Please help another newbie. If you breech seat a bullet, then insert a cartridge case full of BP, I assume you depend upon a wad to keep the powder where it belongs, or fill the case to the rim, insert case with barrel pointed up, close action and fire? Worried about an air gap, reason for the question. If you do it otherwise, how is it done? Lastly, where do you buy the implement to allow you to BS an 1885 Winnie or a Stevens 44 & 1/2?
Thanks!
Amanda

I've been filling the case with powder and topping it with a 0.030" thick vegetable fiber wad.  Russ Weber makes an excellent seater for either of the rifles you mentioned.   

Some use a cartridge case plugged with a brass rod that protrudes enough to set the bullet into the rifling to the desired depth.

When using bore diameter paper patched bullets with one of my highwalls I use an ugly home brew seater I made with a cartridge case, aluminum rod and a bolt.  Accuracy has been excellent with this technique.

I haven't worried a lot about small airspaces.  I shoot with an eighth of an inch, maybe a bit more, and have ad no issues.

I have less experience than many of the others here but have had excellent results so far.   

Chris.

Amanda
Good pointers have been offered on how breech seat when using BP. Sometimes a picture can put the parts into a whole. Below is how I breech seat grease groove bullets when using BP. The felt wad takes up the air gap between case mouth and bullet base and the card wad at the bullet base ensures the felt wad does not stick, momentarily, to the bullet base as it leaves the muzzle.

Arizona Sharpshooters sells a 'bullet seating tool' (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) that is useful as a breech seating tool if your load is such that the base of the bullet is in the mouth of the case at all. Have found it very useful in BPCR silhouette & BPTR mid-range shooting as I load the bullets 'long' and the tool allows for seating the bullet two driving bands into the rifling, which has improved the accuracy of the loads. Sort of like breech seating with fixed ammo.

JLouis-
I had no idea. I see Schuetzen rifles occasionally at gun shows, and pictures on this forum, with cartridge names like 40 2 &1/4 or .32-40, and I just assumed they are all BP loads. I really never thought that a Schuetzen was being used with smokeless, even in their heyday. However, for my use, BP only will be used in .45-70 1885 Winnies, and maybe a .32-40 or .38-55 Stevens. I don't care about being "competitive," as nobody in S.E. Texas even shoots BP much but me and a couple of others, and I do it in friendly 200 yard military or across the course 200/300/600 yard NM courses, only because the guys allow it and give me all the time I need. I just saw the thread and thought it might get me a better group, so I would try it. anything that decreases group size at 600 yards is a nice thing.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to post the drawings and instructions. I'll get a seater and try it out
Amanda

Another wad that is used is florists foam.  There are two types, a softer and a more rigid.  I  ( and the guys that taught me ) use the rigid foam and I slice it into about 1/8 inch sheets on a band saw and use that as a wad to keep powder in the case.  Some guys use thicker slices maybe up to 3/8".   I think its main purpose is to keep me from dumping powder into my action.  There are numerous types of wads to use, but I haven't tried anything else yet.
  I'm still new enough at this that I've got other things to fiddle with before I experiment with wads. There is always something  to tweek !

-06 

If you cannot find a match near you, there are always the ASSRA postal matches.  I just became a member and plan on shooting the 100 yard center fire benchrest, and off-hand centre fire matches.  It's not the same as shooting with a bunch of other people in a match, but it's a good honest way to measure your progress.

Chris.