Turning A Cartridge Firing Cylinder Into A Muzzle Loading Cylinder?

[swampdoctor]

I have not tried this yet, but I am curious as to whether it could be made to work. My 45 Long Colt Ruger Blackhawk shoots 454 round balls to perfection up to 100 feet, perfect squirrel range. I have a Ruger BH 30 Carbine cylinder and I am kicking around the idea of threading the chamber end and installing a bushing for 209 shotgun primers. Then screwing it in to rest against an appropriate thickness feeler guage at the breechface so that the 209 primers do not bind. Then boring the other end to just shy of the 209 bushing, to a diameter of 0.453 and honing it smooth. But i would chamfer the chamber mouth with my Lyman VLD tool which I already use on all of my C&B revolvers with great results. I realize that I am Uninventing The Wheel here, and trading in toilet paper for a handfull of wet grass, but why not be able to use my favorite revolver during Blackpowder Hunting Season? Switching to extra preloaded cylinders would be a snap, And my trusty 40 year old cylinder would always be at the ready if need be.

 

[Rbeckett]

In view of the pressures modern Black powders develop I would make sure to use a high strength material and get it Furnace hardened once it is installed and sweated in so it doesn't try to go down the barrel too. Otherwise why Not??? Sounds way cool to me. Just keep in mind I am not a gunsmith so I could be 100% wrong too.

Bob