Last night my future mother in law gave me two percussion pistols built from kits by her ex-husband. One appears to be a CVA Patriot model and the other is a Derringer. Both are .45 cal. She also gave me some powder which as near as I can tell is FFFg. What would a good starting load for these pieces be? I was thinking of starting at 20 grains.
BP loads for percussion pistols
- Thread starter HiWayMan
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20 grains should be a good starting point. we had a measure calibrated for 24 grains and got 884 fps with fffg from a ardesa kit .44.
results will vary depending on all the variables. In most cases, we got higher velocities with equivalent volume of Pyrodex P-but not this time
The correct ball diameter will probably be .440 or .445" with the standard commercial patch.
results will vary depending on all the variables. In most cases, we got higher velocities with equivalent volume of Pyrodex P-but not this time
The correct ball diameter will probably be .440 or .445" with the standard commercial patch.
Tried it out last night with 25gr. fffg. shot great with no recoil, however, at 25' the balls were hiting 12" high. Even with the top of the front sight buried in the bottom of the rear sight it shot 6" high. It was fun though.
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sights and loads
You might try a stiffer load. The increase recoil will tend to make it shoot higher, the reduced barrel time will tend to make it shoot lower. Experimenting will show which one wins out. Probably won't move the point of impact as much as six inches but it's an easy thing to try before you start modifying the sights.
You might try a stiffer load. The increase recoil will tend to make it shoot higher, the reduced barrel time will tend to make it shoot lower. Experimenting will show which one wins out. Probably won't move the point of impact as much as six inches but it's an easy thing to try before you start modifying the sights.
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