4f for .44 cal revolvers?

[manykids]

I have more 4f powder than I'll ever need to prime my flintlocks and have been wondering if it might also be suitable to load my .44, (.45), caliber revolvers.

 

[44Bro]

Perfectly fine, and the way to get the most performance from the short barrels.

 

[TDM]

Won’t be a problem.

 

[manykids]

Thank you, I suspected it would be okay but thought it prudent to ask around first.

 

[SDSmlf]

I have more 4f powder than I'll ever need to prime my flintlocks and have been wondering if it might also be suitable to load my .44, (.45), caliber revolvers.

Below are photographs of pages 76 and 77 from the first edition (1975) Lyman Black Powder Handbook’ showing 44 caliber handgun loads. Note 4F powder granulation underlined in red with round balls and Lyman hollow base conical. 4F is suitable for your 44/45 caliber revolvers. Obviously these loads were published before the internet experts arrived on the scene.

 

[PastorB]

Bang away with 4F in your revolvers! I often use Triple 7, and I know it is way hotter than any real black 4F, including Swiss. Chronos don't lie, nor do they have preferences or agendas. I rarely shoot max loads, because I shoot a lot and guns will eventually wear out. However for the average shooter, cap and ball revolvers will readily handle any blackpowder or sub you can get in them and still seat a bullet/ball.

 

[Jappo]

I’m glad this was finally posted. I load goex 4f in my 45 ACP for my conversion cylinder. As I do in my 45 Colt and cap and ball cylinders.
I actually noticed when I load a full cylinder with enough room for a ball (I use .454) a lot of powder comes out unburnt.
I posted this in a group and y’all should have seen the response. “No no no your gonna blow up your gun” “It’s for priming only” “Your fooling with overpressures there bud” “Danger Will Robinson” “Your gonna blow your barrel off”
This post is a real myth buster. Thanks y’all
Now we need one about no air space. I loaded 25gr 3f Goex, no wad no filler, rammed a ball in flush. That left me with about 1/4” air space. Well guess what, my gun didn’t blow up. Of course there wasn’t much resistance because the ball didn’t have much travel to leave the cylinder.

 

[NorthFork]

Paging Sir @Britsmoothy , paging Sir Britsmoothy to courtesy phone.

Please let these good lads know that 'fine' powder or as we know it ffffg/4fg is not the devil. Thank you.

 

[springfield art]

I'm glad to read that 4F is fine for general use, as I wound up with two or maybe three cans of the stuff when the 'panic' first hit....thanks, guys!

 

[Jappo]

I have a pound that was given to brand new. Person bought it for his flintlock and never used it. He ordered it and in the meantime used 2F to start and it did fine. Decided he didn't need it. And told me there was nothing else he could use it in.

 

[TDM]

A fine gift indeed!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I tried ffffg in revolvers years ago after reading the Lyman book: accuracy was poor.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Go shoot with it. It's good stuff. You can use less and it usually burns cleaner.
I've been asking for evidence of its mysterious destructive nature for over a decade now, still waiting.....

 

[nkbj]

For me most everything seems to work in revolvers, depending upon the piece and the load.

 

[Relic shooter]

I’m glad this was finally posted. I load goex 4f in my 45 ACP for my conversion cylinder. As I do in my 45 Colt and cap and ball cylinders.
I actually noticed when I load a full cylinder with enough room for a ball (I use .454) a lot of powder comes out unburnt.
I posted this in a group and y’all should have seen the response. “No no no your gonna blow up your gun” “It’s for priming only” “Your fooling with overpressures there bud” “Danger Will Robinson” “Your gonna blow your barrel off”
This post is a real myth buster. Thanks y’all
Now we need one about no air space. I loaded 25gr 3f Goex, no wad no filler, rammed a ball in flush. That left me with about 1/4” air space. Well guess what, my gun didn’t blow up. Of course there wasn’t much resistance because the ball didn’t have much travel to leave the cylinder.

