Advice needed: Using FFg powder in a revolver

[pmburk59]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and new to black powder revolver shooting. I have a .44 cal Pieta 1858 New Army revolver. My wife gave it to me this past Christmas.

My father-in-law switched from loose powder to pellets in his in-line muzzle loader and gave me almost a full container of Hodgdon FFg powder. I have searched this forum and the Internet for information on using the FFg in my revolver and I have not been able to track down such information. I hope I can safely use it; if so, how many grains should I use so I can safely shoot a target 25-50 yards. I would appreciate any help or information fellow forum members can provide.
Thank you,
Patrick

 

[cynthialee]

yes you can use it for the pistol
It will foul more than 3F, but it works.

Increase your powder load by a couple grains. One of the bonuses about using the larger grain is getting the ball closser to the front of the cylender.

 

[pmburk59]

Thank you for your reply/advice. My manual called for 25 grains, should I bump it up to something like 28-30?
Thank you again!

 

[cynthialee]

that pistol will handle that load just fine and dandy
I'd start at 25 and go up by 1-2 grains per load out up to about 38 grains max of that 2F. My guess would be that between 26 and 34 grains of 2F you will find a good group.

 

[pmburk59]

Thank you again!!

 

[cynthialee]

I remember back when we were kids my brother and I would pour enough 2F into the chamber that we could just get the ball seated. Groups were for manure and it barked and kicked hard. But we were impressed with the smoke and noise.
My point is, that we were loading with alot more powder than is reasonable and we didn't blow ourselves up. We did however beat up on the guns.
So don't feel to antsy about adding a couple extra grains to the load. That revolver was designed rather well.

 

[Clovis]

I hate to sound like dummy (well, actually I'm getting used to it), but I didn't know Hodgdon made black powder. Could you mean pyrodex, perhaps R/S?

 

[pmburk59]

Thanks!
This is my first BP revolver (and BP gun for that matter.) I saw a BP revolver being used in competition on the History Channel's Top Shot and I thought it would be a lot of fun to learn and shoot.

I have found out that not many gun shops in my area, (Maryland) carry BP for revolvers. One promised to contact me when he gets some FFFg in. So in the meantime, I'll use the FFg so I can have some fun and experience.

 

[pmburk59]

It's the Hodgdon FFg R/S

Don't worry, I am new to this too!! I have a lot to learn!

 

[Clovis]

OK the pyrodex R/S should be fine. If it is a steel frame and not a brass frame 20 to 25 ought to be a fine starting load. If you don't know how to load go back over the posts here and you should learn quite a bit. If you still have questions come and ask. Take care

 

[cynthialee]

I didn't catch that part.

I didn't know until I came here a few months ago, but imitation powders are more corosive than real black powder and you should be extra vigilant in your clean up process.
Personaly I hate the synthetic powders. They stink to high heaven when you clean it up. Black powder also stinks, but no where near as bad as them fake powders.

 

[pmburk59]

Clovis,
It's a steel frame revolver. It has a strap over the cylinder. I read the manual that came with the gun as well as watching You Tube videos. I have a flask, wads, balls, measure, #10 caps, and now the powder. I have the wads that have bore butter on them to prevent the chambers from cross firing. All I need to do is get out to the range.

 

[cynthialee]

steel frame...
You got no worries.

 

[pmburk59]

I also did reading about clean up. Soap and hot water is suppose to be the best thing. I'm assuming I submerge the gun frame and cylinder into the "bath" and scrub it. My wife got me a BP cleaning kit from Traditions, I can probably use that after the soapy water bath. I wonder how much of a challenge is it getting the trigger mechanism dried out so it will not rust or corrode?

 

[Clovis]

What are you waiting for? :v

 

[David W.]

Are you in reference to Triple 7? That powder is a bit stronger than black powder, so bump it up if you want, but don't expect good accuracy. Triple 7 shouldn't be compressed too much either.

If you're only target shooting, why do you want potent loads?

Hello,
I am new to this forum and new to black powder revolver shooting. I have a .44 cal Pieta 1858 New Army revolver. My wife gave it to me this past Christmas.

My father-in-law switched from loose powder to pellets in his in-line muzzle loader and gave me almost a full container of Hodgdon FFg powder. I have searched this forum and the Internet for information on using the FFg in my revolver and I have not been able to track down such information. I hope I can safely use it; if so, how many grains should I use so I can safely shoot a target 25-50 yards. I would appreciate any help or information fellow forum members can provide.
Thank you,
Patrick

 

[bigdogralph]

I have the exact same situation as you! I also have a Pietta 1858 and it too was recommended to use FFFG, but the friendly guys in my hometown forum site mentioned you can use FFG safely, as well. The only difference between FFFG and FFG is the size of the granules of the black powder (FFFG being smaller so it burns faster than the FFG). But yeah, you can use FFG just fine. It is recommended to pour a little more FFG because you'll need to compensate for the gaps/voids of the larger granules when filling up into the cylinder. Don't know if that makes any sense? But I've also been advised that because of the slower rate in burn time of the FFG compared to the FFFG (which BTW is milliseconds) you will lose accuracy when shooting. But that's neither her nor there. If you can shoot accurately, with FFG don't stop using it.

Hope this helps...

Hello,
I am new to this forum and new to black powder revolver shooting. I have a .44 cal Pieta 1858 New Army revolver. My wife gave it to me this past Christmas.

My father-in-law switched from loose powder to pellets in his in-line muzzle loader and gave me almost a full container of Hodgdon FFg powder. I have searched this forum and the Internet for information on using the FFg in my revolver and I have not been able to track down such information. I hope I can safely use it; if so, how many grains should I use so I can safely shoot a target 25-50 yards. I would appreciate any help or information fellow forum members can provide.
Thank you,
Patrick

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

If the can says “RS” than you have Pyrodex and not Triple 7 powder. Make sure you measure by volume and not by weight. Suggested loads are given in volume equivalent to real black powder.

I’ve been using 2Fg loads of real black powder in my Piettas for CAS for awhile. They are very accurate and shoot softer than using 3Fg. I don’t know if you will have the same experience using the substitute powders.

By the way, you can skip the hot water for cleaning it does nothing good and can do some bad stuff when used in a revolver. I clean my pistols a lot and I use tepid water. Depending on how compulsive you are about using a lot of hot water and soap to clean your pistol, you might end up with rust on the inside of the frame because the hot water just stripped out all the lubricant out of the moving parts.

If you continue to use black powder substitutes make sure you clean thoroughly. The substitutes are not as forgiving as real black powder on haphazard cleaning.

 

[Leatherbark]

I hate to sound like dummy (well, actually I'm getting used to it), but I didn't know Hodgdon made black powder. Could you mean pyrodex, perhaps R/S?

Back in the day Hodgden either made or probably imported Black powder. Long before Pyrodex. I've seen picutures of the cans. I'll bet it is Meteor or C&H if I had to guess.

Bob

 

[pmburk59]

Yes it does, thank you for your input. I plan to use the FFg until I can get some FFFg and save the FFg for when I get a muzzleloading rifle.