Service loads for .69 muskets

[54ball]

The 110 grain service load...

Ok one reason as mentioned was because the priming was in the cartridge. To explain further these were speed loads fired at a rate of at least three per minute.

For best time, the cartridge needs to be bitten or torn close to or at the powder. It's said you should taste powder. This leaves the bit off end open so it's easier to pour. The prime is dumped in the pan and the cartridge is them dumped in the bore and rammed home. There is a great deal of spillage maybe thirty grains or more if you are real sloppy.

So the 110 grain load not only accounts for the prime but also the spillage. Better to have more than enough than not enough..

 

[54ball]

Since you are not going to be on the musket line, it's best you prime from the horn as the last step in loading so your charge can be reduced quite a bit. I would start at 70 grains and go from there.

There are many different ways you can load your gun using cartridges.

Loads using a cartridge box...

Loose ball dry cartridge.

Tighter ball lube dipped ball end of paper. Some will tie the paper with a small string just above the ball and dip the ball end into your lube of choice up to the string.

Empty or balless cartridge...

Powder, ball, paper on top as wad.
Powder, paper, ball, wad or paper on top of ball.
Powder, paper, patched ball.
Powder, paper, tow ball, lead ball, tow ball.
Powder, paper, chawed ball or ball that's been roughed on a rasp.
Powder, paper, whole cartridge with shot.
Powder, paper, loose shot, paper.
Powder, wad of choice, ball, wad. Discard paper.
Powder, chawed ball.
Powder, patched ball, discard paper.
Powder, ball, wad.

As you can see that's a lot of shooting. You could go on and on and use just about everything from Spanish Moss to leaves to wasps nests as wadding.

 

[Gettysburg63]

Is it a percussion or Flint? I have a percussion and I tried 110 grain with buck n ball and it was fun to shoot recoil it would stick with 70 grains. Far as ball size I use a .662 round ball. I make my Cart. like they did during the civil war and I what I do is tear the tail off pure power into barrel and then I ram the buck n ball in the paper down into the barrel.

Fun cal. to shoot :grin:

 

[coldsmoke]

Your question was very well answered by several folks here. I can ad that I use a .670 ball from a Rapine mold w a. 010 lubed patch over 70 grains of powder and it shoots point blank at 50 yds. Uping the charge would extend that range I would suspect but a round ball flying w/o any spin will inevitibly start falling much sooner than a spinner. My 2 cents
Cheers