1858 Loads

[45man]

I agree, you can't get enough of any powder in a revolver to harm it. The cylinder only holds so much so a ball or conical will fit. Accuracy is another thing and depends on the twist rate. You don't want to spin a ball too fast. For instance, my ROA has a 1 in 16 rate and 20 gr with filler shoots best.
Powder volume is actually the weight in grains of one granulation of powder and will vary as you change from ffg, fffg, ffffg, Pyrodex or 777. But volume is how much space you use in the chamber so all are thrown by volume no matter what the actual powder weight is. Be aware that Pyrodex and 777 weigh a LOT less then BP so it is not safe to go by weight.
I experimented with volume versus weight by weighing BP to 1/10 gr once and results were that using a measure was much more accurate then weighed charges. It was hard to wrap my head around but it proved true.

 

[smoothshooter]

That's my understanding. Don't know why Pietta "Manual" gives such different numbers unless:
misprint
translation goof up
lawyers
something else
maybe BP is hotter in Italy (sarc)

I don’t think very many of the Italian replica makers management or engineers are actually black powder shooters.

 

[TNGhost]

I agree, you can't get enough of any powder in a revolver to harm it. The cylinder only holds so much so a ball or conical will fit. Accuracy is another thing and depends on the twist rate. You don't want to spin a ball too fast. For instance, my ROA has a 1 in 16 rate and 20 gr with filler shoots best.
Powder volume is actually the weight in grains of one granulation of powder and will vary as you change from ffg, fffg, ffffg, Pyrodex or 777. But volume is how much space you use in the chamber so all are thrown by volume no matter what the actual powder weight is. Be aware that Pyrodex and 777 weigh a LOT less then BP so it is not safe to go by weight.
I experimented with volume versus weight by weighing BP to 1/10 gr once and results were that using a measure was much more accurate then weighed charges. It was hard to wrap my head around but it proved true.

Any black powder or black powder specific substitute...

 

[maillemaker]

I have 2 steel 1858 Remingtons -- both .44 -- both Pietta's. The "Owner's Manual" that came with them says use a load of FFFG 12-15 Grains (Weight? Volume? - manual does not say). I also have a paper cartridge kit (readily available) that includes a powder measure that delivers 44 Grains by volume. Internet research says 20-30 grains with 25 grains as likely the best for accuracy.....
So to say a bit confused is an understatement

Grains is a unit of weight:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grain_(unit)

There are 7000 grains in 1 pound. Thus one grain is 1/7000th of a pound.

As with smokeless powder, you can dispense black powder volumetrically with great precision if you have good equipment and use it consistently. But the gold standard is with a precision scale, and you should always check and confirm your volumetric drops by scale.

Most reproduction .44 revolvers, like the 1860 Army or the Remington New Model Army will develop maximum accuracy around 18-20 grains of black powder. Big guns like the Walker may have an accuracy sweet spot around 45 grains of powder.

It depends on what kind of shooting you want to do. If you are looking for maximum precision then you will probably want to use reduced loads. If you are looking for maximum power then you will want "full house" loads. If you are looking for historical load data you'll be looking at somewhere in between.