I have always heard that when loading black powder that having any air space between the powder and slug was an absolute no-no. Seems that when breech seating you would have a space. Have I gotten some bum information?

?

Joe your reply to the poster seems to have a contradiction, or a typo in it that is a mite confusing.  At least to me.

Fixed Ammo black powder I seat the bullet on top of the powder. Breech seating black I put a cork wad on top of the powder to keep it from spilling when loading. Insert the bullet ahead of the case. There is a gap.

Not a problem with a modern steel target rifle. Old musket or shotgun something to avoid.  Every breech seated black powder round we shoot has air space.

Boats

Ziggy
Breech seating BP works great, and with lots of work, the results will be very satisfying. Recently shot five five shot groups at 100yds with a agg. of .640". Smallest group was .435". This was in a CPA 32/40 with 20X Unertl.
bob

One year I used thirty five grains of black powder in my 38/55 at Butte.  Air gap in a case is okay with black powder.  Was shooting fixed. Same goes for breech seating, air space will not do any damage.  If you breech seat a bullet  3-4-5-6-7-8- inches  into bore, then fire the gun it will do damage. Most likely ring the barrel. Old thin barrel it may burst like Boats said.

DW, where are you?


               Joe. 

urban myth - with a reasonable air space, no issues at all. I've been shooting period military Martini's with 85grains of Fg, which means air between powder and bullet.  Shot probably 1000+ rounds as such, andyes, I'm still alive, and the rifles still look pretty good - no burst barrels, no chamber rings or whatever?  After all, if W.W. Greener advocated the use of partial charges, who are we to say otherwise?

From the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co Catalog No. 50 regarding the .25-21 Stevens C. F. cartridge:

"As the shell is straight inside, reduced charges with a wad on the powder can be used and accuracy maintained, thus giving in one cartridge a wide range in the ammunition, allowing the shooter to use anything from the light load with a few grains of powder and a 67-grain bullet, up to the full charge of powder with the 86-grain bullet, or the full charge of powder with the 67 or 77-grain bullet for hunting purposes, where an extremely flat trajectory with great velocity is desired.
     In loading with reduced charges, the bullet should be seated just as if the full charge was used, not pushed right down into the shell on the powder. These shells should not be crimped."

Although the above statement pertains to fixed ammunition, it does show that Stevens considered a reasonable air space to be an acceptable practice with black powder in the 44 action with what we now consider to be soft steel barrels.