Reply With QuoteIn my ROA, I use 24gr 777, pre-lubed wad & ball. Works fine for me
Found this conversion chart very useful: http://www.curtrich.com/BPConversionSheet.htm
Registered User
I appreciate that one should try various mix to see the results, I was just wondering what sort of load and type of load do various members use with BP or 777. Type revolvers ROA or Pedersoli or others that are available. My brief past experience was 18 BP Semolina pad ball and grease. All answers appreciated
Registered User
In my ROA, I use 24gr 777, pre-lubed wad & ball. Works fine for me
Found this conversion chart very useful: http://www.curtrich.com/BPConversionSheet.htm
Banned
18gr is a VERY low load with any .44cal revolving pistol. The recommended load for a .44 cap and ball revolver by DGW and muzzleloading forum is something around 25 - 30gr of 3Fg or the sub equivalent, but don't let the opinion of about five million other shooters influence you in any way....Originally Posted by Mac42
Mosts folks use either a Wonder Wad or grease cookie OR grease over the end of the chamber. Dunno anybody who uses two out of the three. But then, if you are only using 18gr, you'll need something to fill up the yawning chasm in there..
tac
www.muzzleloadingforum.com
Registered User
Used to use 20grn of TS2 in the Rugers and 18 in the Rodgers n Spencer. Used this load topped up with semolina and a dollop
of wonderlube over the balls for years then swopped to a LePage for comp use so now tend to shoot 30 grns of b/p in the Rugers
and the poor old Rogers very rarely gets an outing these days. The Rugers shoot really nice with 30grn, plenty of smoke, flame
and umph.
Don't know about the Pedersoli Remington as mines a Uberti Anvil conversion which uses Herco. As tac suggests, start at 25
to 30 grns and work from there. Pyrodex and 777 are used by volume equivelent to b/p but the same principle applies if this is
what you will be using. Have fun. Tim
Dialling code: 01344
Depends on what you want to achieve. The MLAGB published the powder and load combinations used by the winners in the 2002 championships and .44/.45 revolvers were all around 14 - 16 grains TS2 or Goex, with one I believe at 11.5 grains of Swiss #2. These would all be round ball as MLAIC rules mandate this for revolvers. Unfortunately that document appears to be no longer found on the MLAGB website so there is only my memory to go on.
It will depend to some extent on which powder you use as powder performances vary.
I find 16 grains of Vesuvit LC or 18 grains of TS2 (with semolina filler) to be about right in my ROA. 22 grains certainly opens out my groups and I have not tested higher loads for accuracy.
It is entirely possible that there are other loads which also give good accuracy, and like with smokeless, personal preferences also seem to come into play.
One thing we can probably agree on is that a full chamber (about 40 grains in ROA), while not dangerous, is unlikely to give best accuracy - it does however give a big grin
True freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes or do foolish things and bear the consequences.
TANSTAAFL
Banned
40gr is great for hogs. I have to admit that I'm not convinced about such piddling loads in a ROA - a single shot pistol sure, but with that cylinder gap AND a deep forcing cone...hmmmmm.Depends on what you want to achieve. The MLAGB published the powder and load combinations used by the winners in the 2002 championships and .44/.45 revolvers were all around 14 - 16 grains TS2 or Goex, with one I believe at 11.5 grains of Swiss #2. These would all be round ball as MLAIC rules mandate this for revolvers. Unfortunately that document appears to be no longer found on the MLAGB website so there is only my memory to go on.
It will depend to some extent on which powder you use as powder performances vary.
I find 16 grains of Vesuvit LC or 18 grains of TS2 (with semolina filler) to be about right in my ROA. 22 grains certainly opens out my groups and I have not tested higher loads for accuracy.
It is entirely possible that there are other loads which also give good accuracy, and like with smokeless, personal preferences also seem to come into play.
One thing we can probably agree on is that a full chamber (about 40 grains in ROA), while not dangerous, is unlikely to give best accuracy - it does however give a big grin
TBH, I've never heard of loads as low as that in ANY .44cal revolver, but then I don't compete in international events either, so I guess my 80 average with 25gr is a complete fluke. I really must try your squeakpip loads and see what happens.
