carbine really did shoot.
Five shots tore a ragged one-hole group on the same target that was used with the pistol, hitting just over the X. The average velocity generated by the old carbine’s 20-inch barrel was 1,147 fps, which we’ll round off to 1,150 fps. That speed is right “in the ball park” for a .44/40 carbine, although the loads with Swiss powder should develop a slightly higher velocity.
.45/70 Gov’t./.45/90
Republic’s line-up of rifle cartridges can be looked at in two ways. First it might be called rather limited because they actually load only two different rifle cases. Second, their list of loadings can be called quite varied because of the variations in the loading for those two cases.
The two cases being referred to are the .45/70 Gov’t. (.45 X 2-1/10-inch) and the .45/90 (.45 X 2-4/10-inch). Both of these cases are available with loads that will satisfy shooters from the deer hunter to the 1,000-yard competitor. This rifle ammunition is sold in boxes of 10 cartridges each and the boxes are similar to the old-style 10-round boxes from the blackpowder era.
The 405-grain bulleted load has already been mentioned and that’s a loading I didn’t try. I’m told that the Schuetzen load has a muzzle velocity of 1,218 fps, while the 405-grain bullet in the Match Grade load flies at 1,286 fps. Instead, my guns were tried with the 300-grain bullets, the 520-grain bullets, and the 550-grain paper-patched bullets in the .45/70 case. All of these loads were the Match Grade ammo loaded with Swiss powder.
My 1886 Winchester take-down rifle sure likes the 300-grain loads. In fact, I like them too, and that’s a good deer hunting load if there ever was one. The 300-grain bullet is the standard bullet for the .45/90 when used in a repeating rifle. When that load was chronographed it had an average speed of 1,480 fps, and that was when shot out of the 30-inch barrel of my ’74 Sharps. Speeds from the 26-inch barrel of my 1886 are probably a little slower, but that rifle sure grouped well with the 300-grain bullets as the cover photo shows.
Terry Harper, the head man at Republic Metallic Cartridge Company tells me that same 300-grain bullet is given a velocity of 1,530 fps when fired in a .45/90 with Match Grade loads.
.550-Grainer
Republic generally loads the 520-grain grooved bullets in the .45/70 and the .45/90 cases for single-shot rifles. They can be loaded for the .45/70 repeaters, particularly the 1886 Winchester, but it is best to let Republic know if you want them for the ’86 so they can seat the bullets just a touch deeper. The 520-grain bullets had a velocity average of 1,265 fps, again out of the 30-inch Sharps barrel. This loading performed rather well out of both my Sharps and the ’86, loaded single shot, and if you need penetration on big game, this bullet will do it.
The last loading I’ll mention is certainly my favorite. This is the 550-grain paper patched loading for the .45/70. The folks at Republic have the 1,000 yard matches in mind with this loading. The Match Grade loads using this bullet had a velocity of 1,136 fps out of the 30-inch barrel of my Sharps. The paper-patched bullet is tapered and smooth sided, double-wrapped with onion skin paper. Rifle chambers do not need to be throated to use this loading. These performed rather well in my Sharps, but I think they can do better and that can lead us to another story.
Blackpowder shooting is in my blood, that’s for sure, and I’m very pleased that Republic Metallic Cartridge Company is producing new ammo loaded with blackpowder. In order to learn more about them and their ammo, take a visit to their website, the address was already given above, or write to them at: Republic Metallic Cartridge Company, 5 Gromble Way, Dept. GWK, Windham, ME 04062, or phone: 207-892-5027.
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