my question is have any of you guys bench tested wad and filler vs ball ,powder and lube over ball? is there enough of a difference that it would matter anywheres other than bulleseye shooting? is the difference totally irrelevent when shooting off hand or is there no difference at all? pretty much all i do is powder and ball with bore butter over it and seem to have no problems with accuracy and with 25g of 777 there is at least a half inch of space between my ball and the cylinder mouth.
Do I need a filler for a 20 grain charge in a .44 cal. Cylinder?
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I’ve shot a million rounds with filler and without in half a dozen pistols. I shoot for target accuracy to win matches. Filler or wads to get the ball as close the the chamber mouth most definitely makes a difference in accuracy in my personal experience. I’ve never used any of that slimy grease over the balls. Never in 30 years have I ever had a chain fire. Tight fitting ball that shaves a ring, filler/wad and tight caps. I use .457 RB in all my 44s. If they are pure lead the pistol will shave them.
For years, I shot 18 grains FFFg and cornmeal filler with .457 round balls in my 1858 Remington. It was the best target load I found for both 25 and 50 yard matches.
ADK Bigfoot
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A friend shot his Remington .44 revolver at N-SSA competitions. He had all of the chamber of the cylinder drilled out to one standard size. Using 20 grs FFFg, corn meal as a filler, a .454 ball and a dab of crisco at the end of the chamber. he has won several shooting matches. It works for him. Your results may vary.
That would depend on your revolver just like with a rifle. What works in any of mine probably won’t be the same as yours. Try 15-20 and enough filler to get the ball to the mouth. I use 20 grain of powder. I have a separate flask for my cream of wheat. I use 20 grains of that on top of powder. In my Ruger OA I can keep them all in the 9 and 10 ring of an NRA target at 25 yards off a bench. Without filler and just 20 grain of powder I’m lucky to get three in the black at all out of six rounds. 2 inch groups with filler to 5-6 inch groups without. That is my Ruger. In my Italian colts 36 and 44s filler helps groups but none of them shoot as well or anywhere close to the Ruger. The fun is in experimenting. Cream of wheat is almost free so it doesn’t cost much to give it a try.
Edit: I have a Pietta 36 navy that totally goes against fillers and lower powder charges for accuracy. It shoots the best groups with a sizzling 25 grains of 3F. It’s the best shooter out of all my repros but still not Ruger Accurate.
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No you don't want a gap of any kind.
People overthink this stuff, unless you're shooting at a high level match where you need light loads, and corn meal to bring the ball to the top of the chamber mouth, etc. Just pour 20 grains into the chambers, add a lubed wad, or the ball, and in absence of a wad smear Crisco over the ball and you can shoot all day without having to break the gun down to clean it
Using corn meal is just another step that you really don't need unless for some reason you need to shoot mouse fart loads like 10 grains or something
Uncle Miltie
50 Cal.
Absolutely.
I plink at a public range, where another black powder shooter other than me, is scarce as hen's teeth. I shoot 35 grains Goex 3f in my ROA because 1, I like the recoil, 2 it is plenty accurate for plinking and 3. I shut down the line when I shoot because everybody wants to know whose gun just blew up 
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.Nope, but it does not hurt a thing, lots of folks do it.
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I've never used less than 25 grains, but page 18 of the Pietta manual suggests 12-15 grains FFFg in a 44 using a .454 round ball.
https://www.pietta.us/pdf/Manuale_Avancarica_ENG.pdf
https://www.pietta.us/pdf/Manuale_Avancarica_ENG.pdf
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Like when a young couple came to the pistol pits at my range because they thought "something was on fire " but it was just me with a pair of cap and ballersI plink at a public range, where another black powder shooter other than me, is scarce as hen's teeth. I shoot 35 grains Goex 3f in my ROA because 1, I like the recoil, 2 it is plenty accurate for plinking and 3. I shut down the line when I shoot because everybody wants to know whose gun just blew up
I've never heard this discussed so...IS there a difference in brass frames? Are some more bronze or simply stronger? One guy I know says he has shot 25,000 rounds in a brass frame without any damage. Another issue, it would seem a round ball creates less internal pressure than a conical shape bullet.
TDM
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The old brass frames from 20 plus years ago and before were softer and would shoot loose eventually.
Jason60chev
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Wouldn't it be more "Manly" and challenging to "win" matches with a full load?
Is "winning" the end all objective, to the experience? Never been fixated on "winning".
Is "winning" the end all objective, to the experience? Never been fixated on "winning".
I’m not a very competitive person but if I were competing for anything then my goal would be to win the competition or at least place as high as possible. If that is not your goal in any shooting competition…then just shoot for the sheer pleasure of it, why compete at all then.
Uncle Miltie
50 Cal.
Well, winning is important to folks who compete....
A few years back several police agencies had a monthly shoot...10 Depts. in all, One Dept CONSISTANTLY cleaned up....This went on for many months UNTIL someone caught on to the fact that Said Dept was using very light TAP loads , After they got caught , rules were changed so that ALL Depts. had to use the same Brand and load...I don't recall the CHAMPS winning a match since,,,,,,,Be Safe>>>>>>>Wally
Nothing like reading the instructions from the manufacturer.
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