Excellent post Jappo !!
Forty some years ago I after a favored mountain man movie appeared with his roaring Hawken a tend surfaced among many to way-overcharge their rifles & pistols with the thought that more powder = higher ballistics.
At a rendezvous I laid out about 25 feet of white butcher paper on the ground from my muzzle towards the target & fired my .54 cal. Hawken with 120 grains in it's 32" long barrel to demonstrate that over-charging just wastes powder.
Fellow shooters were amazed at the amount of wasted & unburned powder that lay on the paper.
We followed up by demonstrating over the white paper that using much over 80 grains of 2f in that caliber & length of barrel was just wasted powder.
relic shooter

 

[Jappo]

Yeah I did that in snow. With rifle, shotgun, revolvers and pistol. The 60gr fffg Walker was the worst. Don't get much snow around here though. I didn't try different loads to see what was the best. Just showing some buddies that they don't blow up when over loaded. Although if the powder has resistance it will blow something up. I did a 1" x 4" PVC pipe with caps and a small hole for a fuse. 60gr ffg. It blew one cap off and ruptured the pipe. I tried another one with a 3" pipe full of 2f. All it did was shoot out a flame and smoke out the fuse hole. Just like a little cannon. The tighter the wadding the bigger the boom. Or like a shotgun, use 60gr 2f and a 1/4" wad over powder. Nice boom. Add 2 wads and bigger boom. So the more resistance the more umph.

 

[Rum River]

Below are photographs of pages 76 and 77 from the first edition (1975) Lyman Black Powder Handbook’ showing 44 caliber handgun loads. Note 4F powder granulation underlined in red with round balls and Lyman hollow base conical. 4F is suitable for your 44/45 caliber revolvers. Obviously these loads were published before the internet experts arrived on the scene.

I had found a download of some of these pages a while back and made sure to not lose them. A week or so ago I found this book at a gun show for $5 !! Now I gotta make sure I don’t lose the whole book…..

 

[Bad Karma]

Excellent post Jappo !!
Forty some years ago I after a favored mountain man movie appeared with his roaring Hawken a tend surfaced among many to way-overcharge their rifles & pistols with the thought that more powder = higher ballistics.
At a rendezvous I laid out about 25 feet of white butcher paper on the ground from my muzzle towards the target & fired my .54 cal. Hawken with 120 grains in it's 32" long barrel to demonstrate that over-charging just wastes powder.
Fellow shooters were amazed at the amount of wasted & unburned powder that lay on the paper.
We followed up by demonstrating over the white paper that using much over 80 grains of 2f in that caliber & length of barrel was just wasted powder.
relic shooter

A fellow shooter on another forum wondered if there was any unburned powder due to “overcharging“ a rifle. He performed exactly the test you did, capturing the shot on camera and then gathered up the residue from the butcher paper. It wouldn’t ignite. His surmise was that it was simply fouling which doesn’t adhere to the inside of the barrel. Other experiments (US Navy?) show the powder is fully consumed within a few inches of the barrel.
There is a point of diminishing returns with any blackpowder arm and general acceptable practices aside, every rifle is a law unto itself. If you don’t have access to a chronograph a hunter or long range target shooter should use the heaviest load still giving acceptable accuracy. Target shooters at close range under a hundred yards can use any accurate load. Two cents from out here in the froze wasteland… your mileage will certainly vary.

 

[Relic shooter]

A fellow shooter on another forum wondered if there was any unburned powder due to “overcharging“ a rifle. He performed exactly the test you did, capturing the shot on camera and then gathered up the residue from the butcher paper. It wouldn’t ignite. His surmis was that it was simply fouling which doesn’t adhere to the inside of the barrel. Other experiments (US Navy?) show the powder is fully consumed within a few inches of the barrel.
There is a point of diminishing returns with any blackpowder arm and general acceptable practices aside, every rifle is a law unto itself. If you don’t have access to a chronograph a hunter or long range target shooter should use the heaviest load still giving acceptable accuracy. Target shooters at close range under a hundred yards can use any accurate load. Two cents from out here in the froze wasteland… your mileage will certainly vary.

My bad as I neglected to state to new shooters that over-charging is also determined by the caliber/ bore size & barrel length of a firearm or cannon &
your absolutely correct in stating that a chronograph is essential in determining peak velocities.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I tried ffffg in revolvers years ago after reading the Lyman book: accuracy was poor.

Wondered if someone was going to point out that issue. Safe, OK. But not accurate at much more than across a poker table range.