Service loads for .69 muskets

[Matt Maier]

I've recently ordered a Pedersoli model 1816 .69 caliber musket. I want to load it with cartridges, so I wish to pose a question to anyone who has done more research than I. What was the standard US service load for .69 caliber muskets in the early to mid 19th century?

 

[Wes/Tex]

The original service charge was 110 grains of musket grade powder, which is probably the equivalent of modern Fg. Dixie Gun Works, and others, recommend 80 grians of FFg for modern loads and this is roughly the equivalent of the original military load.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Dixie Gun Works, and others, recommend 80 grians of FFg for modern loads

That will probably be safe. But it is a hefty charge and, IMHO, not needed. Start at 50 gr. and work up, if needed, to 70 gr.
Whomper stomper loads are rarely needed. Lower will give better shot patterns.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/200356/

 

[Matt Maier]

Is there anything unsafe about using the original 110 grain charge, other than perhaps excessive recoil?

 

[pargent]

You may find that 90 may suit your needs but 110 is not to much to shoot with comfort provided you are not sitting at a bench .

 

[BCarp]

Remember that some of that 110 grns went into the pan as priming, after the soldier tore open the cartridge....

 

[Matt Maier]

Oh I know. If I remember correctly it was estimated that about 10-15 grains went in the pan.

 

[nkbj]

Matt, there's some interesting articles on line for DIY paper cartridges too.

 

[Grizzled Roberts]

If your bore diameter is .690 and if you are loading actual paper cartridges, you will have to use a much smaller ball. There is more paper wrapped around the ball with paper cartridges, a tight fitting patch is much thinner around the ball.

 

[Many Klatch]

There are 7,000 grains by weight in a pound of blackpowder. If you load 110 grains per shot you will get 63 shots per pound. If you load 90 grains per shot you will get 77 shots per pound and so on and so forth.

My Bess happens to like 90 grains of powder but it shoots a .715 ball. It would be nice if it would group at 75 grains of powder (93 shots). I don't mind the recoil but sometimes the powder is hard to come by.

Many Klatch

 

[Matt Maier]

I can't buy real powder in any shop I have found in Washington, so I have to buy it online, minor inconvenience really.

How undersize does the ball usually have to be for a paper cartridge? I've ordered some .670 balls and I also have some .615 balls that I cast.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

If your bore diameter is .690 and if you are loading actual paper cartridges, you will have to use a much smaller ball. There is more paper wrapped around the ball with paper cartridges, a tight fitting patch is much thinner around the ball.

As Bob says, the 110gr. charge is not excessive but keep in mind that the standard size ball for US and French cartridges .64 diameter. The paper cartridge was torn, the gun primed, the frizzen was closed and then the powder was poured down the barrel. The first few shots were loaded with the ball still wrapped in the paper. As the fouling built up, the soldier was taught to load the naked ball ramming the paper down on top to hold it in place.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Military loads generally carried balls about .06" smaller than bore size, give or take. Original British musket balls have been found ranging from about .710" down to .690" with some speculating the difference is reflected in the standard bore size running .775" down to .750". I can't say I agree with that since the British military had a set 'musket' bore size of .775". I personally believe the few larger balls may be a result of either older .80 caliber muskets remaining in inventory, though obsolete, or accounting for the limited amount of Hessian muskets in use of larger caliber. This is based on Rev. War era data, of course. French ball size ran in the .630" to .640" area, reflecting about the same difference in bore to ball size.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Wes, the standard British ball size throughout the period when the .75 caliber was in use was .68, though, as you say, there is some variation in size.

 

[JohnN]

I use a .648 ball in my paper cartridges in my 69 caliber.

 

[rwiliff]

Dixie Gun Works, and others, recommend 80 grians of FFg for modern loads

That will probably be safe. But it is a hefty charge and, IMHO, not needed. Start at 50 gr. and work up, if needed, to 70 gr.
Whomper stomper loads are rarely needed. Lower will give better shot patterns.

He asked about a service load. 70 gr. Whomper stomper?

 

[nkbj]

I'm using a pleasant 80 grain charge with round ball in a 33" barrel .69 rifled musket. The musket is designed to take a lot more as we know from the original specs. And, the modern steel is generally better quality. You could improve the load from simple rhinos and on up past stegosaurus to the neighbors obnoxious chihuahua but you'd just have a bigger cloud to run around to see your results.

 

[Wes/Tex]

He asked about a service load. 70 gr. Whomper stomper?

Big lead balls don't need a lot of velocity to do great gobs of damage. I've even chunked a .690 ball through the boards of the folks garage...seemed like the thing to do at the time! thank God the statute-of-limitations has run out on that one! :rotf:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

70 grains of powder is just about two grains over 2.5 drams in shotgun parlance. Equivalent to a modern "upland game" load, and the old "pumpkin ball" deer slug of four decades ago. 80 grains (or 81.9) is 3 drams, and is equivalent to a "stout" load or an average waterfowl load (talking powder only folks).

The old but still useful rule-of-thumb for smooth bores is to use the caliber as a starting point for the beginning load, rounded up as needed. (Some folks say it's the same for rifles, and some say 1.5 x the caliber.) So a 28 gauge is .55 so you'd start with a 55 grain load. Your musket is a .69 so rounded up you start with a 70 grain load.

Folks used and still use an undersized ball for speed loading multiple shots without swabbing the bore with military muskets. That's fine for that kind of shooting but for plain target work or hunting you probably want a bit more accuracy. Many folks, myself included, have found that a round ball inside a paper tube that is fitted to the bore of the musket gives much better accuracy than one that is patched like a rifle. This might have something to do with the fact that the patch does not fold around the ball in a smooth bore in the same way every time. Others have found that a bare ball of a diameter close to that of the bore, over a wad and held in place by paper or tow, gives them the best accuracy. So one could use a .650 ball and a paper cartridge, or one might try a .675-.680 ball over a wad.

Yes, you are probably not harming the gun with a 110 grain (4 dram) load, but it's probably unnecessary.

LD