Ball & Patch size for flintlock pistol

[mlindarcws.com]

Oh wise and experienced smokepole veterans .. :bow: ..

The Fed-Ex man delivered into my hands my first flintlock weapon; a .597 British sea service pistol from Earl Kathan out in NH. After some advice from track-of-the-wolf I purchased some .580 round balls and .015 lubed shooting patches. I would like some assurance that this will, indeed, be a good load for my pistol.

I just want to be sure I have a safe load for my first venture into this sport. This ball and patch adds up to a .610 diameter which would require the ball to be squeezed .013 to fit into the barrel.

Is my math correct?
Is this a proper load?

Thanks for your help here,
Mike

 

[cynthialee]

you should be able to get that down the barrel


Start with about 25 grains of 3F or 30 grains of 2F depending on which powder you have on hand. Work up the load in increments of 2 grains until you find the best group.

 

[mlindarcws.com]

OK ... the people around the office have seen it shared enough, time to share with everyone else now (lol). I'm just a tad excited.

 

[mlindarcws.com]

Thanks cynthialee ... Earl suggested 2F for this calibre (which is what I'm picking up this weekend); and about 30 grains to start with. But the idea of moving from about 28 grains and increasing in 2 grain increments sounds like an interesting plan.

 

[cynthialee]

If he knows that it prefers 2F go with that, but I'd bet a dollar against a dime that says it would shoot better with 3F powder.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You certainly will have great fun shooting that. 3Fg would be preferable for cleaner shooting but 2Fg will work. It is not a target gun so exactness is not important.
I do believe a smaller ball would serve you better. Being a smoothie it will crud up on you and your tight ball/patch combo will become very difficult to load after one or two shots. Use of an overpowder card followed by a moist wad will help with the crud situation.
You will not require heavy charges. Nothing to be gained. I believe around 25 grains will give you the enjoyment you seek.

 

[mlindarcws.com]

Well which powder I start out with isn't written in stone until Saturday. I'll think about the 3F as well. I've been seeing it mentioned quite a bit on the web that 3F is good for .50 and lower, while 2F is better for the larger calibers; which (taken in conjunction with Earl's advice) is why I was leaning in that direction.

Love the input here.

 

[Wes/Tex]

The patching will compress to soak up the extra windage of ball to bore size, which is suppose to happen. Would image either powder size will work just fine but the FFFg might ignite a fraction quicker. Those type pistols don't need a big powder charge to be effective. You're all set for when the French frigate pulls up to send over boarders! :haha: :thumbsup:

 

[mlindarcws.com]

Well now I'm curious to try both sizes of powder (if they are both available on Saturday). If I do get some 2F and 3F is there any formula for determining (Xgrains of 2F)= (Ygrains of 3F)?

Thanks, S/W engineer here and tend to over-think things at times :shocked2: ... but this is a safety concern for a 1st timer.

 

[mlindarcws.com]

Absolutely .. one shot and then I have a club in my hand.

 

[Zonie]

There's a rough rule of thumb kind of guide that says a 3Fg powder load reduced about 10 percent will be about the same power as a given 2Fg powder load.

In a pistol size powder load it doesn't make a whole lot of difference because reducing a 30 grain 2Fg powder load 10 percent makes it a 27 grain 3Fg powder load.

If we were talking about rifle loads where the 10 percent can equal 8 or more grains then it's worth thinking about.

 

[mlindarcws.com]

Thanks for the info Zonie ... jotting that into my new black powder notebook

 

[Billnpatti]

I agree with cynthialee and rifleman1776 about using 3f powder in your new baby. I also agree with their estimation on the amount of powder but since you do not have any sights on your pistol, groups will not likely be anything to shout about. It is not like having sights that will give you measurable groups at ranges out to 25 yards. I do not know if it is rifled or smoothbore but I would not be surprised to find that it is a smoothbore. If it is a smoothbore and has no sights, you will be able to count yourself lucky if you can hit a coffee can consistently at 10 yards. You can play with adjusting your loads if you want but I think you will just need to pick a load that feels right to you (not too much recoil but not sissy loads either) and then just enjoy the smoke and noise and hope you can hit that coffee can. It's a fun gun not a target gun so just have fun with it. :thumbsup: :hatsoff: