1851 colt how much powder

[george tennant]

bought pietta colt steel frame 1851 navy .36 cal. from cabelas. pietta instruction booklet says use 9-12 gr. of fffg powder. cabelas sent there there own instruction booklet it says use 22 gr of fffg powder, which one is right?

 

[Mike Brooks]

Mine like around 19 grains

 

[Zonie]

IMO, any load from 17 to 22 grains of FFFg would be correct for a .36 shooting .375-.376 dia roundballs.

If the pistol is a brass framed gun keep the loads down towards the low end.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Whatever load you choose, be sure the ball is seated on the powder. I use 25 grains FFFg by volume and the ball seats down on the charge with no problem and no extra force.

 

[crockett]

Rem700Nut: you use as much powder as that steel frame gun can handle, no sissy loads ye hear.
The 25 grains of fffg- that's sounds about right, you'll hear a crunching sound as the powder is compressed (and black powder should be compressed- even if slightly).
I started out with about 10 grains and shot that for a year or so because someone told me that was the proper charge ( I was 15 at the time). Always seemed like pipsqueak loads but I figured that's just the way things were. Then, one day, I missed the target and put a ball into the frame, the ball only went about half way into the wood. Well I went down to the local library and read SIXGUNS by Elmer Keith. He said load it up with as much powder as it will hold.
For a Navy 1851 Colt that's about 25 grains FFFg. When I fired those loads HELLO- "Now I have a gun" thinks me.
With the 25 grains there will no no room for a wad so use grease over the chamber ends. I always use Crisco and haven't had a problem but some folks pointed out that Crisco can burn/melt away so maybe a better lube is a good idea.
While the 25 grains is fun to shoot, for every day shooting I'll usually settle on about 18 grains.

 

[mykeal]

... which one is right?

Neither. It depends on what you like to do. If you're interested in getting the most accurate results, you'll have to try different loads to see which on your gun likes best; it'll be somewhere between 15 gr by volume and a full chamber. But you may not be interested in taking the time to figure that out, and in many cases the differences are not something a pistol shooter can discern anyway. And then there's the idea of loading an inert filler to seat the ball as close to the chamber mouth as possible; some people find that helps, others don't see better results. And if, as many will agree, the real enjoyment is the boom, flash and smoke with perhaps a little less accuracy, load 'em up and fire away. You can't hurt a steel framed revolver with full chamber loads (notice the word 'steel' - this is not true for brass framed revolvers).

 

[Mike Brooks]

Rem700Nut: you use as much powder as that steel frame gun can handle, no sissy loads ye hear.

You may feel very manly with magnum loads, but chances are those big loads won't be your most accurate loads. They never have been with any of my guns.

 

[rafterob]

You may feel very manly with magnum loads
Ya, you gotta admit it sure feels good once in awhile.

 

[mykeal]

You may feel very manly with magnum loads
Ya, you gotta admit it sure feels good once in awhile.

Get a Walker. Fill it up - 55 gr fffg in each chamber. Tie the loading lever to the barrel. Cock and fire six times as fast as you can. Don't bother looking at the target; you didn't hit it more than once anyway. Sit down and try to wipe the smile off your face. You can't do it.

 

[rafterob]

One of the guys at our club has been shooting one lately, envious eyes aplenty. Maybe since you told me so, I can just tell my wife some guy on the internet told me I have to get one......maybe if I just kind of muttered that while I was giving her some jewelry it would slide by. After all me being all manly feeling might benefit her some :wink:

 

[crockett]

I've posted this before so forgive the repeat but my experience has been different from others, especially with the 44 caliber. On the larger caliber at least I have always got the best accuracy with maximum loads. This has occurred in both modern and BP guns.
Although the Navy 36 kicks more with maximum loads it is pathetic compared to a modern 44 Magnum.
As long as you "go with the gun" recoil isn't a problem. Little women shoot the 44 Mag.
In any event, one reads all the time about target shooters using very small loads and a lot of folks just assume that's the best accuracy. Not always- nothing is etched in stone.
The reason I dropped down from 25 grain to 18 grain is because I like using pre-lubed wonder wads and they take up some room in the chamber, leaving an 18 grain load about right if the ball is to be seated close to the end of the chamber.
Why would a maximum load be more accurate? I have no idea. One thought is that slight differences in the powder charge are proportionally less with larger powder charges. In other words if you make a half grain error on a ten grain charge versus a 25 grain charge, the percentage of difference in the charge is greater with the smaller 10 grain charge. Another thought is that the full grain charge may be more stable. On this thought, the chamber is full of SOMETHING- black powder, a wad, cream of wheat, whatever. Maybe compressed powder is more even from shot to shot than a chamber with a 10 grain charge, cream of wheat, a wad, a ball- lots of variables.
But ultimately, you need to test shoot and see what works best for you. :v :v :v