Correct load for 44 cal. Revolver

[Thomas1888]

Hi, this is my first post here. My name is Gary and I just bought a 1851 Navy and a 1858 Army Pietta revolver. I went to the range last weekend to try them out.
I have a dilemma on the size of load. The gun manual says max grains of black powder for the 44 is 35 and the max for Pyrodex is 28.
It also says "suggested grains" is 12 to 15. What is the correct load size?
I did the 28 grains before I saw the 12 to 15 I thought I may have used too much and damaged the revolvers.
The one thing I did notice between the BP and Pyrodex is the Pyrodex produces a lot more "sparks". Is that normal?
I shot a tighter group with the BP then I did with my regular S&W revolver.

It took me almost 9 hours to clean the 2 revolvers and 5 cylinders.

I tried the Hoppes #9 on the first one but got tired so I tried the soap and water on the second. That was a lot quicker. I did forget to remove the wood grips before putting in water. Duh!

Another huge mistake I did was accidentally putting 2 balls in one chamber. I won't tell you how I fixed that - I'd get kicked off the forum before I even begin.

I have many "normal" guns , but these are the first BP ones so I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions in the future.

 

[AlexB]

I shoot 30 to 40 grains in the 1858's of pyrodex or t7.
You can fill them as much as they will hold if steel framed.
The thing is to find what the guns likes and stick there.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

The "suggested" load of 12-15 may get you the best accuracy. I tend to stick around 30 grains of 3F in 44 Cal revolvers. They seem to like that charge and are plenty accurate. I see you are going through the same thing I did when I first started out. It took me way too long to clean these things and sometimes it can be a turn off for some folks. Hot water and dish soap is your friend. It takes me about 15 - 20 minutes to clean up a revolver after shooting now.

 

[Phil Coffins]

All the solvents and magic concoctions are for making money, water and a dab of soap is for cleaning. For powder I prefer a volume of powder that places the ball just a bit below the chamber mouth when seated. That depends on the calibre and size of the revolver. Don’t get tangled up with numbers.
IMG_0290 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[wiscoaster]

I have 25 gr 3F logged as "standard load" for my .44 cal revolvers, except the Dragoon, for which I have logged 30 gr.

The Pietta manual gives a "range", there isn't any one "correct" load, you're free to vary your loads and see what works best for you. 'Course, if you load more than the recommended "maximum" and your gun explodes they aren't going to warranty it.

 

[Jappo]

Another thing to take into consideration is the powder measure. They are inconsistent and vary by manufacturer. It is mostly -/+ 5gr if it makes any difference. Then there's the large ones. If you measure 25gr 3f in the small one, you will get 28 up to 35 gr 3f in the large ones.
Then there is the loose powder, tapping the measure and adding more and lightly compressed. Like mentioned above, see what your gun likes and stick to that. And the same powder measurer. And spouts of different manufacturers are also different.

 

[qprhooligan]

If your guns are brass frame I would keep the charges on the lower end of the spectrum. For steel frames, fill 'em up if you like.

 

[wiscoaster]

If your guns are brass frame I would keep the charges on the lower end of the spectrum. For steel frames, fill 'em up if you like.

Good advice.

 

[cynthialee]

taking you too long to clean those revolvers
put the cylinders in a bowl with hot water and dish soap, let them sit while you give the bore a good swab and you wipe everything down. You don't have to take it down to the bones to clean it
after you have the barrel and frame clean go at the cylinders

probably take you 15 minutes to do 2 revolvers

 

[Tenring]

I have found 30 grains to be in that powerful little sweet spot for a .44 cal 58 Rem New Army.

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I have found 30 grains to be in that powerful little sweet spot for a .44 cal 58 Rem New Army.

It's an addicting charge for me as well, the revolver is accurate and you feel like you just touched off a handful.

 

[Tenring]

It's an addicting charge for me as well, the revolver is accurate and you feel like you just touched off a handful.

That’s Exactly how I feel you read my mind 30 grains and it like a mellow magnum charge and accurate as all get out.

 

[ZUG]

In most of my .36 caliber revolvers and a round ball I use between 15 and 20 grains of 3F Goex. In my .44 caliber revolvers and a round ball I use between 25 and 30 grains of 3F Goex. I don't have any Pyrodex so I can't give any recommendations on using it.
I would also check your powder measure against a powder scale to see what they throw.

 

[cynthialee]

my FFFg powder loads tend to be: 10gr for the .31's, 17gr for the .36's, and 25gr for the .44's (Walkers gets 45gr, I know it can hold more but I can fill the extra space with a filler and card)

 

[Bad Karma]

taking you too long to clean those revolvers
put the cylinders in a bowl with hot water and dish soap, let them sit while you give the bore a good swab and you wipe everything down. You don't have to take it down to the bones to clean it
after you have the barrel and frame clean go at the cylinders

probably take you 15 minutes to do 2 revolvers

What he said, and I would add, for maybe 45 years I would squirt a bit of CLP into the action of the revolver after each shooting session. The small amount of fouling that made its way into the action would mix with the oil and turn into a real nasty mess of gunk that I would remove about once a year. I had zero rust inside using this method. My grandfather used the same method using Hoppes original oil.
These days, for maybe the last five years or so, I’ve been packing the actions with synthetic grease. Mobil 1… works like a charm and I’m only detail cleaning every year or two.

 

[Ed C.]

I'm also a fan of packing the gun with Mobil 1 grease. I use a type of turkey baster with the large needle attachment as a grease gun. Clean the barrel, cylinder, and nipples with soap and water and I'll brush the hammer and recoil shield with Ballistol so as to not be dripping any water into the internals.
I like 25g of FFFg for my 1858's and 22g, sometimes 25g, for the 1851 Navy. For fun, 44g in the Walker.