Powder size for my TC New Englander; please help the new guy.

[wolfe28]

Hey there;

I recently picked up a TC New Englander that I have been rehabing and I'm getting ready to take to the range. My problem is, what size powder should I use? I have a pound of FFFG that a friend of mine gave me, and I was thinking of using that. I have always been under the impression that FG is for cannons and big things, FFG and FFFG are for handguns and rifles, and FFFFG is for the priming pan of a flintlock. Am I on the right track? Will the powder I have work for my "new" gun? I'm planning on shooting patched round balls (1 in 48 twist), with a starting load of 50 grains of powder.

Thanks,
D

 

[1911 guy]

FFFg is fine for your rifle.

A good rule of thumb for FFFg in rifles is to start with a load equal to caliber. For example, if you have a .50 cal (I think the New Englander is a .50) then start out with a 50gr charge under your ball. Find which load gives you the best accuracy and stick with it. I wound up going to 80gr in my T/C Pa. Hunter under a patched round ball, but only after starting at 50gr and going up in 5gr increments.

The exception to this seems to be military sized bores, around .60 and larger. They seem to do best with FFg or even Fg for the heavy hitters like the large double rifles and shotguns pushing balls.

FFg is usually considered the correct powder for calibers over .45, but I haven't noticed any real difference in .36 or .50 using FFFg. Plus, this lets me keep only two powders, FFFg for charging and FFFFg for priming.

 

[arcticap]

When using fffg, it's recommended to reduce the powder charges by 10% volume from ffg to compensate for the smaller granules and slightly higher pressure, and also to not add velocity when switching powders.

 

[wolfe28]

Thanks guys!

Thanks a bunch for the info. This is my first black powder firearm, and I haven't shot black powder in several years. Obviously, there is a decent learning curve, so I can use all the help I can get. With a little luck, I'll be taking it to the range between Christmas and New Years.

Thanks again,

D

 

[RugerGuy]

T/C will send you a manual free of charge. I had them send me one a year or so back. Pretty sure you can get the manual online off their site as well. I have the New Englander w/Rynite stock in .54. Your going to love yours. T/C sell the nipple to convert from #11 caps to musket caps. Well worth the $6-$7.