I'm new to bp shooting and had a couple of beginners questions. After having learned that 2 of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers served during the Civil War, I gained a strong interest in getting a bp revolver. To begin with I'm choosing a Pietta Colt Army Model 1860. Now what I'm wondering is what is the best powder for it would be. I'm trying to replicate the original loading of 30 grains of powder behind a 216 grain .454 conical. However, I know very little of modern black-powders or their substitutes, so I'm having trouble finding what would be the best for this load.
Colt 1860 load
- Thread starter Heljac
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Texas Moon
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Use plain old blackpowder.
There are several brands available.
Use either a FFg or FFFg granulation size.
Read the owners manual to get an idea of correct powder charge.
You'll need a BLACKPOWDER powder measure.
Pretty simple.
There are several brands available.
Use either a FFg or FFFg granulation size.
Read the owners manual to get an idea of correct powder charge.
You'll need a BLACKPOWDER powder measure.
Pretty simple.
FFFg is usually recommended for handguns, especially revolvers. You can use FFg with slightly reduced performance; most people won't see a difference.
Real black powder brands are Goex, which is most popular; Swiss, which is considered a premium brand and is more expensive; KIK, which is less expensive than Goex and preferred by some; and then various house brands such as Graf's and Jack's Powder Keg.
Substitute black powders are Pyrodex (P is equivalent to FFFg, RS is equivalent to FFg), Triple Seven, American Pioneer, Black Mag, and several others.
One of the things many of us like about shooting black powder guns is that each individual gun seems to have it's own favorite load. Trying different loads with different propellants and different projectiles, plus using lubed wads or grease over the ball, gives you plenty of opportunity to enjoy shooting.
You've already settled on a projectile and powder load as a goal, but don't be afraid to try other loads and projectiles as well. You many find that your gun shoots better with something else.
By the way, many folks feel the Pietta owner's manual is greatly overconservative with recommended loads.
Real black powder brands are Goex, which is most popular; Swiss, which is considered a premium brand and is more expensive; KIK, which is less expensive than Goex and preferred by some; and then various house brands such as Graf's and Jack's Powder Keg.
Substitute black powders are Pyrodex (P is equivalent to FFFg, RS is equivalent to FFg), Triple Seven, American Pioneer, Black Mag, and several others.
One of the things many of us like about shooting black powder guns is that each individual gun seems to have it's own favorite load. Trying different loads with different propellants and different projectiles, plus using lubed wads or grease over the ball, gives you plenty of opportunity to enjoy shooting.
You've already settled on a projectile and powder load as a goal, but don't be afraid to try other loads and projectiles as well. You many find that your gun shoots better with something else.
By the way, many folks feel the Pietta owner's manual is greatly overconservative with recommended loads.
If the 1860 is a Brass Frame, consider to use and stay with lighter loads.
I just started trying out my 1860, using .454 Lead Balls, and have been very pleased with it in every way.
I plan on trying Bullets of heavier weight but have not done it yet.
Might need to load the Cylinder off the Revolver if a Bullet choice does not clear the Loading aperature when the Revolver assembled.
3F is a good Granulation for Revolvers...in a .44, probably 2F would do alright also.
I just started trying out my 1860, using .454 Lead Balls, and have been very pleased with it in every way.
I plan on trying Bullets of heavier weight but have not done it yet.
Might need to load the Cylinder off the Revolver if a Bullet choice does not clear the Loading aperature when the Revolver assembled.
3F is a good Granulation for Revolvers...in a .44, probably 2F would do alright also.
Tommygunn
Member
Heljac said:
Piettas use .451, although .454 can be used.
I should say one thing. I have had Uberti & Pietta 1860s. If you're planning on using conoidal rounds, and they have a distinct point, you may find that loading them with a Pietta will cause one of two outcomes:
1.) The spire (point) will be crushed or blunted as the round is chambered.
2.) The bullet will become canted as it is loaded, which will really effect accuracy.
Pietta plungers (unlike Uberti) are milled out convex. That is they match round balls.
Uberti typically (not on every pistol but on 1860s I've seen) mill the plunger to match conoidal or spired rounds. These work on both spire rounds and balls.
Just for your info: that's been my experience.
I cast the LEE 200gr conicals. Get a double cavity mold. They line up nicely with the chambers in my Remingtons but I cannot get them to fit into the Pietta 1860 as there is too much barrel metal between the cylinder pin and the rammer. I can load the conicals in my ASM Hartford model 1860 with a minimum of fiddling. You may be limited to roundballs with out removing and rebluing some metal. Look at a photo of an original gun and you will see there is a lot more room in the loading area. An off the gun cylinder charger/press would solve the conical loading problem.
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