I'll let you know.
tac
Registered User
Thanks chaps for the replies. When my FAC turns up it's out to buy a new BP or S/H revolver. The cleaning is very therapeutic so they say. Like an idiot I spent two years writing down my various mixes and lost them when I stopped shooting. I always used semolina as a filler but never experimented with a larger load and wad.
Registered User
With 24gr of 777 what size pre-lubed wad and then what is the depth from face of cylinder to ball. Do you use grease to stop flash over.In my ROA, I use 24gr 777, pre-lubed wad & ball. Works fine for me
Found this conversion chart very useful: http://www.curtrich.com/BPConversionSheet.htm
Registered User
What is 777 like to clean is there any difference in cleaning methods between BP and 777 is 777 as corrosive as Pyrodex.
Dialling code: 01344
They are pretty wimpy. Never chronoed but from the sound I am pretty sure they are well subsonic - starts to sound supersonic around 25 grains IMO. I have never had one fail to arrive at the target (25m) and they splash the berm at 50m. Personal best is 93 (10 ex 13) on PL7 but I am happy if I can break 90.
I don't shoot competitions (apart from the fun Xmas type stuff) as I find that it spoils my enjoyment, however I do shoot alongside some former international shooters and they all seem to run very light loads in rifled repro handguns. Smooth is a whole 'nother matter - those guys really stoke 'em up!
I use an even lighter load in my Uberti Remington, but a previous owner had it "breathed on" in various ways, including cylinder timing, lapped barrel, and a very small cylinder gap, so I don't think that citing those loads would be very helpful.
Give it a go - the price of powder these days.....!
True freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes or do foolish things and bear the consequences.
TANSTAAFL
Dialling code: 01344
Nominal ball size for ROA is .457". Not much point in going any bigger as the excess will shave off as you ram it.
If using grease then no need for a wad. Grease is mandatory under MLAGB rules but that might not bother you. There is some debate regarding whether it stops flashover, but I know of no modern cartridge which does not have lubrication to the lead projectile, and the grease also helps to keep the fouling soft. Most indoor ranges prohibit grease as the mess accumulates, so then you really should use a wad. Some also coat the balls with Alox, but I don't see how that helps as the chamber will shave off the area which bears on the barrel as the ball is rammed.
Conventional wisdom is to seat the ball just below the cylinder face. I have had some success with balls seated well in, but it seems to be variable whereas shallow seating seems to be more consistent. Experiment.
True freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes or do foolish things and bear the consequences.
TANSTAAFL
Banned
Just like the real thing, 777 washes off with plain ol' water. Pyrodex needs some careful cleaning, no matter what you hear. But ALL shooters of any of this stuff, real or subs, really need to get cleaning as soon as possible after shooting - on the spot is good if you can. The gun club to which I belong has loads of under-cover space to do this necessary chore.
My only downer with 777 is that it smells pretty odd - like a smell in a beet processing plant, and nothing like the mighty cow-fart of the real thing.
tac
Banned
Present company excepted, but I'm not spending the rest of my BP handgun shooting life in this country shooting 'water-pistol' loads that feel like the kick from an electric toothbrush. I've paid for that kick in the hand, dammit and I want to know and feel that when that gun goes off, it is damn-well going to kick like a real gun should kick. I had more handguns here than most gun-dealers, and therefore lost more, and most of them were ka-boomers. Sure, I get my fix over in OR every year, but as long as I can get reasonable results using my 25gr load, I'll continue to do so. The price of powder means absolutely nothing to me - I burn powder in my guns and coal in my trains, and I can leave neither of them to my offspring.
tac
Dialling code: 01344
Yeah - I know several shooters who like the sound, sight and feel of ka-boom loads (me too for the occasional treat). My past experiences with death-grip and .357 magnum loads eventually led to tennis elbow, which put a stop to my handgun shooting for quite a while. Still a weakness there so I will not risk a return of that. My personal preference now is for precision shooting (insofar as the term is applicable to muzzle loaders) but we are not all the same, and long may it remain so. Whatever floats people's boats is absolutely fine if it keeps the sport alive and the ranges open.
True freedom includes the freedom to make mistakes or do foolish things and bear the consequences.
TANSTAAFL
Banned
PS - I also shoot 10m match air pistol and rifle. I'm 69 years old today, and I've been shooting since I was six years old, starting with my dad's Colt M1911. Tennis elbow is the least of my worries at this stage in my life.
tac
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