Black Powder Wad

Charge of bp for it can be variable. Myself, I generally load 30 grains. If you use wonder wads, first you charge with bp, then the wonder wad, last in goes the ball or bullet.
Pyrodex by volume, IIRC, is the same as bp. By weight it's different .... but I've forgotten the difference because I do not use it.

The maximum powder charge for your revolver is the one that allows the ball to be seated flush with the face of the cylinder, so that the cylinder can rotate without the ball striking the barrel. Lube can be smeared over the ball and onto the face of the cylinder and it should work just fine. If you choose to use a lubricated wad or “cookie” between powder and projectile of course the powder charge will be a bit smaller. In no instance should a wad be loaded over the ball.

Maximum powder charges are not necessary for maximum enjoyment. 30 grains of powder under a pure lead ball, with a lubed cookie between powder and ball, or a schmeer of lube over the ball, should bring a smile to anyone’s face!

If you use wads, place them between powder and ball.

A good target load in a .44 is 20 - 25 grains by volume of either 3Fg black powder or Pyrodex P under a round ball.

One thing to check if your wads are old is if they are dried out. If so, they can smolder when you shoot them. This happened to my brother a few weeks ago and he almost set a cardboard target backer on fire, shooting from 7 yards using some old dried out Wonder Wads. You can always apply a bit of lube to older wads. E.g., Wonder Lube, Crisco, or 100% pure neatsfoot oil.

Terry G said:

Thanks a lot. I have a .50 Hawken replica also. I think I was using 70 grains of FFG. Does that sound about right?

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Yes.

1.5 times the caliber is an old and very reliable rule of thumb.

Terry G said:

Thanks a lot. I have a .50 Hawken replica also. I think I was using 70 grains of FFG. Does that sound about right?

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Actually the best/most accurate load varies from gun to gun, even with same twist and caliber, the old rule of thumb is to start with caliber; yours would be 50 and work up 10 grain at a time till accuracy drops off then back down 5 at a time for best load. If 70 is accurate with your gun, stay with it.

Welcome back to black powder shooting. I've found that 25 to 30 grains of 3F BP or the equivalent in Pyrodex P is most accurate in my Pietta 44 caliber revolvers. I use a lubed wad between powder and ball. No lube over the ball. When working up an accurate rifle load, I start with the caliber and work up in 5 grain increments until accuracy starts to drop, then back down to the optimum amount.

BTW, treasure your stock of percussion caps. They are VERY difficult to find at the moment.

Jeff

25 grains 3f black and a 200 grain slug seems to be the "magic" load in my 1860. 25 grains under a ball with a wonder wad dipped in pure hot bee's wax (dipped and cooled ahead of time!) is the sub magic load. Although substitute powders will "work" and some like them, I believe real black powder is best.

Try 15 grains of 3F. Filler on top. That's in the middle of the range I've seen and used at the World Championships.

Not a hard fast rule but I like to load Powder, Wad, dab of Bore Butter, then Ball.
That way the lube goes down the barrel where you want it.

I still need to cut some wads for my 36 cal Colts. With those I shoot powder, ball, and lube on top of the ball.

Some of you guys are suggesting loads for rifles, not what the OP said he had - a C&B revolver. The thing will only hold somewhere around 35grs. Triple7 will compress more than BP, so you could get 35, maybe a tad more with a bees wax/paraffin wafer between the ball and powder, and around 32 to 34 grs of 3F. With BP keep it around 28 to 30grs and you won't run into the problem of the ball sticking up too high and having to remove the cylinder and having to beat the ball down in with a hammer.

paul harm said:

Some of you guys are suggesting loads for rifles, not what the OP said he had - a C&B revolver. The thing will only hold somewhere around 35grs. Triple7 will compress more than BP, so you could get 35, maybe a tad more with a bees wax/paraffin wafer between the ball and powder, and around 32 to 34 grs of 3F. With BP keep it around 28 to 30grs and you won't run into the problem of the ball sticking up too high and having to remove the cylinder and having to beat the ball down in with a hammer.

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Read post #5.

I, and several others here us Lees dippers for black powder measuring. For 44/45 the 1.6 or 1.9 are the ones used most. ROA’s the 2.2 dipper gives a nice load. The set includes a sliding rule that shows the amount of the charge in weight by grains of all the “F” granulations.
Normally priced between $10 to $13 a quick Google search seems to indicate even this “gun related” item is being impacted by the shortages of this current crazy market.

I throw a solid 30 grain load of BP then ram a Roundball home and follow that with some of my famous Possum Grease Lube!

You can't really overload a percussion revolver with the appropriate powder. It looks like a brass frame in your picture. Something to keep in mind with brass frames is that though you'll never blow one up with any charge with an appropriate powder, heavy loads will drive the cylinder into the frame causing a permanent indentation in short order. When this happens, the endshake will dramatically increase and the wedge will fit loosely. Doing so won't be hazardous to you but will essentially wear the revolver out. If it's a steel frame, you can completely disregard this and load away.

Blackpowderwarrior said:

I throw a solid 30 grain load of BP then ram a Roundball home and follow that with some of my famous Possum Grease Lube!

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I’ll bite. What’s “famous possum grease” lube.
How come folks here don’t use plain old lard. That be historically as close to bear grease as the average Joe will ever get.

whughett said:

I’ll bite. What’s “famous possum grease” lube.
How come folks here don’t use plain old lard. That be historically as close to bear grease as the average Joe will ever get.

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My top secret recipe of course ;-) beeswax olive oil and rendered Black bear fat. Theres no possum in it but i Thought it had a good ring to it

Blackpowderwarrior said:

My top secret recipe of course ;-) beeswax olive oil and rendered Black bear fat. Theres no possum in it but i Thought it had a good ring to it

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Right On! I was joking about the bear grease didn’t think someone actually processed it.

whughett said:

Right On! I was joking about the bear grease didn’t think someone actually processed it.

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Lots of things get used up here in these mountains. Nothing much gets wasted .